CBC News Toronto recently reported that some local activists are campaigning to revive Transit City, the light-rail transit plan that, famously, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford scrapped on his first day in office, Thursday, December 1, 2010.

Joe Drew, a web developer behind the Save Transit City website, appeared on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning show Thursday January 5, and told host Matt Galloway he’s pushing to revive the plan.

“The suburbs of Toronto, especially the inner suburbs, Etobicoke and the area around Sheppard East, they really do need some sort of rapid transit,” he said.

The City of Toronto and the TTC developed the Transit City plan during the tenure of former Mayor David Miller, Ford’s predecessor. The plan called for a series of surface light-rail lines across the city. Ford promised during the election campaign to build subways, so, instead of the original plan, Ford wants the City to build an underground light-rail line beneath Eglinton Avenue and build a new subway beneath Sheppard Avenue.

Although the province of Ontario has agreed to pay for burying the Eglinton line with the funds it originally reserved for Transit City, Ford hopes that funds from the federal government and the private sector would help the City build the Sheppard line.

Drew said that, because subways cost more than surface rail, Ford’s plan means more areas of the city won’t get the transit service they need.

“Subways are wonderful, everybody wants subways, but they are really expensive,” said Drew. “They take a lot of population density to justify.

“Light rail was paid for, it didn’t cost Toronto anything. The province was ready and had all the money for it. That’s why we’re trying to resurrect the light rail plan.”

Galloway pointed out that Ford ran on a pro-subway platform and asked whether that wasn’t an implicit endorsement by voters of subways over surface rail.

“The important part is that the mayor didn’t tell people what they would get,” said Drew.

“Transit City and light rail was never about streetcars, it was about making something bigger and better. We’re talking about smallish trains running down the middle of the road where traffic wouldn’t be disrupted at all.”

Drew also said reviving light rail doesn’t necessarily mean reviving the entire Transit City plan and said a compromise is possible.

“Some people say the name Transit City itself has been poisoned,” said Drew. “We can build something that addresses the concerns of councillors, the concerns of the current mayor, and gets people the transit the way that they desperately need.”

“We are starting to talk to councillors and we want people to talk to their councillors.”

The website also urges transit passengers to distribute posters to encourage others to take part in the campaign.