The Logic of LRT’s vs. Ford’s Subway

QUESTIONS for Mayor Ford:

• Why lose 26 stops to gain 7 Subway stations?
• Why lose connectivity to GoTransit Stouffville line?
• Why connect two rail lines to Scarborough Town Center?
• Where is the additional 3 Billion going to come from to realize this “vision”?
• Where’s the $130+ million coming from repay the Provincial Governments current stake in Transit City
• What will the additional total be for cancellation fees and penalties on all the signed Transit City contracts ?
• Why has Rob Ford made automobile traffic his highest priority?

Source: Transit City Dept. TTC via:Globe&Mail

For a Rundown of “Firsts”
for the new Ford Regime

CLICK HERE

 

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A Day of Firsts for Ford

Well here we are on the first day of December, on the first day of Rob Ford’s mayoral mandate, and already we’re provided with the first examples of the kinds of media events and posturing that will either draw the first jeers of ridicule for the new regime, or the first signs of suburban solidarity from the 50% of Torontonians who brought Ford to power…Depending on which side of the tracks you’re sitting when the Rob Ford’s gravy-less train to municipal prosperity either rolls past, away from, or right over your neighborhood in it’s headlong rush to dismantle everything that doesn’t sit well with the new administration at City Hall.

If first impressions are anything to base our outlook on, then today’s events should be a telling reminder of what we can look forward to during at least one term of reactionary, pandering, and short-sighted politics here in Toronto, and the backlash driven political desires of it’s dispossessed suburbs.

Reflecting on our Roads

Whether we’re dealing with the results of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, or the U.S. Recovery Plan….Anybody who’s had to use roadways during the hot and dusty Summer of 2010 isn’t about to soon forget the ravaged pavement surfaces and miserable traffic congestion created by all the government sponsored stimulus projects. This is because most of them are are still clogging up our roads in their ongoing efforts to presumably continue stimulating the economy, as well as testing our personal patience with their lengthy reparations.

Ironically, even though these private and public works projects were designed to keep key sectors of the economy well primed with cash, and the economy rolling along, during this time most North-Americans had no idea that the entire Industry almost came to a screeching halt due to a critical shortage in the supply of road and highway paint…A shortage that not only threatened to block  the completion of those endless road projects, but which also hinted at some even bigger industrial concerns further up the supply chain. This supply issue tips us off to an even bigger story that goes far beyond the possibility of a cash grab by suppliers and contractors during a public-backed construction boom…and actually points to some fascinating possibilities in the Future.

Protesters vs. Police PR

The Media offered us the standard coverage to statements from the world leadership that recently assembled for the enormously costly and disruptive Toronto G20 Summit proceedings in Toronto.  Sadly, the events surrounding these closed meetings have largely overshadowed the positive spin attached to any such hollow pronouncements, and have actually done far more to damage our social fabric than any amount of new fiscal policy could ever repair.

Even after the fallout from those widely broadcasted and curiously unattended police car fires has settled back to the ground where nothing now remains but the street-stains, it’s become increasingly clear that only certain segments of the mainstream media can be expected to question the status quo, and remark that the Police actually did the most damage to our mild-mannered city not only by failing to keep the peace and apprehending a very conspicuous minority of vandals during their detestably destructive crime spree, but more importantly in visibly perpetrating almost all of the  the actual physical violence against our primarily peaceful assemblies of unarmed and passive Citizenry.  While thugs appeared to have free reign of the streets,

Photo by Michael Talbot, CityNews.ca

Confessions of an Urban Cyclist

I hate to admit it out loud…but as an Urban Cyclist here in Toronto, I actually enjoy city traffic! Now most people can derive vicarious thrills from the safety of sofa’s or when securely held in by seatbelts, but I’ve come to only appreciate a true challenge if I know I’m risking something real. Of course I would never endanger others, and only ever gamble with my own hide, bike, and pelt because the constant challenge of NEVER impacting the smooth flow of people and traffic around me is what keeps me honest. But that’s not the main reason that I can enjoy traffic…

It’s mainly because, like almost all bicycle riders in the city, I actually bend the rules just enough to make MUCH better time through the downtown core by slipping past those who need to queue up at signal lights, and crawl along in traffic. I also get enormous satisfaction from the challenges of slaloming through obstacles and dangers, and putting my ass on the line with every calculated gamble I make. Since the consequences for a misstep by a Cyclist will always be far worse, the hard pavement keeps me dead honest.

