Transfer to the Future @ Dundas Square

June 28, 2007 - I went to check out TTC's Transfer to the Future: My New Streetcar public consultation exhibit at Dundas Square this afternoon. First of all, kudos to the TTC for picking such a great location for the event - the exhibit caught a lot of people's attention! Of course, having a huge streetcar on a podium in the middle of the square helps!

The highlight of the exhibit was the demo LRV on display. To show the public what Toronto's future streetcar/ LRV fleet could look like, the TTC actually brought in a demo car from Minneapolis. The Bombardier built car is fairly wide and tall, and definitely much boxier than our current streetcars (see picture). The demo car however has some neat features, including a vertical bike rack, pull down seats, and even luggage racks! The driver is completely shielded from the passengers (kinda like the pilot on a plane), suggesting that a proof-of-payment system would be used on these vehicles.

The TTC engineer on site, however, was quick to point out that our new streetcars might not look like the Minneapolis ones at all - our streetcars will be adapted to our local preferences (hence the public consultation). He did say however, that the downtown LRVs will not be double-headed, since we already have loops built in place (and thus no need to have cars be double-headed like the subway). Other issues, such as the need to build ramps (or would that be part of the vehicle) from current platforms, the need to set up POP systems, are still up in the air.

I'm not sure how the TTC plans to review the public input - but by holding a consultation exhibit in the heart of the city on a hot summer day is an excellent, well-coordinated way to create excitement and buy-in from the public. I thought having a demo car on display drew a lot more people to check out the exhibit (those panels alone did not do it) - at one point, the demo car was so packed that my friend Janet said it's probably what rush hour will feel like in these vehicles. I also liked how they had young enthusiastic TTC staff (that's almost an oxymoron) on hand to give out clipboards, explain the consultation process, and to answer questions.

So yeah, good job TTC. I can't wait to ride these new LRVs =).