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Streetcar Named Disaster

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May 14, 2012 | 2:31 pm

Prince Charles will tour Toronto in the most regal of vehicles: a TTC bus

(Image: Esther)

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are coming to Toronto later this month, and the prince will get to sample firsthand the joys of public transit in the city—without the public. The TTC has confirmed that on May 22, an empty bus will be Charles’s chariot for an afternoon: following a Distillery District shindig with Dalton McGuinty, the bus will transport the prince to the UforChange centre on Parliament Street in St. James Town (and he won’t have to fork over any tokens for the privilege). We’d argue that the shiny new subways, with their fancy lighted maps and futuristic announcement system, would be a flashier ride for a royal—and even the chiming streetcar would be a more pleasant experience. No wonder Camilla has opted out. [Toronto Star]

Streetcar Named Disaster

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May 1, 2012 | 11:14 am

TTC staff eat an impressive amount of doughnuts—but aren’t so good with submitting receipts

(Image: Bryan Ochalla)

Severe reprimands seem to be the trend this week at the Toronto Transit Commission; first came one from TTC chief exec Andy Byford, and now, a few more from the agency’s internal auditors. The auditors, who conducted their investigations over the past few years, slammed the TTC for poorly managing consultants, construction plans, overtime and staff reimbursements. But one of the oddest Timbits tidbits involved a safety program that rewards accident-free departments with refreshments like free doughnuts; it would seem in 2010, $9,786 in receipts for the sweet treats were never handed in. Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker explained why that’s a big problem: “We deal with contracts for hundreds of millions of dollars, and some folks may laugh at us for chasing down a box of Timbits. But this is what drives the public crazy.” Good to know that, of all the TTC’s issues, it’s the doughnut receipts that drive people mad. [National Post]

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 27, 2012 | 1:39 pm

Andy Byford writes an icy memo to TTC employees


The TTC has had a few customer service embarrassments over the last few years (workers texting on the road, leaving their routes to pick up snacks and so on) but two within a few days is pretty bad. Last week, a TTC driver was videoed using a cellphone while piloting a subway, then days later, another was caught reading a newspaper while driving a streetcar. TTC chief exec and tough-talking clean freak Andy Byford is not happy about the blunders and released a scathing memo to staff this morning, voicing his displeasure.

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Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 26, 2012 | 1:26 pm

Reaction Roundup: what the revival of Transit City could mean for Toronto (and Rob Ford)

The whole “war on cars” talking point feels so 2009 (and 2010… and 2011), but now that Metrolinx and city council have pushed through an LRT-based transit plan against Rob Ford’s wishes, it’s back in a big way. Some members of council (well, mostly Doug Ford) are already gnashing their teeth over what the plan means for drivers—especially since tolls could be on the table if Josh Matlow gets his way. Others are looking ahead to the 2014 election and how shifts in power could change the whole project once more.

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Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 25, 2012 | 11:46 am

The 2014 election (or Doug Ford’s election to Queen’s Park) could kill Transit City again

(Image: Christopher Drost)

Rob Ford has been silent since Metrolinx resurrected the LRT-based transit plan he cancelled on his first day in office, but the mayor’s brother Doug (as usual) was less shy. Yesterday, Doug vowed to continue fighting for subways into the 2014 election—even though construction on the Sheppard LRT line is scheduled to start in the summer of 2014. “We are going to run on subways,” he told the Globe and Mail, saying that councillors who voted in favour of the LRT-based plan “are going to be held accountable in the next election” (we can just picture the construction-site press conferences). Moreover, if Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal minority topples before 2014, Doug said he would leave his brother’s side, run as an MPP and try to help direct the transit debate from Queen’s Park. Though that’s several steps off, Doug’s comments do serve as a reminder that this plan is only secure as long as the Liberals maintain their hold on Queen’s Park—the Progressive Conservatives’ Tim Hudak has already shown how much he supports subways. [Globe and Mail]

