Next Tuesday, as you return to your desk full of turkey and pumpkin pie with plans for Thanksgiving leftovers filling your to-do list, a clock will be chiming in the background. That will be the sound of the LRT Countdown Clock hitting 5 months – more than 80% of the way to the six month window Council gave itself to secure funding for the LRT extension.
The Brampton Board of Trade has closely tracked the Main Street LRT Extension project even prior to Council’s rejection of full funding in 2015. Board of Trade members have consistently articulated the importance of the project to our city and region and encouraged Council to take advantage of the construction window associated with the Hurontario (now Hazel McCallion) LRT. Indeed, just the prospect of LRT has been enough to spur new investment and plans for further expansion into our downtown.
That’s why it was an encouraging sign in May when city council directed staff to gather additional information on the two potential options, including senior level government funding, and to report back in six months. For a project that has faced significant delay, the direction from council appeared to set a timeframe for when LRT planning could take the all-important next step of undergoing the Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP). TPAP, is a regulatory hurdle that takes time to complete and is required before construction can begin. In fact, in traditional transit planning, it is a prerequisite before funding decisions are made. Why does Council think it can secure funding without it? And why does it think senior governments will overspend, by choice?
With updated cost estimates from earlier in the year showing dramatic increases for both projects (about a $400m increase, or doubling for the surface option, and a $1.1 billion – $1.8 billion increase for the tunnel option), it is more important than ever that an accurate estimate be attained, and a clear funding commitment be in place. If an option that will not be funded is inadvertently sent to TPAP, it will result in an even further delay.
As we enter the final month of the six month period that Brampton city council has set to obtain information before moving to the next steps, the Board of Trade is once again stressing the urgency of a funding commitment. It is simply not an option to risk further delay by sending a dead-in-the-water LRT alignment to TPAP.
Let’s be clear. Without a completed TPAP, Brampton’s LRT funding proposal is a half-baked pumpkin pie. It is highly unlikely that senior governments will make any commitment, let alone choose the most expensive option that Brampton is proposing, when TPAP isn’t even complete. Council would be in a stronger position for funding if it moved forward on TPAP for a surface route – which is exactly the decision they should make on November 10th – the expiry of Council’s self-imposed 6-month deadline.
Even though Brampton businesses expect City Council to be accountable, together, through the Board of Trade, Brampton businesses have also encouraged an advanced funding commitment, writing to Ministers LeBlanc and Surma in the spring to encourage government commitment. Minister LeBlanc’s response, as well as subsequent communication from the federal government, has indicated that funding streams for major capital projects could be announced in the fall. For the proposed Main Street LRT Extension, a firm commitment cannot come a day too soon.
