One half of subway riders say overcrowding on the transit system makes them feel unsafe, and a strong plurality of Toronto voters believe the relief line should be prioritized over the Scarborough subway extension, according to a new poll.The results, provided to the Star by Forum Research Inc., show that 50 per cent of respondents who rode the subway in the past month said crowding made them feel either very (21 per cent) or somewhat (29 per cent) unsafe. An even greater portion of subway riders, 62 per cent, said that overcrowding has made them more likely to consider ditching transit for another form of transportation.Read more:Toronto’s relief line still nowhere in sight as crowding sparks safety concerns on TTCTTC passengers voice frustration after delays cause longer travel timesTTC struggling with Presto fare gate capacityDespite the crowding concerns, those who reported being satisfied with TTC service outnumbered those who were not satisfied by nearly two to one. Two-thirds of subway riders said they were satisfied, while 34 per cent said they were not.Of the five major transit projects being pursued by the city, 41 per cent of respondents said the relief line should be the priority. The subway line is estimated to cost $6.8 billion and would alleviate crowding on the busy Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) subway by linking the eastern end of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to stations downtown.Only 16 per cent said the $3.35-billion, one-stop extension of Line 2 to the Scarborough Town Centre should take precedence. Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack proposal was ranked number one by 10 per cent of respondents, while roughly the same number said the Eglinton East LRT is the most pressing.Just 4 per cent backed the Waterfront LRT network as the top project. Nearly one-fifth of respondents said they didn’t know.Predictably, support for the Scarborough subway extension was much higher among residents of the eastern suburb, for whom the project was the ...
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