March 29, 2007 - Another month, another new competition for the City of Toronto. This time it's for a 20-year contract to replace Toronto's street furniture, including benches, bus shelters, garbage cans, and message boards. In return, the consortium will get advertising rights on these structures (though the whole advertising aspect of it has caused some heated debates on whether ads should be allowed to take over our public space...). One of the new structures to be incorporated as part of this design are public washrooms - something that is new to Toronto's urban landscape.
Public toilets are not new to cities - most European cities have these facilities on their streets. They are usually the automated, self-cleaning kind. They usually cost a buck or two - and have doors that automatically open after 10 or so minutes (to prevent people from having sex in these facilities I guess?).
I'm not sure why Toronto is looking to install these facilities. They are quite bulky and usually take up a lot of space. I can't really see them placing the toilets along main corridors (particularly where access to washrooms are quite abundant), but I guess it would make more sense to put them in parks or along trails. These facilities are also easy targets for vandals - who will no doubt have a field day with them.
There are 3 consortia that are bidding for the city's Street Furniture contract - the contract that will essentially cost the City nothing. In return, the City will have to allow the winning company to advertise on these essential public amenities. has been quite controversial (as the media have cried for the City to reject all three bidders) - just how far do we go in selling out our public space?
More pictures and information about the competition, click here. Winners are to be announced sometime in April.
March 28, 2007 - Eight universities and colleges in the Toronto Area are current negotiating with the TTC in developing a discount transit pass for post-secondary students. The "U-Pass" will be provided to all undergraduate students for about $60 each month, during the September-April school year. The pass will have the student's picture on it (and hence it will be non-transferable) and it will be billed as part of the student's tuition, with no opt-outs. If negotiations go well, the U-Pass could be implemented by September 2008.
While I'm all for providing fare discounts to post-secondary students, I'm not sure if the current terms for the U-Pass are that ideal. A couple of reasons:
1) The U-Pass is only available to undergraduate students
Why they excluded graduate students is beyond me. Graduate students face the same financial constraints as undergraduate students (tuition alone is much higher than undergraduate study already!). In addition, university staff the currently enjoy discount metropasses under the TTC's Volume Incentive Program (VIP) are not eligible for the U-Pass.
2) No Opt-outs
Not every student rides the TTC. I personally know many that drive, walk, or bike to school. Forcing each and every undergraduate student to pay for the U-Pass, with no opt-outs is unfair to those who have no need for the service.
Some universities (i.e. York U) are talking to the TTC about having those students that live outside the 416 area be excluded from the U-Pass. More study needs to be done to determine just how many students commute to Toronto from the 905 region (I know I did throughout my 6 years at UofT!). I understand the rationale behind the exclusion, but at the same time, you're also creating a two-fare system and you're penalizing students who despite living far away, still want to commute to school.
Granted, having the U-Pass readily available to students may encourage ridership. But will the U-Pass be able to convert more students to move away from their cars and ride the rocket to school? I doubt it. Those who drive to school do so for many reasons (poor service I bet is one of them). If the TTC wants to attract more student riders, it needs to also improve its service (and customer relations). The U-Pass won't do you any good when you're waiting for a bus for over half-an-hour in the middle of winter.
3) Costs
$60 per month is cheaper than the $87.75 that students now pay for their discount passes. However, for those that do not need the pass, an additional $480 on their tuition is a lot of money (almost the cost of taking a half course at U of T!).
This is also more than 5 times what UTM students will be paying for their Mississauga transit passes and way more than the almost $50 per term that Waterloo students will pay for their's.
U of T students will be asked to vote on the issue once the TTC and U of T SAC reach some sort of agreement on the terms of the U-Pass (which is not expected to be anytime soon). History says that U of T students are generally against any kind of levy (a few years ago, we voted overwhelming to deny an increase of less than $100 on our tuition to fund a new stadium and athletic centre). But given today's heightened awareness of transit needs, a U-Pass is not a bad idea, just that better needs to be worked out to benefit all students.
March 27, 2007 - Tonight I had the opportunity to check out the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall. It was my first time at the orchestra since I was in high school. Through this program called tsoundcheck, anyone between the ages of 15-29 can get discount show tickets. Now I have to admit that I'm not very knowledgeable with classical music (despite years of studying music in school and playing the violin), so I decided to pick something that's a bit lighter - and I happened to find a show called: Music from the Hollywood Epics.
