Commuters in Toronto have a lot of big dreams about what our transit system could and perhaps should be, from a network of new lines that actually open within a reasonable timeframe to more frequent and reliable service.
One realistic addition that members of the public have called for in recent years is platform edge doors (PSEs) or platform screen doors (PSDs), especially after multiple pushing incidents in the city and around the globe.
While the TTC has been contemplating the safety feature for some time, it wasn’t until previews for the Ontario Line showed the barriers in play that people started to believe they might become a reality, as they already are in Paris, Sydney, São Paulo and many other metropolises.
But, despite them being proposed for stations on that forthcoming subway line, along with the Scarborough Subway Extension and Bloor-Yonge Station, new internal docs show that the doors have fallen to less of a priority than hoped.
In light of more pressing capital projects and service needs, the TTC Board’s latest planned budget lists platform edge doors as an “aspirational project” that remains unfunded, with a price tag of a staggering $4.1 billion over 15 years.
As noted by transit expert Steve Munro in his breakdown of, and commentary on, the budget, “both platform edge doors and TransformTO are listed as ‘aspirational’ projects [that] between them, account for $10.5 billion of the $36.7 billion in unfunded projects. City Council will have hard decisions to make in prioritizing these relative to basic maintenance and growth needs.”
The TTC Board’s proposed 2025 Operating Budget and 1o-Year Capital Plan notes that state-of-good-repair work remains top priority, and that features like platform doors are now only “aspirational” due to the exorbitant cost, difficulty of implementation and other factors.
TTC Board Chair Jamaal Myers told blogTO that the costs associated with the project do indeed make it pretty prohibitive, at least presently, when there are so many other much-needed improvements on the go.
“The estimated cost to install PSDs — of approximately $4 billion for system-wide implementation — presents a significant financial, logistical and engineering challenge. Given current budget constraints and the pressing need to address more immediate safety concerns while improving our customer experience, PSDs are now ‘aspirational,'” his office confirmed.
And while Myers reiterated his support for any safety upgrades in the network, including PSDs on new routes like the Ontario Line, he added that retrofitting existing stations to accommodate the doors is disruptive, costly, and has multiple other negative impacts (including to train speeds), so can be pretty unrealistic — which is why so few systems worldwide have done so.
“Prior to any decisions being made on the installation of PSDs, I prefer that a proper cost-benefit analysis be conducted to compare them to other safety measures aimed at preventing unauthorized entrances to the subway track, including those that address the root causes of many of these incursions: namely homelessness, illegal drug use and a lack of mental health resources,” he said.
“The TTC is exploring various strategies to enhance rider safety and is open to collaborations that can help achieve these goals. We appreciate any and all dialogue about how to best improve our transit system and ensure the safety and well-being of all passengers.”
Though a great idea in theory, it seems that, like the many fantasy transit maps that have been created over the years, safety barriers at the edge of Toronto’s subway platforms are more of a lofty dream than a potential reality — at least in the next 15 years, though Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is promising otherwise.
