Developers must pitch in to make Mississauga City Centre transit loop a reality, Premier says
Published January 25, 2022 at 1:39 pm
If the Mississauga City Centre transit loop is to be included once again in the huge Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) project, it looks like local developers will have to open their wallets.
In an interview earlier today with insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he can get behind the City of Mississauga’s transit plans, but others have to contribute their share as well.
The loop, initially included in Hurontario LRT plans to service residents/passengers who live in the highrises around Square One, was pulled off the table two years ago by the Ontario government in a cost-cutting move.
Mayor Bonnie Crombie and City councillors have been pressing the Province ever since to reconsider, arguing the area’s population is growing quickly and will need more convenient transit service both in the short- and long-term.
Ford said he’s open to reconsidering, but not without contributions from elsewhere.
“We’ll sit down; we’ve had conversations,” the Premier began. “We’re big into the transit-oriented communities. If we decide to (reinstate transit loop plan), we expect these developers that are putting the 40- to 60-storey towers up (around the City Centre)–it’s going to benefit them, like we’ve done right across the Greater Toronto Area–they’re going to have to pitch in…I’m always open for expanding transit.”
Ford noted that in Toronto and the GTA alone, his government has invested nearly $29 billion in transit initiatives.
“We’re a government that believes in building transit, building new highways. The (proposed Hwy.) 413 is absolutely critical for the people in Brampton and in Mississauga and everywhere else,” said Ford. “We’re going to continue investing in infrastructure; it’s absolutely critical. For 15 years, infrastructure was ignored in this province, but we’re a government that builds–builds new schools, builds new hospitals, roads, highways and, of course, transit.”
The 18-kilometre Hurontario LRT route, which is to be completed by fall 2024, will move passengers from Port Credit GO station in the south to Brampton in the north, with 19 stops along the way.
When completed, it will offer a dedicated right-of-way running from south Mississauga to Brampton Gateway Terminal. It will link to GO stations at Port Credit and Cooksville, the Mississauga Transitway, Square One GO Bus Terminal, Brampton Gateway Terminal, and key MiWay and Brampton Transit routes.
Metrolinx, the agency responsible for regional transit in the Golden Horseshoe, says the initiative is part of its long-term vision for an integrated, sustainable transit network connecting the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.
