Read the daily “on schedule” posts to find news and other information that affects your daily commute. You’ll learn about public meetings, special events and construction projects that affect transit services today.

When Rob Ford became Mayor of Toronto, the very first thing he did, on his very first day in office, December 1, 2010, was to call the TTC’s General Manager, Gary Webster, to a 7 a.m. meeting at City Hall. Ford let Webster know that he was cancelling the Transit City network of light rail transit lines — a project that Ford and most Torontonians associated with Ford’s predecessor, David Miller.

“Transit City’s over”, Ford had told a reporter at 680 All News Radio even earlier that morning.

Today, City Council overturned that decision by voting 26 to 17 to return, instead, to a version of the Transit City plan. The vote gives a clear signal to Metrolinx that the City wants it to build light rail transit (LRT) lines in Toronto, particularly LRTs on Sheppard and Finch Avenues and on Eglinton Avenue east of Laird Drive.

Some pundits are calling today’s decision a major defeat for the mayor. A chief plank of Ford’s election platform was to build subways, especially extending the 4 Sheppard subway west to Downsview Station and east to Scarborough Centre. He vowed to deliver his subway promise to Scarborough commuters, even though the province had already committed $8.4 billion to fund the first phase of Transit City — and had already started work for the first line along Sheppard Avenue East.

Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Transportation, released the following statement regarding the City of Toronto’s public transit plans:

“Earlier today, City Council met to debate the future of public transit in the City of Toronto. As a former Regional Chair and Mayor, I have always respected the will of council, as a whole, to come to a position regarding public transit priorities.

“Over the past few weeks, Torontonians have been party to a healthy debate about the future of public transit. For many, public transit is a necessity - it’s how employees get to and from work, how seniors get to and from their appointments and how students commute to school.

“Throughout the debate, the McGuinty government has maintained a clear stance—we wanted the City to come to a common position so that we all could focus on building much-needed transit infrastructure.

1. “Any project paid for by the Province must achieve sound regional transportation objectives.
2. “Provincial funding for rapid transit projects in Toronto is fixed at $8.4 billion (2010$).
3. “The Province and Metrolinx need to demonstrate ownership and control in accordance with provincial accounting rules, in order to amortize the investment.
4. “Any penalties related to contractual commitments or the loss of investments that result from changes sought by the City are the City’s responsibility.
5. “Costs related to delay must be assumed by the City.
6. “The plan should minimize impacts on traffic to the extent reasonably possible.

“Now is the time to move forward. What matters most to Torontonians is that we get shovels in the ground and deliver transit in Toronto.”

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• CBC News Toronto report, “Metrolinx should ignore council, Ford ally suggests”, here.
• CTV News Toronto report, “Toronto council set to debate Transit City plan”, here.
• CTV News Toronto report, “Special meeting called to decide Toronto’s transit fate”, here.
• Citytv News Toronto report, “Ford vs. Stintz: Transit showdown at City Hall [today]”, here.
• CP24 report, “Showdown at city hall today over future of TTC”, here.
• Ford for Toronto post, “Subways & LRTs & Operating Costs”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Vote over subway called ‘a straight-up fight’”, here.
• Globe and Mail column, “Liberals need not cheer Ford’s transit woes”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Much maligned St. Clair line not so bad after all”, here.
• Globe and Mail Infographic, “Traffic drops with construction of Toronto’s light rail line”, here.
• Globe and Mail video, “Marcus Gee explains the fight over public transit”, here.
• InsideToronto.com post, “Transit City might be revived”, here.
• National Post article, “Toronto City Council gridlocked on subways”, here.
• National Post editorial, “Transit feuding not the better way for Toronto”, here.
• National Post article, “Comparing Toronto’s transit plans”, here.
• NOW article, “
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Ford never had the authority to cancel Transit City. What took council so long to speak up?”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Metrolinx dips a toe into the Eglinton Crosstown fight and Ford gets (a little) help”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Could you plan this city’s transit? An answer key”, here.
• Spacing Toronto post, “Following up on Leslie St.”, here.
• Steve Munro’s post, “Metrolinx Contemplates LRT vs Subway”, here.
• Torontoist post, “
• Toronto Life’s Daily Informer post, “B-I-N-G-O! Seriously, check out this awesome Transit City bingo card!”, here.
• Toronto Life’s Daily Informer post, “Will some councillors vote for Rob Ford’s transit plan even at their own ward’s expense?”, here.
• Toronto Life’s Daily Informer post, “Marcus Gee wants Metrolinx to endorse a transit plan (for crying out loud!), here.
• Toronto Star column, “Transit planners don’t like each other much”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “Councillor says province should ignore council if it rejects Mayor’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Star’s “The Goods” post, “Mayor tries to raise ailing ally from sick bed for transit vote”, here.
• Toronto Sun editorial, “Council must back Ford’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Council poised to kill Ford’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “Stintz takes unprincipled stand”, here.
• Town Crier article, “Stintz petitions for transit meeting”, here.
• Town Crier article, “Councillor not included in Stintz petition”, here.
• TTCriders.ca post, “All councillors should back Stintz’s LRT plan”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• Brantford Expositor article, “City gets public input on bus terminal”, here.
• TriTag.ca post, “Potential Pitfalls of LRT P3”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record report, “Regional council approves private partner for rail transit”, here.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 8, Toronto City Council holds a special meeting to decide whether to support Mayor Rob Ford’s transit plan for an underground light rail transit line beneath Eglinton Avenue and a possible subway beneath Sheppard Avenue or return to the former Transit City plan of light rail transit lines throughout the city.

