In Toronto, a simple mention of “Eglinton” is enough to induce a shudder or spark a rant. While the avenue — one of the city’s major east-west arteries — transverses an extraordinarily diverse array of communities and neighbourhoods, it has become a metonym for a single project; the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Like housing prices and the weather, the beleaguered transit line is both a reliable conversation starter and a surprising locus of civic solidarity. Looking for common ground with your lawyer, restaurant server, nurse or Uber driver? Just say the word.

These are the silver linings. As for the dark clouds? After breaking ground in 2011, the light rail project was slated for completion in 2020. This month, it entered its 14th year of construction, extending a timeline that began when today’s 30-year-olds were still in high school and Adele’s “Someone Like You” topped the charts. And there’s a ways to go yet: public transit agency Metrolinx and the provincial government have promised to announce an opening day three months in advance, stretching the earliest possible date well into 2025.