Mayor John Tory calls it "a key step" in taking his public transit plans from paper to reality.
A new report released at city hall on Monday spells out a proposed deal between the city and the provincial government that clears up the future of several transit projects planned for Toronto, including SmartTrack.
That's the name of the rail transit line pitch that was central to Tory's 2014 mayoral campaign.
It calls for a new transit service to get commuters in and out of downtown.
The Mayor promised during the last election campaign he could get it done in 7 years, without raising property taxes.
While the projects in Monday's report amount to billions of dollars worth of transit improvements, the path to get there is not what Tory promised.
Estimates from city staffers say funding to build SmartTrack will have to go until 2026, when the project's western extension to Toronto's Mount Dennis neighbourhood is scheduled to be completed.
That means it'll take 12 years to complete SmartTrack -- 5 years longer than Tory's original promise of a 7-year timeline.
The Mayor also promised that the city's funding portion of roughly $2-billion could be raised entirely by a method called 'tax increment financing,' which would rely on Toronto's booming real estate market to raise the tax revenue needed.
However, new projections say that a 2-3 percent property tax hike could be required, or other taxes and fees that city staff deem "equivalent."
The report will be discussed at a special meeting of the Mayor's Executive Committee on Tuesday afternoon at city hall.
Parkdale-area city councillor Gord Perks, who has long been skeptical of the Mayor's SmartTrack proposal, predicts Tory will face backlash over the revelations in the report.
"This is what happens when the Mayor over-promises and under-delivers," he says.
Perks adds that he fears Tory's administration could seek cuts to city services as a means to find extra money to divert to SmartTrack.
"We're going to have to find other things to give up," he says, "I don't have an appetite for that and I suspect a lot of my colleagues won't, either."
TTC Chair Josh Colle defends plans for SmartTrack, stressing that expansion of public transit is desperately needed in Toronto and that, ultimately, ratepayers will find the project worth it, in the end.
"I think most people recognize that to have a faster transit line ... these things cost money."