80 Crossbow Cres
Toronto ON
M2J 3M4
Minister of Finance
c/o Budget Secretariat
Frost Building North, 3rd Floor
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto Ontario
M7A 1Z1
Thursday January 23, 2025
Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy,
I am writing on behalf of the Pleasant View Community Association requesting the 2025 budget includes funding for the Sheppard Ave E Subway expansion that was promised during the last elections.
Most people have forgotten, or perhaps never really understood, the main reason the city of Toronto first announced funding for the Sheppard East subway expansion from Don Mills to Meadowvale about 12 years ago.
At that time Toronto was dealing with a mass exodus of major employers from the downtown core with revenue and jobs being lost.
There were hundreds of employers relocating to neighbouring cities like Markham and Mississauga where it was cheaper; offered modern facilities and had no traffic congestion.
The Sheppard East subway expansion was a solution identified to counter the economic loss the city was facing.
The city’s plan was to first identify employment land outside of the downtown core where land was cheaper, facilities could be retrofitted or redeveloped, and higher order transit could ensure employees arrived on time for work. The goal was to retain any existing, attract new and lure previous employers back to the city of Toronto.
Such a location existed at the easily accessible crossroad of the Highway 401 and DVP/404 and coincidently where an existing subway line 4 ended a kilometer away at Don Mills Road. This site was selected and the project was called ConsumersNext.
It was back then, and still is now, the most economic and ideal location for providing job opportunities within the city’s boundaries to support a continuously growing population in Ontario’s most significant city.
The ConsumersNext employment land already had 15,000 employees at the time the subway expansion was announced. After 3 years of studies and millions spent on consultants, this 3-pronged transit-employment-residential plan was approved supported by the prior announcement of the Sheppard East subway expansion announcement.
With just that higher order transit announcement alone, and with no other government spending there were 3,000 jobs added the following years. This included two major large employers that made significant redevelopment investments. (American Express and Porche).
The ConsumersNext project located on Consumers Road is an ideal location for manufacturing and transportation jobs. It consists of 200 acres with direct access to the major highways 401/DVP/404 and minutes to 407 and 400. Large parcels of land still remain with single story building and large parking lots prime for redevelopment. This is a highly desirable location.
The major obstacle employers at this location contend with besides outdated buildings is the unreliable public transit for the 6,000 current employees coming as far east as Meadowvale and southern parts of Scarboro.
In terms of transit expansion, the greatest need for higher order transit will be in the fastest growing areas and that means Scarborough where the most affordable housing exists.
When funding for higher order transit was stripped from this ConsumersNext project everything came to a grinding halt from the economic standpoint. The city’s most recent employment study indicates not a single new job being reported from the previous 18,000.
The Sheppard subway extension needs to be funded. The lost economic opportunity detailed above is but just one consequence of not doing so.
The other consequence is the damage that has been done to the residents living immediately east of the Don Mills station in the Pleasant View Community that I represent.
We suffer extreme traffic congestion on Sheppard Ave with close to 40,000 vehicles accessing the ramps DAILY to the highways at peak hours.
Our community was the first to experience the onslaught of mixed-residential development resulting from the initial subway expansion announcement. The density is already 32k people per sq km living in the area. This compares to density levels at Yonge and Eglinton.
We ask that you make the commitment and announce the funding of the Sheppard transit expansion to motivate employers to make investment in the business park and provide employment opportunities to thousands that are within walking distance to Consumers Road now.
Susan Wakutz
President
Pleasant View Association
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