First of all, I urge you to check out a Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan public meeting and open house if you haven’t already had the chance to. It’s your chance to see details of The Big Move up close, give your feedback directly to the agency, and even chat personally with high-ranking Metrolinx staff members. Information about upcoming meetings are available on the Metrolinx web site.

At the public meeting at the International Centre on Tuesday, I found myself in a small, diverse discussion group giving and listening to feedback on the RTP. One of the members of the group was a representative from the Weston Community Coalition, a group primarily opposed to the Airport Rail Link proposal known as Blue 22. Since the improvements necessary to implement a Union-Pearson train will also allow for GO service expansions to Brampton (the closest station to my family home), Georgetown and beyond, I thought I might weigh in to look at the issues and see how we can collectively move forward to improve transportation in this corridor for all.

If you can recall the proposal, Blue 22 would have run trains every 20 minutes or so from Union Station to Pearson Airport, making only one stop at Bloor GO (to connect to the subway). The trains would have been refurbished Budd Rail Diesel Cars, be operated by SNC Lavalin, and would have charged a $20 fare. The community group representing local residents raised several concerns about this proposal, and while they may have been painted as irrational vanguards of the status quo by some, the group’s points are reasonable and deserved to be addressed. (more…)