Downtown
Relief Line seen as first transit priority
Plurality approves of SmartTrack, little personal benefit seen
TORONTO, February
22nd, 2015 - In
a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 807 Toronto
voters, the largest single group, close to 3-in-10 say the downtown relief line
(DRL) is the city’s most urgent transit priority out of 6 presented, and it is
followed by the Scarborough subway (19%), the Eglinton Crosstown (12%) and the
SmartTrack rail transit network (11%). Fewer prioritize the Union-Pearson
Express (UPX - 8%) or the Finch LRT (5%). A tenth say something else should be
built (8%) and a similar proportion don’t offer an opinion (9%). The
Scarborough subway is a priority in Scarborough, of course (47%), while the DRL
leads in the downtown (43%) and all other municipalities. Doug Ford voters pick
the Scarborough subway (39%), while Tory and Chow voters prioritize the DRL
(35% and 42%, respectively).
Plurality approves of SmartTrack, little personal benefit seen
Close
to one half of voters approve of John Tory’s SmartTrack rail transit plan
(44%), while 3-in-10 disapprove (31%). Fully one quarter don’t know enough to
have an opinion (25%). Approval is high in the downtown (49%) and East York
(56%) and, predictably, among Tory voters (68%), but not among Ford voters
(15%). Just fewer than a quarter think SmartTrack will be a benefit to them
personally (23%), while 6-in-10 think it will not (59%). Close to one fifth
don’t have an opinion. The benefit is seen to be greatest in the city of York
(32% - caution: small sample size).
More than half have used St Clair West, majority say it moves
well
More
than one half of Toronto voters have travelled on St Clair Avenue West in the
past year (57%), and, of these, the majority (51%) say that traffic moves “very
well” (12%) or “well” (39%). Just more than 4-in-10 say traffic does not move
well (42%), and fewer than a tenth have no opinion (7%).
"Despite the fact that the
Mayor’s signature SmartTrack plan has the approval of most, the citizens of
Toronto still see a downtown relief line for the junction of the Yonge and
Bloor lines as the most urgent transit need in the city. And it is interesting
to see that the “St Clair Disaster” is rated a success by those who actually
use it" said Forum
Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum
Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416)
960-9603.