{"id":533531,"date":"2026-03-13T10:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/533531\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:56:08","slug":"sure-the-romans-built-the-colosseum-faster-but-the-eglinton-lrt-finally-provides-some-transit-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/533531\/","title":{"rendered":"Sure, the Romans built the Colosseum faster, but the Eglinton LRT finally provides some transit hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

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People celebrate as they rush in to ride the first train of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Kennedy Station in Toronto on February 8, 2026.Sammy Kogan\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

I heard the train approach. It was midday on a Tuesday, and I stood on the platform in Laird Station, one of 25 stations along the Toronto Transit Commission\u2019s Eglinton Crosstown Light-Rail Transit line. I\u2019d chosen Laird in honour of Laird McNab (my favorite \u201cLaird\u201d) who in 1825 was given 80,000 acres of land and tried to impose medieval Scottish feudalism on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n

Once the train had stopped, the doors opened and I walked into the spotless, graffiti-free car. It began to glide out of the station. A clean train that is gliding eastward through a city, on which passengers enjoy a pleasant view? I popped in my Airpods and played \u201cJapanese Subway Doors Closing Announcements<\/a>\u201d and the effect was complete. This was the Eglinton LRT\u2019s first positive \u2013 it is the cheapest way to visit Japan without getting on a plane.<\/p>\n

The first leg of my journey, to the east end of the line at Kennedy Station, took 22 minutes. A trip by car would take longer and be much more frustrating. The ease and freedom reminded me of the first time I rode the subway in Toronto in the early 1980s. To my young optimistic eyes, the city which had seemed so big was now within the grasp of every citizen. Ah, Youth, there is no such wizard as thou! Give me but one touch of thine artist hand upon the dull canvas of the present: gild for but one moment the drear and somber scenes of today\u2026<\/p>\n

Would the Eglinton LRT turn out to be the start of a Toronto transit renaissance?<\/p>\n

As the car rolled onward, I ran through its turbulent history and thought of how part of me didn\u2019t think I would see this day.<\/p>\n

Conceived in 1994 and halted by newly elected Premier Mike Harris in 1995, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was brought back to life in 2007 by Mayor David Miller\u2019s \u201cTransit City\u201d plan. After being delayed by Mayor Rob Ford in 2010, construction finally began in 2011 with a projected cost of $2.2-billion and an opening date set as 2020. I\u2019ll be charitable and say simply \u201cThat didn\u2019t happen.\u201d The Eglinton LRT\u2019s final bill was $13-billion.<\/p>\n

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Trains service the newly opened Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto on February 8, 2026.Sammy Kogan\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

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People ride the Eglinton Crosstown LRT on its first day of service in Toronto on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.Laura Proctor\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

On February 8, the (overdue and over budget) 19-kilometre Eglinton LRT finally opened<\/a> its crosstown \u201cLine 5.\u201d The media reports that \u201ccrowds\u201d were there to cheer on the trains, chanting \u201cLine 5, Line 5, Line 5.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of the opening being pushed back and months since the TTC said they didn\u2019t have a date at all, they provided only a few days notice that limited service would finally be available to the public. <\/p>\n

Now, I was finally enjoying this much-awaited accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Sure, it took the Romans less time build the Colosseum, construction began in 72 AD and was completed by 80 AD. The Romans began construction of the Via Appia in 312 BCE. It was completed in 244 BCE and ran 540-kilometres from Rome to Brundisium on the Adriatic Sea. Unlike those who built the Eglinton LRT, the Romans did not have digital technology. They did not have engineering software nor concrete pumps; all the Romans had was hand tools, pulleys, block-and-tackle systems and their brains. <\/p>\n

Then again, the Romans never had to deal with \u201cpublic-private partnerships\u201d such as the one between the provincial agency Metrolinx and the private consortium Crosslinx Transit Solutions. In fact, I think in Rome \u201cpublic-private partnerships\u201d were punishable by crucifixion. <\/p>\n

As my train passed the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Ave., a giant statue of a female grizzly bear seated in a majestic throne came into view. The piece is called \u201cSeated Bear and Friends\u201d<\/a> by artist Dean Drever and is made from 6,000 kilograms of bronze and 27,000 kilograms of granite.<\/p>\n

An idea struck. What about a statue memorializing all the closed businesses? Many Eglinton Avenue businesses closed because of the difficulties caused by the LRT\u2019s construction and exacerbated by the pandemic. The Little Jamaica Business Improvement Area (BIA) told the CBC<\/a> that more than 300 businesses went under during its construction.<\/p>\n

I opened my Claude AI app.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease make an \u2018artist\u2019s rendition\u2019 for a statue commemorating the businesses that closed because of the Eglinton LRT.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a flash Claude presented me with one entitled \u201cThe Last Day of Trade.\u201d It was dedicated to the \u201c140 businesses\u201d Claude believed went bankrupt. A \u201csolitary shopkeeper\u201d stood 1.8 metres high holding a sign in his left hand that read \u201cClosed for Good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it,\u201d I said. \u201cCan you add politicians and bureaucrats shrugging and saying, \u2018Whoops\u2019 in the background?\u201d<\/p>\n

In a few moments Claude presented me with the final sketch for \u201cThe Last Day of Trade<\/a>.\u201d It was perfect. Behind the merchant, politicians and bureaucrats stood hands in the air exclaiming, \u201cWhoops, outside our mandate.\u201d It was dedicated \u201cto those who kept their doors open: until they could no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

I rode the LRT for another hour in both directions. The pleased faces of my fellow passengers told the story. It was clean, it was fast and it was pleasant. The Eglinton LRT \u2013 for all its problems and delays \u2013 has given the city a dose of much needed optimism. So, to those responsible I say, \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now build more public transit and this time, don\u2019t take so long. <\/p>\n

Maybe consider hiring some Romans.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

People at Mount Dennis station are let through to ride the Eglinton Crosstown LRT on its first day of service in Toronto, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.Laura Proctor\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: People celebrate as they rush in to ride the first train of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,2922,30296,60071,3302],"class_list":["post-533531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-noastack","tag-ordid10000","tag-roadsage","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}