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Engineering Consulting

Scarborough Subway Extension

Acquiring and managing the permits that enable subway tunnel construction.

June 2021 – December 2023
Consulting
Metrolinx / Infrastructure Ontario
Scarborough Subway Extension thumbnail

Table of Contents

  1. Background
  2. The Challenge
  3. My Approach
  4. Key Learnings

Background

The Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) is a major Toronto transit infrastructure project extending the TTC's Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway east into Scarborough. The project involves tunnelling, station construction, and significant utility relocation — all of which require permits from dozens of regulatory authorities and utility owners.

As a permit coordinator at a consulting firm supporting the project, I was responsible for acquiring and tracking the permits required for tunnel construction to proceed.

The Challenge

Permit coordination on a project of this scale is inherently complex. Three primary challenges defined the work:

  1. Varying stakeholder timelines — Each utility, municipality, and regulatory body operates on its own schedule, often independent of construction timelines
  2. Multi-document applications — Each permit required coordinating drawings, environmental studies, traffic management plans, and other deliverables from multiple internal teams
  3. Upstream dependencies — Construction activities depended on permits being in place; any delay cascaded downstream
Stakeholder network diagram

My Approach — #RoadToSuccess

1. Establish Clear Lines of Communication

The first step was mapping all the stakeholders involved and clarifying who owned what. With so many parties — Metrolinx, contractors, municipalities, utilities, environmental agencies — it was critical to position the permit team as a single point of contact. I identified each stakeholder's responsibilities and built a communication matrix so nothing fell through the cracks.

2. Build Rapport Through Kindness and Empathy

Regulatory reviewers are people too. Many agencies were overwhelmed by the volume of applications coming in from major infrastructure projects across the GTA simultaneously. I made it a point to treat every stakeholder with respect — understanding their constraints, not just pushing for faster approvals. This approach consistently led to more cooperative relationships and, ultimately, faster reviews.

3. Align Multi-Disciplinary Teams

I led weekly coordination meetings with project owners at Metrolinx to align on permit priorities and flag risks early. These meetings brought together engineers, environmental consultants, legal teams, and contractors to ensure permit applications were complete and accurate before submission — reducing rejection rates significantly.

Key Learnings

Understanding stakeholder relationships fosters collaboration and trust. The most valuable thing I did wasn't tracking deadlines — it was taking the time to understand each stakeholder's priorities and constraints.
Assertive and persuasive abilities are essential for managing conflicting priorities. When contractor timelines clashed with regulatory review windows, I had to navigate difficult conversations diplomatically — advocating for the project while respecting external parties' processes.
Effective planning must be adaptable to upstream changes. The best-laid permit schedule could be disrupted by a design change or a delayed environmental study. Building flexibility into the plan — and communicating changes proactively — was key to keeping the project on track.

This experience fundamentally shaped how I approach design work: the skills of stakeholder management, clear communication, and systems thinking are just as critical in UX as in engineering.

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