The Art of Finding a GO Parking Spot

October 22, 2007 - Starting this week, I will be commuting from Markham because my parents are on vacation in Asia for a month! To make sure the house doesn't burn down while they are away, I volunteered to move back for a few days each week. This also means I will have to commute to work - which should generate a few really interesting stories.

I haven't worked out a specific route that I will take to go to work yet, but with access to the car, I have quite a number of options. So this week, I decided to join thousands of commuters and ride the GO.

I have taken the GO a number of times (though the first time was with B and Jenny way back in January), but I have never actually driven and parked at a station before. So this morning, I drove to Richmond Hill Station and discovered finding a parking spot at a GO station is actually like an art form.

First of all, at a busy station like Richmond Hill, there are more cars than available parking spots. Not everyone will get a spot - but that doesn't mean people won't park their cars anyway. I have never seen more cars parked illegally than at the RH parking lot. There are cars blocking other cars, cars along the access roads, cars parked right by the entrance - maneuvering around these illegally parked cars is more of a sport in itself.

Secondly, getting out of the parking lot should be made into an Olympic sport, because I have never seen anyone dash out of the GO train that quickly. People would actually wait by the doors after Langstaff station and as soon as the train opens its doors at RH, they would RUN to their cars and try to be the first one out of the parking lot. That's fine - except there are also hundreds of other people walking around the parking lot at the same time. These aggressive drivers have obviously never heard of the term "pedestrians" - and dodging these crazy drivers requires new skills that they certainly don't teach you at school.

I might have exaggerated a bit (except for the illegal parking part), but surely, more can be done to make these GO parking lots more people friendly. Perhaps add in a path or two, or maybe even add a sidewalk. I know there isn't enough space as it is and adding these "people-friendly" amenities will only reduce the number of parking spaces available, but still, isn't the safety of GO passengers also a concern?

And can someone please explain to me why the #4 Major Mac bus isn't in sync with GO train arrivals? If we want to really encourage GO train riders to take transit to the station and not drive, shouldn't they do a better job in synchronizing their schedules, so that passengers can just walk from their train to the bus. I know they do that for the "Go Shuttle" routes, but how about including the local buses as part of that as well?

YRT Fare Increase: Worst in the GTA?

October 20, 2007 - York Region Council has passed a motion this past Thursday to increase York Region Transit fares AGAIN. Single adult cash fare will go up from $2.75 to $3, making it the most expensive single ride cash fare in the entire GTA. The only city that I can think of with a cash fare of $3 is the City of Ottawa, but even there, they have large subsidies for those who buy passes and tickets.

According to YRT officials, fare increases is a way to keep up with the rising costs of delivering transit service in the region. Officials are calling it part of an annual exercise, stating that fare increases could be annual event. Despite dramatic increases in ridership, transit riders still currently only cover about 40% of the operating costs of YRT/VIVA - a far cry from the TTC's 80% and Go Transit's 90%.

This begs the question - does YRT/VIVA operate efficiently? In particular, with VIVA, is it operating at a level where it can actually be sustainable? In theory, the goal of VIVA is to provide transit service to parts of York Region before new dense developments take place. This means efficient transit service will be provided the minute people move in- thus, people won't have to switch from their cars to transit - something that is pretty hard to do in our car-friendly culture. In practice though, this might not be as efficient. Running empty buses through the empty fields of the future downtown Markham, for example, generates zero ridership. The VIVA Green route, in particular, is so severely underused that YRT recently cut the service back to rush-hour only.

Kudos for York Region to tackle the congestion issue through public transit though. While much improvements have been made, transit riders won't care when they are slapped by a fare increase every year. Even transit supporters like me have a hard time swallowing fare increases (this of course, is right after the TTC increased its fares). I have to say though, YRT's customer service is much much better than the TTC's, but in terms of reliability, it still has a long way to go. You're fine if you stick to the major routes (like VIVA or #99 Yonge/Bernard or #91 Bayview for #1 Hwy 7), but if you like any of the local routes, you're doomed. For those that complain about their TTC bus not coming or the subway being too crowded, try waiting for the #4 Major Mackenzie bus for 40 minutes, in the middle of winter. This is after you have spent 40 minutes on the subway and another 30 minutes going up Yonge Street from Finch Station. Until you have that experience, you really shouldn't be complaining about unreliable bus service at all.

