Editing Line 4 Sheppard (section)

==Initial criticism==
[[File:TTC Sheppard Subway Don River.jpg|thumb|Line 4 Sheppard crossing the [[Don River (Ontario)|East Don River]] inside an enclosed concrete bridge just east of [[Leslie station]]]]
The line has been criticized as a "subway to nowhere", a "stubway", or a "[[white elephant]]".<ref>[http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/03/06/stop-the-sheppard-lrt-business-group-says.aspx "Stop the Sheppard LRT" Business Group Says]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}. ''National Post'', 2009 03 06.</ref> In 2018, the total ridership on the Sheppard subway line was approximately 50,000 per average weekday, similar to a few of the TTC's busiest streetcar and bus routes, though these routes are generally much longer than Sheppard's {{convert|5.5|km|mi|adj=on}} length.<ref name="r2018" /> The Sheppard line feeds passengers into the Yonge segment of Line 1 Yonge–University. During the City of Toronto's 2008 budget crisis, the TTC considered shutting the line down on weekends or entirely.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article771979.ece |location=Toronto |work=The Globe and Mail |first1=Jennifer |last1=Lewington |first2=Jeff |last2=Gray |title=Toronto threatens to shut Sheppard subway |date=July 20, 2007 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805113501/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article771979.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, as a result of financial pressures brought on by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto]], Mayor [[John Tory]] announced in 2020 that the entire line would be shut down if there were no financial support from upper levels of government,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toronto.com |first=Eli Aaron |date=2020-06-08 |title=Future of TTC depends on federal, provincial funding |url=https://www.toronto.com/opinion/future-of-ttc-depends-on-federal-provincial-funding/article_6aa390e3-c203-50da-a5de-eb8fc2fc9744.html |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Toronto.com |language=en}}</ref> though funding was eventually secured to allow the line to remain open. 

[[Jarrett Walker]], a transportation consultant and the author of the book ''Human Transit'', says "Sheppard's technology makes it both expensive to abandon and expensive to extend; that's the trap."<ref>{{cite web|last=Morrow|first=Adrian|date=November 16, 2012|title=Lessons from Toronto's Sheppard Subway Line|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lessons-from-torontos-sheppard-subway-line/article5402731/|access-date=March 23, 2013|website=Globe and Mail|archive-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430070344/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lessons-from-torontos-sheppard-subway-line/article5402731/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Councillor [[Josh Colle]], who chaired the TTC from 2014 to 2018, said in May 2015 that, given the existing Sheppard subway's performance, he could rationalize spending more money to expand it east from Don Mills or west from Sheppard–Yonge, but not both. He estimated that the Sheppard subway receives a subsidy of more than $10 per ride.<ref name="TorStar20150518">{{cite web |title=Could the Finch LRT reshape the Sheppard transit debate? |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2015/05/18/could-the-finch-lrt-reshape-the-sheppard-transit-debate.html |work=The Toronto Star |first=Tess |last=Kalinowski |date=May 18, 2015 |access-date=May 19, 2015 |archive-date=May 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520082027/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2015/05/18/could-the-finch-lrt-reshape-the-sheppard-transit-debate.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the ''[[StarMetro (newspaper)|Metro]]'' commuter newspaper, between the opening of the Sheppard line in November 2002 and December 2014, there was over $1{{nbsp}}billion in development along that corridor, much of it in the vicinity of Bayview, Bessarion and Don Mills stations. The area surrounding Don Mills station has a density suitable for a subway at {{convert|10182|/km2||disp=preunit|people |people}}. Despite this, a majority of commuters along the Sheppard subway drive to work rather than use public transit.<ref name="Metro-2014-12-04">{{cite news |url=http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/04/toronto-on-track-a-sheppard-subway-to-nowhere.html |title=Toronto on Track: Is the Sheppard subway line going nowhere? |newspaper=Metro News |first=Luke |last=Simcoe |date=December 4, 2014 |access-date=December 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726123406/http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2014/12/04/toronto-on-track-a-sheppard-subway-to-nowhere.html |archive-date=July 26, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Metro-2014-12-05">{{cite news |url=http://www.metronews.ca/views/toronto/torys-toronto-matt-elliott/2014/12/05/sheppard-subway-is-a-costly-cautionary-tale-toronto-risks-repeating.html |title=Sheppard subway is a costly cautionary tale Toronto risks repeating |newspaper=Metro News |first=Matt |last=Elliott |date=December 5, 2014 |access-date=December 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319225652/http://www.metronews.ca/views/toronto/torys-toronto-matt-elliott/2014/12/05/sheppard-subway-is-a-costly-cautionary-tale-toronto-risks-repeating.html |archive-date=March 19, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2016, according to Royson James of the ''[[Toronto Star]]'', residents in the area commuted to jobs throughout the Greater Toronto Area by automobile rather than taking public transit. James stated that subways are designed for corridors with four to eight times the ridership along Sheppard Avenue East.<ref name="TheStar-2016-03-02">{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/02/subways-we-already-have-are-doomed-by-built-in-flaws-james.html |title=Subways we already have are doomed by built-in flaws: James |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |author=Royson James |date=March 2, 2016 |access-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171227/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/02/subways-we-already-have-are-doomed-by-built-in-flaws-james.html |url-status=live}}</ref>