Toronto council just gave the green light to start building 6 new GO stations, and have invested $1.46 billion into the project. The plan is a smaller, but more realistic version of the 22 "new" stations that John Tory proposed originally.
The six new GO stations include: St. Clair-Old Weston, King-Liberty, East Harbour, Gerrard-Carlaw, Lawrence-Kennedy, and Finch Kennedy. The new locations could be a "game changer" for commuters coming into the city from around the GTA.
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But, the decision wasn't exactly unanimous. It was met with a lot of criticism, especially about the cost. With the current plan, the city will be paying almost $880 million just to get these GO stations up and running. So, there's a lot of debate around what's really best for Toronto, and what's the best use of the city's tax money.
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The issue is even more complicated by the city's promise to reduce GO train and UP express fares to $3 by next year, making them equal to the current $3 TTC fare. However, it's not set in stone. Now that the city's about to spend over $1 billion on the new stations, it's definitely not a good time to start making promises about cheaper rides.
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There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered. One city counsellor who voted in support of the new GO stations asks, "Are the stations the right ones? Is there a second wave of stations that need to follow?"
However, one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that Toronto and the GTA is desperately in need of more transit options.
