Locals celebrate with cautious optimism as Finch West LRT set to open

After four years of delays, the Finch West LRT line is set to open Sunday morning.

On Friday, Mayor Olivia Chow announced all rides on the new line are free for opening day.

For the most part, those who live and work along the route are celebrating the 18-stop light rail transit line finally opening.

But Jane and Finch resident Butterfly GoPaul worries about the new line having fewer stops than the previous 36C Finch West bus line, which offered 35 stops between Finch West subway station and Humberview Boulevard at View Green Crescent.

“Finch West is made up of a lot of highrise buildings, families, folks that have disabilities, and elders,” she told CBC Toronto.

“We've already lost a lot of stops along the way. So people are going to have to walk [farther] to their closest stop.”

Line 6 Finch West is fully accessible and runs 11 kilometres, connecting Finch West station to Humber Polytechnic’s north campus, according to the TTC’s website. The line connects with TTC subway Line 1, 30 TTC bus routes, and regional transit like York Region Transit and Mississauga’s MiWay.

Construction on the line began in 2019, and it was originally supposed to be open in 2021.

Despite the delay, locals like Courtney Grant — owner of the Queen Caribbean Restaurant at  Weston Road and Finch Avenue — are hopeful the LRT will make a positive difference.

“I've been here since 2008, “ Grant told CBC Toronto. “I've seen this community develop in a way that we need transport. I know that's going to be pretty good for the community.”

LRT could take longer than bus at certain times

Transit advocacy group TTCriders is also celebrating the new line opening, but campaigns manager August Puranauth does have some concerns about travel times and scheduling delays.

Those concerns are based on the findings of transit advocate Steve Munro, who recently broke down how travel times on the new line compared to the coordinating bus line.

“We're hearing that travel times on the Finch West LRT are going to be about as long as taking the bus or sometimes, in some cases, even slower,” Puranauth told CBC Toronto. “We're also seeing wait times of up to every 12 minutes.”

The group is planning to ask city council to implement a transit signal priority on the line, which would allow transit vehicles to move through intersections ahead of cars, they said.

At a news conference last Monday, Ontario’s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria looked to address these concerns, saying the travel and wait times will improve over time.

“I promise … like all transit systems around the world, as operators become more familiar with it, as passengers become more familiar with it, these systems will operate ever more effectively,” he said.

Ian Crookshank, Humber Polytechnic’s dean of students and associate vice president of learning and career success, is also hopeful that’s the case.

“I hope the learning does move us into a space where students and employees are able to get here more easily and that they're able to leave campus the times that they need to,” he said.

Even with some bumps along the way, Crookshank feels the line is especially beneficial for Humber students, giving them easier access to campus or, conversely, giving them easier access to the larger transit system and potential employment opportunities that come with that.

He’s also predicting the line will attract new retail and residential development that will benefit all the surrounding communities.

“The next five to 10 years will be very interesting to see what what transpires,” Crookshank said.