Whereas Council is in support of Yonge Subway Extension of 7.4 kilometres from Finch station to Richmond Hill Centre at Highway 7 East to address the critical missing link in the public transit system that will benefit the businesses and residents of the municipality;
Whereas Council has adopted resolution to call on Metrolinx to prioritize funding and construction of the Yonge Subway Extension and further resolved on November 27, 2017 that the Yonge North Subway Extension is the top transit priority for Richmond Hill;
Whereas the preliminary design and engineering phase is currently underway following receiving a total of over $91 million funding from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario;
Whereas it is anticipated that staff will report findings of the preliminary design and engineering phase, including recommendations on the next steps required regarding the preferred project delivery model, in 2019;
Whereas the Ontario 2018 Budget has stated that “The Province is also committed to providing funding, over and above the Investing in Canada plan agreement, where necessary, to support the construction of priority transit projects.”, and has included “the Yonge North Subway Extension” as one of the priority transit projects;
Whereas The Premier of Ontario and the Mayor of Toronto signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 3, 2018 to announce that Ontario’s fiscal plan, as outlined in the 2018 Budget, allocates the provincial share required to build the next stage of major transit projects in the region, which includes the Yonge North Subway Extension;
Whereas the Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party announced on May 9, 2018 that, if elected, his government will provide an additional $5 billion funding for transit projects, and upload responsibility for the TTC’s subway infrastructure, including the building and maintenance of new subway lines and that the Yonge extension is one of his priority projects;
Whereas Richmond Hill has established the Strategic Rapid Transit Reserve Fund in 2003 to fund future projects that improve transportation systems in or to the Town and that the Strategic Rapid Transit Reserve Fund has a balance of approximately $9.13 million at the end of 2017;
Whereas it is deemed advisable to demonstrate Council’s commitment to moving the Yonge Subway Extension forward in anticipation of the completion of the preliminary design and engineering phase of this critical transit project;
Now Therefore Be It Resolved That:
Staff be directed to draft Terms of Reference, including costs, staffing resource implications, to initiate a planning/land use study/secondary plan for the Richmond Hill Centre in support of the Yonge Subway Extension;
Staff be directed to report back with a work plan, including cost and dedicated staffing implications, in support of York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, including dedicated personnel, to work in collaboration with the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, other municipalities and all pertinent parties, to support the next steps that will be identified by the preliminary design and engineering study;
This Resolution be forwarded to the York Regional Council, the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, the Metrolinx, the Toronto Transit Commission, the City of Markham, the City of Vaughan, the City of Toronto, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, local Members of Provincial Parliament and Members of Parliament.