About Me

My name is Phil Orr and I am currently finishing up a Master's Degree in Environmental Studies-Urban Planning with a focus on Transportation Planning. My knowledge of Transportation in the GTA in particular is very good, so much so when York University needed someone to lecture a visiting class on transportation challenges in the GTA, the professors asked me to create and give that lecture. Throughout my schooling I have done projects on the St. Clair Right-of-way, the Yonge extension, the Gardiner Expressway, and reforming transit on Queen Street. This web site acts as my major project to complete my Master's Degree. I chose to do it in this form with the encouragement of the York faculty because I saw little purpose in spending a year studying and analyzing something only to have it read by a handful of people. I believe this issue is too important for that, which is why my goal was to have it read by as many people as possible, to encourage support for the subway line, and above all to have people realize how necessary the Downtown Relief Line really is and to make it an issue in the upcoming municipal election.

I therefore ask you to strongly consider the arguments I make on this website, and if you agree with them to share this website with as many people as you can, e-mail your councillors, and make this become a real issue for Torontonians. We have the power to get this built, we just need the motivation and leadership. Councillor Michael Thompson is already on board with the idea of the Downtown Relief Line. The more councillors that want to see this built results in a stronger likelihood it gets built, and councillors are at the whim of the public.

Make this an issue, for the sake of our city.

-Phil Orr