A New Look for the 200th Post

October 17, 2007 - This is my 200th post and to mark the occasion, I thought I would change the look of my blog just a little bit. Check out the key changes below:

All About My Condo

October 4, 2007 - With about year to go before I officially move into my condo, I thought maybe it's time that I blog about it. I have been meaning to talk about this huge step in my life for awhile now, but there is just so much to say that I wasn't sure where or how to start.

So let's start from the beginning! The story goes back to 2005 - I had just turned 25 and had just started working full-time for the Province. I was still getting used to living on my own, having moved out just a few months before. Knowing I cannot rent forever, my dad persuaded me to start looking into buying a condo. Initially, I was looking at the Yonge/Sheppard and Yonge/Finch areas. But when nothing jumped out at me, my friends Amy and Ray suggested that I check out the new Minto Towers at Yonge/Eglinton, just across the street from where I was living at the time. I took their advice and with no expectations, went to check it out with my parents.

The Minto presentation building and professional staff made a great impression. The models looked sleek and modern and the units didn't cost as much as I thought they would. I spent a week thinking it through and on Saturday, Feb 11, 2006, I signed the purchasing agreement and became a condo-owner at the age of 25!

Almost $55K of down-payments later, there are still days when I am unsure if I had made the right choice. It wasn't easy paying those down-payments. Despite the fact that they were split into installments (and also that my parents helped me out a lot), it completely bankrupted my bank account. There were days when I couldn't afford to buy a tea or go out for lunch, simply because I just didn't have the money. I also had to keep my part time jobs, which isn't fun when you already work full time on the weekdays. Those months were tough, but because I had to work so hard for it, I know I will treasure this new home even more.

A bit about the Minto Midtown Towers, also known as Quantum 1 and Quantum 2: the towers are possibly one of the most famous condo projects in Toronto, highlighted by the fact that it received tremendous citizen opposition and media coverage in the late 90s. Back when the towers were first proposed, ratepayer groups in North Toronto, supported by Toronto Councillor Michael Walker (who is still the councillor for the ward where the towers are located), got together to fight the proposal. These residents argued that the towers are too tall, too big, and in general, do not fit in with the community. Anti-Minto posters went up around the neighbourhood and Council voted it down. The project went to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and after modifications in its design (which included a height reduction for Quantum 1), was finally passed through. Today, even as residents move into the South Tower, there are still people out there (including the community's two councillors), who are against the project.

The two towers are at one of the busiest intersections in the city, on top of the nation's busiest transit route, and also located within one of the Province's designated urban growth centres - if they aren't allowed to build here, then there really aren't that many other places where such development could be built. To all those NIMBYs out there who are against condo projects/intensification in North Toronto - I say, get used to it, as the area is ripe for more condo developments.

As for my unit - I bought a 1 bedroom + den unit on the 26th floor in Quantum 2, the North Tower, facing North. The expected occupancy date is Summer 2008. Construction of my building is progressing quickly and Minto predicts that by year end, the exterior of the building will be completed. The courtyard between the two towers is expected to finish by the beginning of next year, with the retail component (the Keg, a Starbucks) moving in in the Spring.

There's a lot more I could say about my condo and I'm pretty sure I will blog more about it as it gets closer to my move-in date. I have to say that the two towers look awesome. The architectural firm that originally designed the two buildings, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP, is an internationally renowned firm responsible for such famous buildings as Lever House in New York City, the Sears Tower and John Hancock Centre in Chicago, and the Bank of America building in San Francisco. The firm was also awarded the architectural design contract for the Freedom Tower in New York, after Daniel Libeskind won the WTC site master-planning competition.

I'm pretty psyched about my condo - and the fact that it really represents a new chapter in my life. So say what you will about condo living, but I can't wait to move into mine!