The night was fun - all the tunes that the TSO played were fairly recognizable. They even had the storm troopers and Darth Vader greeting the audience before the show (they also marched in when the orchestra was playing the Star Wars theme). For $12, it was definitely very good entertainment.
What bugged me most though was the couple sitting next to me. They kept giggling and laughing throughout the show. And the guy kept playing with his fingers pretending to be the conductor. It was pretty annoying (and they were my age too). Seriously, if you can't sit still for a couple of hours, you really shouldn't be at the orchestra!
March 26, 2007 - A few news stories that caught my attention the past couple of days:
Hundreds of Rodents, Pigeons Found in Downtown Apartment
As a follow up to my pigeon problem post, this dude who lives in St. Jamestown was found to have been keeping and breeding HUNDREDS of pigeons, mice and who knows what. The news showed his apartment filled with pigeon cages (over 300!!!) with the birds flying, pooping, and hurting themselves everywhere. Very very disturbing - can you imagine living next door to this guy?
TTC Advocates King Streetcar Right-of-Way
Talk about deja vu - just a few days ago, my friend Mike and I were saying how cool it would be if the TTC converts Queen Street into a transit mall (given that our Queen Street LRT proposal didn't make it in the Transit City plan!). And now a King Streetcar Right-of-Way through the entertainment district!! It's a great idea - the entertainment district needs to be more pedestrian friendly and anytime a single-occupant vehicle prevents a streetcar full of riders from moving forward is unacceptable. Not to mention King Street has Adelaide and Richmond to move vehicles (and access to lots of parking lots). Of course, some business owners are already freaking out on this proposal (click here, here, and here) - I doubt it will cause "traffic chaos"! maybe it will get people out of the cars, even if it's only for a few days.
Waterloo to receive funding for LRT
Looks like Waterloo will be the next city to get a light rail system. The Province has committed to funding 1/3 of the Region's plan for a light rail system to run from Waterloo (through the UW!) to Kitchener, with a future extension into downtown Cambridge. All they have to do now is figure out where the route will go, where the stations will be located, and oh ya, complete the environmental assessment.
March 25, 2007 - It's amazing how far technology has evolved these days. It really wasn't that long ago (ok, so maybe 10 years is a long time ago) when I first got introduced to the world of internet. Today, I seriously can't imagine what life would be like without the internet.
The net is also great in keeping in touch too - whether it's through email, or ICQ (remember how big that was?) or Friendster, or MSN - it's a free, easy way to keep in touch with everyone and anyone. The latest (at least to me it's the latest) is this site called Facebook (FB). It works exactly like Friendster, except almost everyone and anyone is on it. I've found everyone from old elementary friends to people at work. I'm sure you could look up Brad Pitt and he'll be on it as well. It's that popular apparently!!
This site is so powerful that not only can you reconnect with old friends, you can also broadcast every intimate detail of your life to everyone =) now i only discovered how powerful FB truly is tonight when I was playing around with the profile options and accidentally made a change. FB picked it up right away and within a couple of hours, I got asked if everything is alright and if I'm ok =S
So lessons learned:
1) Do not play with the profile options unless you know what you're doing
2) I have friends who really do care about my life - for better or for worse (so thanks guys)
3) FB is truly an amazing, powerful tool
So FYI: yes, I'm fine! B's fine too! and we're both doing fine (actually, better than fine I would say!) I have corrected the profile change, so everything is ok now =)
March 16, 2007 - Toronto unveiled its Transit City Light Rail Plan today. The plan calls for 60-80 km of light rail lines that criss-cross the City, particularly to areas that are currently under-served by the City. Total cost of the plan: $6.1 billion.
The plan consists of 7 new dedicated light rail right-of-ways, including lines along Finch, Don Mills, Jane, Morningside/Malvern, Waterfront West, Sheppard East, and Eglinton. The location of these lines are not surprising, as Etobicoke and North Scarborough have long been underserved by public transit.
Perhaps the most ambitious project in the plan is the Eglinton Crosstown line, which would link Kennedy Station to Pearson Airport (the first rapid transit line to the airport?). The section from Laird to Keele would also be placed underground, serving as a mini-subway along the busy midtown section (that means my future condo will be above 2 subway/LRT lines!). Total cost of this 30+ km line is $2.2 billion, approximately the same as the 8.6 km Spadina subway extension to Vaughan.
