We are getting reports in some quarters that the report on the state of the 501 Queen streetcar, which, back at the public meeting organized on the subject on December 4, TTC officials promised to have available at the January 23rd meeting of the commission, has disappeared from the agenda. There are more details and an opportunity for discussion over at Steve Munro’s website.

At present, details are sketchy, and we are left only to speculate. As Steve notes, two things could have happened: either the people writing the report need more time and the report has been deferred to the February meeting, or something else has happened, and the report could still show up on the “supplementary agenda” for the January 23rd meeting. The problem with this is that we don’t know which is which, and there is little, if any, warning about reports that appear on the supplementary agenda, leaving individuals little time to prepare a response.

Steve Munro states:

“Either way, this is a disappointment. If it’s a carry-in (on a supplementary agenda that might not be available until the meeting date), there is no opportunity to prepare a response in advance. This is a typical TTC tactic with reports that might be contentious and it cuts down on messy, uncontrolled criticism in advance of the meeting.

“If the report is delayed, it doesn’t say much for the TTC’s commitment to delivery this report made at public meetings in December.”

A number of people interested in fixing the 501 Queen streetcar have expressed an intension of showing up at the January 23rd meeting of the TTC anyway, prepared in case the report appears on the supplementary agenda. We will continue to watch this story as it develops.

(Update: January 21): It is looking more and more like the report on the 501 Queen streetcar will appear on the supplementary agenda for January 23. Those who want to speak at the meeting should note that, though the cut-off to apply to speak is Tuesday at noon, the TTC commissioners waive that requirement for items that appear on the supplementary agenda.

(Update: January 21, 14:35): The TTC has released its report for the meeting as a PDF file.