News release

Statement from Mayor Hazel McCallion on Light Rail Transit

Local government | May 21, 2014

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) project from the Port Credit GO station on Hurontario to Brampton’s GO station is a regional transit solution; it connects to the entire GO Transit rail network and other future rapid transit corridors like the Mississauga Transitway.

We have gone out to the community, talked to our residents and developed a plan that is ready.   We have spent years developing this project with technical studies and a business case that supports LRT as the best rapid transit solution for us.

Would people like a subway?  Perhaps, but that’s not practical everywhere and we recognize that you have to use the right tool for the right job.  LRT is a fraction of the cost to build allowing us to get at least four kilometres for every kilometre of subway.

LRT will give people the connections they need. For many years people have told me we need to solve the gridlock problem before it gets worse.  We constantly hear that we need to provide better and faster transit to keep the GTA moving.

Tim Hudak, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Official Opposition, made a statement that if elected, he would not move forward with the LRT projects planned in Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton and Toronto.  He has pledged to invest in GO Transit and we support that investment. But GO will not solve the problem by itself. How many more GO Stations can be built? How will people get to them and how many parking garages will we need if the only way to get to a GO station is in your car? Again all adding to the gridlock. For the Milton GO  Rail service any expansion to two way – all day – Go Service would require the approval of CP Rail  including any track expansion and associated environmental approvals which would mean further delays.

The City of Mississauga has invested about $15 million jointly with the City of Brampton and Metrolinx in our LRT project and it is almost shovel ready. We have the support of the community and stakeholders.  To take any other direction would be stalling and would not address the gridlock problem in the GTA.

Mayor Hazel McCallion, C.M., LL.D.

Media Contact:
media@mississauga.ca