Yesterday, Monday, February 6, Ford used his Facebook page to send a letter to all residents asking them to let their councillors know why they support his plan for underground rapid transit.

This is the Mayor’s letter to Torontonians:

“Dear Friends,

“Today, 24 City Councillors signed a petition that will allow for a special meeting of City Council this Wednesday.

“At issue is my plan to expand rapid transit with the underground Eglinton - Scarborough Crosstown, the Sheppard subway expansion and enhanced express bus service on Finch.

“Many Councillors are looking to disband my rapid transit plan in favour of a Light Rail Vehicle network that would put more tracks on the roads, create traffic chaos and result in years of needless, messy and inconvenient construction.

“Over the past number of weeks you have been updated with the facts on rapid transit. It is now time for Toronto residents to express their views on underground rapid transit.

“Let your Councillor know why you support underground rapid transit by visiting http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp to get your Councillor’s contact information.

“Thank you.”

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• 680 All News Radio report, “Head of TTC clashes with Mayor over transit plan”, here.
• 680 All News Radio report, “Ford tries to keep his subway dream alive”, here.
• BlogTO post, “Council rebels against Ford’s underground transit vision”, here.
• BlogTO post, “Transit and planning experts rally against Ford’s plans”, here.
• Bow. James Bow post, “Why transit?”, here.
• Bow. James Bow post, “I am not Anti-Subway, I am Pro-Transit”, here.
• CBC News Toronto report, “Toronto council to debate transit future”, here.
• CTV News Toronto report, “High profile transit showdown looming”, here.
• Citytv News Toronto report, “Special council meeting on transit to be held Wednesday”, here.
• CP24 report, “Council will hold special meeting on Transit City”, here.
• Ford for Toronto post, “Why are some councillors set to vote against transit in their own wards?”, here.
• Ford for Toronto post, “Council revives Transit City as opponents run out of fresh arguments”, here.
• Global News Toronto report, “City Council to decide on Transit City on Wednesday”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Ford, Stintz gird for battle over transit”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Transit petition to put Ford’s leadership to test”, here.
• Globe and Mail column, “Metrolinx on the sidelines of city hall’s transit war”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “Vote: which transit plan should Toronto follow?”, here.
• InsideHalton.com article, “Region promoting carpools [this] week”, here.
• InsideToronto.com post, “TRANSIT: Special council meeting Wednesday to debate LRT, subway plans”, here.
• National Post article, “Metrolinx gives Rob Ford’s transit plan a lift”, here.
• National Post article, “Councillors move to derail Ford’s subway vision”, here.
• National Post article, “Karen Stintz finds following her convictions leads to trouble”, here.
• National Post article, “Karen Stintz’s Transit City petition called ‘a coup’ by Giorgio Mammoliti”, here.
• Newstalk 1010 report, “Mayor Asks Torontonians For Support in His Transit Vision”, here.
• NOW article, “Ford’s transit plans hijacked”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Could you plan this city’s transit?: A transportation quiz”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Toronto’s transit battle will be out in the open February 8”, here.
• Steve Munro’s post, “The Chong Report (I) (Updated)”, here.
• Torontoist post, “Rebellion at City Hall: Everything You Need to Know About City Council’s Special Transit Meeting”, here.
• Toronto Life’s Daily Informer post, “Karen Stintz calls for a special council meeting to kibosh Rob Ford’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Life’s Daily Informer post, “Local experts blast Rob Ford’s transit plan, turning his government-as-business rhetoric against him”, here.
• Toronto Star column, “Get all the experts — our transit future’s on the line”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC chair moves to bury Mayor’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Star editorial, “Mayor Rob Ford’s bullying could sink his subway plans”, here.
• Toronto Star’s “The Goods” post, “The Mayor summons ‘Ford Nation’ to save his subway”, here.
• Toronto Star’s “The Goods” post, “Stintz transit scrum”, here.
• Toronto Star poll, “Would you approve the use of road tolls to help pay for the Sheppard subway?”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “San Francisco pays tribute to TTC’s historic Red Rocket”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “Turncoat Stintz isn’t listening to Scarborough’s voters”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Stintz leads way to derailing Ford’s transit plan”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Toronto taxpayers on the hook for transit delays: Metrolinx president”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Citizen commissioners coming to the TTC”, here.
• Toronto Sun column, “TTC wasting taxpayers’ money: whistleblower”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• CATCH (Citizens at [Hamilton] City Hall) post, “Walmart subsidy”, here.
• CTV News Southwestern Ontario report, “Ridership on new GO train service ‘meets expectations’, here.
• Hamilton Community News article, “Motorists brace for delays with Wilson Street reconstruction”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record article, “Politicians weigh taking private partner for rail transit”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record editorial, “A private hand for public trains”, here.