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 24, 2012 | 4:01 pm
Metrolinx’s proposed timeline for building LRTs is inconvenient for Rob Ford 

In a hotly anticipated report that will go to the Metrolinx board tomorrow, Metrolinx staff gives a thumbs-up to city council’s LRT-heavy transit plan. The agency’s staff is recommending that the provincial agency build a whole lot of transit by 2020, beginning with the Sheppard Avenue East LRT in 2014 (to be finished in 2018) and the Finch LRT in 2015 (to be finished by 2019). The report also gives timelines for construction of the Scarborough RT line replacement (finished by 2019) and the continuing work on the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT, which will now run above ground east of Laird Avenue (finished by 2020). Given that Metrolinx had endorsed a virtually identical plan back in 2010, it’s not too surprising that council’s plan got the stamp of approval (though kind of annoying that Toronto took an extra two years to arrive at the same conclusion). Still, the timeline may come as a shock to Rob Ford. After city council reinstated a large chunk and then nearly all of David Miller’s Transit City plan (which Ford had killed during his first hours in office), the mayor vowed to make the fight for subways a central issue in the 2014 election. That might be more difficult, though, if construction has already started by then. [Globe and Mail]

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 10, 2012 | 2:05 pm
Now that council has stopped bickering, Metrolinx will finally speak up on Toronto transit 

Since the Sheppard showdown in March, we’ve had a break from transit-planning theatrics, but the next act is fast approaching. On April 25, Metrolinx (the provincial agency actually ponying up the dough for all this glorious transit) will reveal its plans (and we’re sure any number of councillors will weigh in once they do). According to the Toronto Star, the provincial agency will give detailed recommendations for transit on Eglinton, Sheppard East, Finch West and in Scarborough. Though it’ll still be some time before the new vehicles are up and running, it’s nice to see Toronto is starting to move from the angry yelling part of this process into the moving-forward-with-plans stage. Read the entire story [Toronto Star]

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 9, 2012 | 11:59 am

Downtown relief line could make everything better for everyone (except Rob Ford)

A blissful and uncrowded transit future? (Image: Jay Woodworth)

One of the byproducts of the recent transit debates at city hall (aside from the planned light rail lines) is a discussion of a downtown relief line to ease crowding on the “close to bursting” Yonge subway. Despite the name, the line wouldn’t just be for elitist, latte-sipping downtowners—the Toronto Star reports that hordes of experts believe a DRL could better serve suburbanites than Rob Ford’s now-dead Sheppard subway, especially if it extends to Scarborough and Etobicoke. After all, many downtown residents live and work in their own neighbourhoods, while commuters from the suburbs have to cram themselves onto the Yonge subway every day. Still, experts acknowledge the line could be a hard sell given the downtown-versus-suburbs rift that the Ford brothers’ rhetoric has only fuelled. The University of Toronto’s Eric Miller thinks a new name could help—may we suggest the “Downtown-Suburban Harmony Line”? Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 2, 2012 | 3:07 pm

Even gridlock-plagued Los Angeles is kicking Toronto’s butt in transit development

If Rob Ford is right about light rail transit, then Los Angeles must be teetering on the brink of certain doom. Since 2008, the car-dependent city has used a half-cent sales tax hike and an inventive federal loan agreement to start building or planning—brace yourself, Mr. Mayor—12 light rail and bus rapid transit lines. Toronto could learn from the city’s ambitious transit overhaul, John Lorinc argues (for the second time) in today’s Globe and Mail; the city pushed through its plan using creative taxation, compromise and cooperation with higher levels of government—all three somewhat foreign at Toronto city hall of late. But hey, the article features a photo of L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa riding public transit with the common folk—at least T.O. has that one covered. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

(Images: Los Angeles, HarshLight; Toronto, elPadawan)

Streetcar Named Disaster

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April 2, 2012 | 11:58 am
Joe Mihevc thinks a magic report would get everyone to shut up about the St. Clair right-of-way 