But I digress…
Let’s get back to finding our way past our collective hatred of Traffic…

Collaborative Bike Routes

Have you heard about any good bike routes lately? Would you prefer to have things planned out in detail as you ride the City? Or do you prefer finding your bearings from a map and/or exploring your way around by the seat of your pants like you did as a Kid? Do you prefer navigating by street signs, by the Sun, or some instinctive combination of the two? Do you ever get abit ‘lost ‘ to discover something unexpected! If you’re looking for inspiring new reasons to ride your bike, then Network technology is already available to help re-create the kind of social intelligence that we just shared socially and incidentally as kids when it came to finding our way around!

Nowadays we almost take for granted the tools that would have seemed almost space-aged years ago, even compared to the occasional appearance of bulky walkie-talkies, or the first digital speedometers, otherwise there were always a few quarters for payphones and videogames to fill teh ‘technology gap’. What would we have thought then of the greatly extended reach that we know now with our mobile devices, the added and shared value of Social Network tools, and of course the superb mapping that’s now available online. In fact, here in the Future (arriving as recently as this past month) Toronto is now ‘on the map’ at Ride the City and we can now consider how to re-socialize bike riding in a significant way. What’s more, is that by using the Community feedback methods and social interactions that are available on this site to suggest ideal paths and warn against riskier routes, we might also be reminded all over again of how effectively we managed to get around as fun-loving and free-spirited kids, and regain abit of that joie de vie that came with our freedom to ride. Often armed with nothing more than some small change for snacks, and a general sense of direction passed on from someone who’d been there before!

As urban Cyclists nowadays, we still enjoy a level of flexibility and freedom to travel like no other mode of transport, and now thanks to social media tools like cellphones (‘smart’ or otherwise) and online maps we can also share our collective knowledge about routes, roadways, (and shortcuts!) like never before as well. So let’s consider where we came from, and learn about what we might have forgotten since we were kids, and perhaps even discover some exciting new possibilities along the way.

Bike-Lane Boondoggles

K…

Where do begin to clear the air?

Let’s begin by stating the obvious. Clearly cyclists have a vested interest in seeing more bikes and  fewer cars on our already over-congested roads here in Toronto, or anywhere else for that matter. Not only would more Cyclists on the road do wonders for our air quality index, and overall ecological standards for living, but with fewer cars getting driven and parked, it would also improve traffic flow for everyone else right across the board. Of course, everyone’s got ideas about how this can be accomplished (or at least attempted) so I’ve started compiling some of the top suggestions and opinions. The trouble here is that ‘opinions’ are like, uhm…hairdos. Everyone’s got their preferences, and inevitably they keep growing and changing all the time anyways, so where do you begin making the cuts!  Instead, let’s just start the running list somewhere in the middle of the pack, and come up with a presentable outlook on the currently hot subject of Bikelanes. Hopefully by looking at this one solution, we’ll come up with a realistic view that can make Cyclists (and other HelmetHeads) look good in Public, while not embarrassing us in front of the Motorists and Pedestrians of Toronto with any ridiculous fashions, or self-centered zeal.

The reason we’re starting with Bikelanes, is because it seems as though certain “traffic” issues in Toronto are coming full circle again. First we had Bikers vs. Pedestrians (thanks mostly to thoughtless side-walk riders who give all good Cyclists a black-eye), then it became Bikers vs. Cars (R.I.P. Darcy), then it was Pedestrians vs. Cars (with a horrible run of Pedestrian deaths last month), and now with the fracas on Jarvis Street, and pandering politics from people like Rocco Rossi, it seems that we’re getting back to Bikers vs. Cars again.  Of course, with this subject gaining refreshed visibility,  every frustrated Motorist in the congested core of the City wants to weigh in with their beefs as well…Especially virulent are the opinions from those politically potent Motorists and Retailers from affluent neighborhoods, and the countless transient businesspeople who come in from the 905 to complain about traffic, smog, and the perceived hindrance of any Cyclists who might disrupt their downtown driving schedule.