Grassroots organizations are looking ahead to Wednesday’s special meeting of City Council on transit issues by mobilizing Toronto transit riders to add their voices to the debate on the future of transit in Toronto.

For example, TTCriders.ca urges all Councillors to support the LRT transit expansion plan that the chair of the Toronto Transit Commission Karen Stintz will move by at a special City Council meeting on Wednesday.

The group says Councillor Stintz’s light rail transit plan “will deliver the rapid transit Torontonians want. This plan is based on solid transit principles, will see rapid transit built quickly, underground where it is needed, to all parts of the city, and it’s completely paid for by the Province.”

TTCriders released the following statement today:

“We applaud Councillor Stintz and the other 23 Councillors who are calling for a special Council meeting on Wednesday which should get transit expansion moving again in Toronto. Now we call on Mayor Ford and the other 20 Councillors to get on board as well.

“Councillor Stintz’s plan calls for four Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines to be built: the Eglinton Crosstown (underground from Keele St to Laird Ave and at grade from Leslie Street to Kennedy Station); replacing the current Scarborough RT with LRT and expanding it north to Sheppard Ave; along Sheppard Ave East from Don Mills Station to Morningside Ave; along Finch Ave west from the new Finch West Station to Humber College. These new LRT lines will have almost no impact on existing car lanes as there is enough space to build new lanes on these wide suburban avenues.”

TTCriders has also launched an e-petition that allows Torontonians to send an email to their Councillor showing their support for the plan. You can add your name to the petition here.

Meanwhile, the Facebook group Save Transit City is organizing an on-street canvas of transit passengers on Finch Avenue West tomorrow. The goal is to let riders know about the special Wednesday meeting of City Council and that the discussion could result in a light rail line on Finch West — or not.

Canvassers meet tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7 at Finch Avenue West and Weston Road from 7 until 8:30 a.m.

Today, in an extraordinary move, the Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, Councillor Karen Stintz, representing 23 other members of City Council, presented a petition to Toronto’s City Clerk, Ulli S. Watkiss, asking her to convene a special Council meeting to

“decide on a Council position as requested by the Chair of Metrolinx in his January 31, 2012 letter to Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto Transit Commission Chair Karen Stintz.”

The Clerk, in turn, has called the special meeting to take place in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 8. The Municipal Act allows for a majority of the members of a municipal council to petition the Clerk for a special meeting and it also requires the Clerk to schedule the meeting within 48 hours of receiving the petition.

What’s extraordinary is that this is the first time since 1998 — when Metropolitan Toronto and its six local municipalities amalgamated into the current City of Toronto — that someone other than the Mayor has requested a special meeting of Council. Usually, the Mayor asks the Clerk to hold such a meeting during unusual circumstances, such as when Mayor David Miller called a special meeting to decide whether to award a contract for new streetcars in June 2009.

(This may also be the only time that this has occurred in City Hall for many, many years, at least since 1977, when I started working there — but other municipal government experts may have to correct me on that.)

What this is all about, to keep it simple, is that in 2011, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Mayor Rob Ford agreed to direct all of the funds that Metrolinx had reserved for the former Transit City plan of light-rail transit (LRT) lines across the city to just one project, the Eglinton - Scarborough Crosstown LRT line. They also agreed that the transit cars serving the line would operate entirely underground, instead of partially on city streets, as the architects of Transit City had originally envisioned.

In exchange, Mayor Ford agreed that the City would extend the Sheppard subway west to Downsview Station and east to Scarborough Centre station on its own, using funds from the private sector.

Last week, Metrolinx asked Ford and Stintz to confirm the transportation plan and to urge them to make sure council would endorse the plan, so that they could get on with the business of building the Eglinton line.

But, it’s much, much more complicated than that. In fact, it isn’t simple, at all…

GO Transit contractors started rebuilding the platform at Ajax GO Station last Saturday, February 4.

During the work, trains serving Ajax have to stop 450 metres further east along the platform. Passengers boarding and exiting trains at Ajax will not have access to the four east-end coaches on each train, the first four cars from the locomotive, while construction proceeds.

The contractors are adding a new snow-melt system to reduce the amount of snow building up on the platform during the winter and revamping the platform shelters with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and new lighting. They’ll also install a new elevator that will eventually connect the platform to a future pedestrian tunnel to the parking structure.

The City of Mississauga has closed

• North Service Road between Annapolis Avenue and Redan Drive

all this week to accommodate Region of Peel contractors who are repairing a sewer that has collapsed.

miWay is detouring buses operating along the 4 Sherway Gardens route, while the roadway is closed.

GO Transit buses recently started dropping off and picking up passengers at new stops in Stouffville and Vaughan.

In Stouffville both north- and southbound buses operating along the 71 / 71A / 71C / 71D Stouffville / Toronto route now serve a new stop on Main Street at Tenth Line.

In Vaughan, both north- and southbound buses operating along the 63 King City / Toronto route now serve a new stop on Keele Street at Peak Point Boulevard.