Compromise? We don't want compromise!

In a move that amounts to an open revolt against TTC chair Karen Stintz, Ford supporters on the TTC board voted yesterday to prevent the study of further above ground options for the Eglinton Crosstown Line.

This almost surprisingly partisan vote — remember it's not as if Stintz hasn't played ball with Ford on the 2012 budget and where the $5 million in additional funds the Commission received should be directed — comes on the heels of news that Ford had no authority to unilaterally cancel Transit City and a subsequent letter from Metrolinx that asks for clear direction from the City of Toronto before it can proceed with the construction of the Crosstown (see below).

So what happens now? Stintz's compromise-based plan clearly had some support from city councillors (if not staunch Ford supporters). As Steve Munro explains, that means council could theoretically bring the debate on the Eglinton LRT to the fore by calling special meeting. In a post on his website (cross-posted to Torontoist), he notes that council could effectively overturn the Commission vote and get the alternate options for Crosstown back on the agenda.

"Some councillors are now talking openly of calling a special meeting of council; they need a majority of councillors to agree in order to convene one, but the mayor's approval is not required. The agenda for such a meeting would be set by those who call for it, not throttled by the mayor's cronies at Executive Committee (who often keep items they don't like off the agenda for regular council meetings). This would allow for a discussion of transit alternatives, disposition of the MoU [the Memorandum of Understanding Ford entered into with Metrolinx], and many other actions such as reconstituting the TTC with a better balanced group of councillors."

It's too early to tell if this will happen — and if Stintz will survive as TTC Chair — but the letter from Metrolinx demands that the City figure its shit out, and it's high time that reasonable members of council take it upon themselves to avoid disaster on Eglinton.

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Letter to Mayor Ford and Councillor Stintz from Metrolinx