Toronto Subway Expansion Constrained by Lack of Vision

With half a century having passed since the first subway train rolled up Yonge Street from Union Station to the then northern terminus of Eglinton Avenue, it is clear that the system has significantly influenced the growth of the city in that time. Unfortunately, the linkage between rapid transit and urban form has not always been fully appreciated by elected decision makers and over the intervening decades many opportunities for system expansion have slipped away. Cities that began their system much later such as Montreal in the 1960's and Washington in the 1970's are now considerably farther ahead. Without new funding mechanisms that ensure sustained capital year after year, it is unclear when subway construction in Toronto will ever get back on track.