Joe Mihevc is tired of people talking smack about his neighbourhood, and he wants the TTC to commission a study of the avenue’s right-of-way to shut them up. While the streetcar project’s boosters believe it spurred development, with condos and fancy restaurants now popping up on the strip, Rob Ford and his allies see the right-of-way as an expensive, traffic-snarling nightmare (they’ve made “St. Clair–ize” a verb to describing the horrors that befall neighbourhoods with above-ground transit). Mihevc insists the public relations exercise study would solve the area’s identity crisis once and for all. Except, probably not: putting together a new report, Councillor Josh Colle points out, would likely just drag out the entire debate for yet another few months. Read the entire story [National Post] »

Streetcar Named Disaster

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March 30, 2012 | 1:57 pm

Tim Hudak pretends that silly Sheppard council meeting never happened

(Image: Ontario Chamber of Commerce)

Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak took some time this week to catch up on his correspondence, sending out 100,000 postcards to Torontonians as a reminder that the PCs love subways and would give the city a Sheppard line if they were in power. Except, they’re not. And council just voted 24-19 in favour of an LRT on Sheppard a week ago. And the PCs killed the Eglinton subway expansion back in 1995. So, the mail-out is really more of a lame (albeit nicely designed) attempt to pander to residents who believe Toronto would be  a world-class city with an extra subway or two—and to score some points with a mayor whose clout is waning. Read the entire story [Torontoist] »

Streetcar Named Disaster

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March 26, 2012 | 3:14 pm

See what Rob Ford’s subway pie chart might have looked like

(Image: Matt Elliot)

Last week, Rob Ford’s refusal to outline financing plans for his Sheppard subway scheme had councillors complaining and Josh Colle requesting a pie graph. Today, in a recap of all the transit tomfoolery, blogger Matt Elliott delivers this imagined version of what that pie chart might have looked like. We’d say Elliott has done a fine job capturing the mayor’s point of view—maybe Ford could have used his skills before the big vote. Read the entire story [Ford for Toronto] »

Streetcar Named Disaster

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March 23, 2012 | 9:57 am

Watch Hitler react to the death of the Sheppard subway extension


In the end, the death of Mayor Ford‘s subway promise was both fast and inevitable. So too was its adaptation into the Downfall meme. If his Fordship can boast about achieving one thing this week, it’s appearing in a list that includes: Xbox Live, Sarah Palin and Taylor Swift.

Streetcar Named Disaster

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March 22, 2012 | 4:07 pm

Council votes for LRT on Sheppard Avenue, Rob Ford stalks off to his office to sulk

(Image: Christopher Drost)

After months of debate and some memorable hissy fits from Rob Ford, city council has voted 24-19 in favour of an LRT line on Sheppard, officially killing Ford’s dream (and campaign promise) of a subway to Scarborough. After the vote, the mayor didn’t stick around to hear the applause and bravos, instead charging “into his office in a flying wedge of aides,” according to the Globe and Mail’s Marcus Gee (geez, you’d think Ford would be used to embarrassing transit losses by now). We’re sure the mayor won’t be silent for long, though—he vowed during the debate that, win or lose, “this will be a big election issue.” We’re sure we’ll hear all about it during his radio show this week. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

Streetcar Named Disaster

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March 22, 2012 | 2:40 pm

QUOTED: Doug Ford engages in a little monkey business during the Sheppard subway debate

(Image: Christopher Drost)

—The reliably voluble Doug Ford earlier today, expressing frustration with his fellow primates councillors as the Sheppard Avenue transit debate stretches on (he later apologized). Rob Ford also spoke up during day two of the meeting with a familiar refrain: “People want subways folks…subways, subways. They don’t want these damn streetcars blocking up our city!” We’re expecting a few more speeches (and outbursts) this afternoon and—fingers crossed—a vote. [Torontoist]

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