The catch of this plan is that neither the City or any level of senior government have the funding to implement it. While I believe this plan is a bold vision and it's also sensible and do-able, some critics argue that this plan is a step backwards, as what the city really needs is new subway lines. Sure, subways would be fantastic, but currently the City simply doesn't have the density to support new subway lines. I don't buy the argument that just because we don't have an extensive subway system we're a "second-tier" city - in fact many large cities in Europe, in particular Germany, use LRTs as a substitute to subways.
Sure, the Transit City plan is not perfect (i.e. there is limited integration with the GO train; the Sheppard East LRT should really be the Sheppard subway extension) but it's definitely a solid start. Hopefully this plan will inspire the city and the province/federal government to seriously start looking at expanding and updating TTC system back to its world-class status again.
Note: I was also very impressed by the new Transit City website that the TTC put up just minutes after the 10 am announcement. The site is clear and easy to navigate. My own critique would be they should have used a picture of a LRT vehicle (and not a streetcar) on its homepage. Way to go TTC! It's not every day that I'm impressed by you guys!
March 8, 2007 - I actually watched the announcement live on tv: the future of Nathan Phillips Square looks green as the Plant Architect proposal was announced winner of the $40 M Design Competition.
As I wrote in my review, the Plant proposal isn't my favourite, but it's better than 2 of the other 3 proposals. I'm looking forward to see how the new podium, glass pavilion entry, and permanent theatre will play out with the existing features of the square.
Here's a link to the proposal, along with the Star's article on the announcement. Construction is set to begin next year.
March 7, 2007 - Transit news dominated the headlines today, following yesterday's mega transit and climate change funding announcement by the federal and provincial government:
$697M seals subway deal
All aboard on the Toronto-York subway to the middle of nowhere (well at least for now..).
Is Subway really the better way?
TTC Chair Adam Giambrone says subways are sexy, but money could have been better spent.
Guess who makes the TTC late? We do!
Interesting article on yet another pathetic ad campaign by the TTC - this time, they blame the passengers for subway delays. Someone please nominate the TTC for a customer service award now!
Not a boo from riders in ghost stations
Yet another interesting article about the lack of enthusiasm from subway riders as weekend subway service continues to bring riders into the abandoned Lower Bay station. [edit: March 10/11 may be the last weekend to see Lower Bay as tunnel maintenance finishes ahead of schedule!]
New Street Signs Approved
Toronto City Council approved a new plan to replace all city street signs with a new design. Some councillors argue neighbourhoods will lose their distinct unique street signs.
San Francisco Mayor wants to make public transit free
Apparently it costs more to collect and enforce fares on SF's MUNI transit system than what the fares bring in. With a cost-recovery ratio of only 22% (compare to over 80% on the TTC and close to 90% on GO Transit), no wonder SF can afford to even consider this option...
March 4, 2007 - So I have never liked pigeons and this dislike has grown into hatred in recent years. In my view, pigeons are really just rats with wings - they are a nuisance that do more harm than good in an urban environment. The Hitchcock movie Birds didn't help either - the sight of a flock of pigeons (and seagulls, and crows) gives me chills.
Take my balcony for example: for some reason, pigeons have been hanging outside on my balcony for the past week. They pooped everywhere: the railing, my windowsill, on top of my AC. Frankly it's disgusting.
Then the other night, I heard this banging sound outside. I looked out my window and saw 5 disgusting pigeons staring back at me with their big round eyes. Apparently two of them were "humping" one another on top of my AC unit, hence the banging sound (I guess I interrupted their "fun", but why were the other 3 pigeons just sitting there?). Watching pigeons mate definitely is not hot.
And finally yesterday, when visiting St. Jamestown with B (he was there for a project, not a tour), there were dead pigeons littered all over the grounds. Now I'm not sure how they died, but shouldn't someone have picked up the carcasses? isn't it a health hazard? would the carcasses be lying around out in the open if the birds had died in a different neighbourhood (think like Rosedale or Forest Hill)?
March 29, 2007 - Another month, another new competition for the City of Toronto. This time it's for a 20-year contract to replace Toronto's street furniture, including benches, bus shelters, garbage cans, and message boards. In return, the consortium will get advertising rights on these structures (though the whole advertising aspect of it has caused some heated debates on whether ads should be allowed to take over our public space...). One of the new structures to be incorporated as part of this design are public washrooms - something that is new to Toronto's urban landscape.
