From the transit report: Staff say a 3-stop Scarborough subway along with the Ontario line "have the ability to deliver positive benefits" and should be supported "in principle"
A preliminary agreement says the province would have "sole responsibility" for planning, design and construction of the Ontario Line, a 3-stop Scarborough subway, Eglinton West LRT and Yonge North subway extension toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2…
Tory, at the press conference, just acknowledged the Scarborough subway will now be delayed
From staff report on Scarborough subway details not yet being worked out: 
Also very important note from staff on keeping the SRT running - a line that is already beyond its natural life expectancy: "The TTC are currently undertaking a review of the impacts on the SRT of extending the in-service date of L2EE to 2029/30."
It is written in a very convoluted way, but what I am understanding from the agreement, a provincial letter and the staff report is that the city no longer has to fund any capital costs of the Scarborough subway
City was to spend $1.23B on 1-stop SSE plan approved by council - raised through special tax levy & development charges. Under newly-proposed deal with province, could redirect those funds to TTC state-of-good repair or other city-approved project, like promised Eglinton East LRT
Of note, the phrasing of the integration between the Scarborough extension and existing Line 2. Suggests same subway cars. But "interoperable" seems a weird choice of words. We know from @BenSpurr that expert panel was considering major changes thestar.com/news/gta/2019/…
In further staff assessment of Scarborough extension, it says one of the current project assumptions is subway technology "using existing T1 vehicles"
Also assumed 👀: "Protection for a future interchange station at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road for a potential future Line 4 Sheppard extension"
Metrolinx, aided by the aforementioned expert panel, are working on a business case for the 3-stop subway, which is not expected to be presented to the board until "late 2019." City staff say they have *no information* on what they're working on
The province cost the 3-stop Scarborough subway at $5.5B in its spring budget, but city staff understand that was based on their own earlier estimate which was based on very little design work. Provincial estimate just an extrapolation. So we don't have an accurate cost estimate
As we already knew, city staff note that ridership on a 3-stop Scarborough subway will steal riders from the mayor's desired Lawrence East "SmartTrack" (GO rail) stop, which already was lacking in justification thestar.com/news/gta/2018/…
Very important thing I missed this earlier, but city staff have said it's not yet clear who would be responsible for replacement bus service in Scarborough in the event of a gap between SRT service and scheduled opening of subway extension:
Based on what we know about SRT's lifespan, bus service for some indeterminate amount of time is likely necessary. Meaning that, depending on a firm plan to actually build the 3-stop subway, city could be stuck paying significant ongoing costs of moving Scarborough commuters
To be clear, there is not yet a solid plan to build the 3-stop subway. But there is a ticking timeline on the SRT. The risk here is that the city is stuck paying the costs of replacement bus service indefinitely. This is something we will be watching closely.
It is true that there is no consideration of an LRT alternative. Nor is there any real comparison between a 3-stop and 1-stop subway council earlier approved
Here is city staff in a June 2016 report, explaining why council should endorse a 1-stop subway instead of a 3-stop subway, saying it would "best serve" development and provide fastest connection to Kennedy Station:
Here is city staff in the new report, largely ignoring that earlier advice to council:
A question and answer document appended to the city staff report clarifies that the business case for the 3-stop Scarborough subway might go to the Metrolinx board in late 2019 *or early 2020*
City staff on province's $5.5B Scarborough subway cost estimate: "We have not received further details regarding the preparation of the cost estimate, beyond the peer reviewed baseline estimate provided by the TTC for the express project."
I have many questions about this, but the 3-stop Scarborough subway peak hour, peak direction ridership projection is now 9,500. Which is . . . exactly what the TTC estimated in 2013. Paging @SwanBoatSteve
@SwanBoatSteve In Q&A document, staff say they are actively looking at whether the SRT can be operational until the estimated Scarborough subway opening in 2030. That is still unclear. Previous life extension estimates put the SRT running into 2026. Beyond that, unknown thestar.com/news/city_hall…
