The Viva Experience - Part 2

September 7th, 2005 - I had the opportunity to try the Viva system again. Tonight, I tried the purple Highway 7 route and I was mighty impressed.

The Blue Yonge route was still very slow tonight, mainly due to the heavy traffic on Yonge Street. When I got to Richmond Hill Centre station, I was pretty tired and was not happy to see that I had just missed a Purple Viva bus.

The electronic sign says the next bus will arrive in 3 minutes. Sure enough, 3 minutes later, the bus arrived. I was impressed (experiences have told me to never trust bus schedules 100%). The purple Viva bus was smaller than the ones that run on Yonge Street, but just as comfortable and smooth. The ride from Yonge to Leslie took 5 minutes, much faster than the regular Route 1 Highway 7 bus.

So far my Viva experiences have been nothing but positive. Hopefully others will also give the system a try...

The Viva Experience

September 6th, 2005 - At 6 p.m. this afternoon, I eagerly stood at the Finch Station bus terminal, waiting to board York Region's new Viva bus rapid system. I looked up at the electronic sign: 1 more minute till the bus arrives. Before long, a shiny new blue accordion looking bus pulled into the station, three sets of doors open and people began to file in.

The process was a bit confusing (you have to validate the ticket prior to boarding the bus) but there were half a dozen YRT officials around assisting passengers. I especially liked how the officials approached each passenger to inform how the new system works. After months of heavy marketing though, I had no difficulties with validating my ticket (though I had to double check with an official about using my ticket as a transfer). Despite that, not everyone was pleased. A lady complained how more advertising should have been in place to inform passengers (yo lady, have you been living on Mars the past few months ? have you not noticed the signs hanging along Yonge Street and Highway 7 ?)

The ride was very smooth comfortable. An electronic sign inside the bus shows the direction the bus is going and the next stop. The voice announcer was also clear and quite pleasant (unlike those TTC drivers who announce the subway stops). The seats were comfortable and the bus was air conditioned. I also liked the bus shelters - some were clearly designed with urban design principles and try to fit in with the streetscape (I really liked how there were bike racks at each station). Having transit officials at each stop also helped confused passengers get use to the new system.

Yet was it any faster ? My ride actually took a bit longer than usual, primarily because the bus now re-routes to the new Richmond Hill Centre terminal, and thus an additional 5 minutes was added to my trip. Add in the fact that these buses do not run on designated bus lanes (unlike those in Curitba and Ottawa), I still ended up getting caught in traffic. This problem will probably continue to exist until these buses get their own right-of-way.

While YRT has increased its ridership faster than any transit system in Canada, Viva still runs across suburbia. Running transit in car-dependent York Region, where over 90% of the people drive, will no doubt be a financial loser. Even if Viva does reach its goal and remove 7000 cars off the streets in Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill, I doubt any driver would even notice (some might even complain how these buses cause more traffic!).

Still, it's a start. York Region deserves real credit for making an effort to change the way we plan our communities. With traffic jams worse than the ones in downtown (I would say the morning rush hour traffic on the 404 is the worst in Canada), York Region can no longer ignore its transportation problems. While it may take years for Viva to reach decent ridership, it is definitely a first step towards building communities that are transit and pedestrian friendly...

Death of Small Town Ontario

September 5th, 2005 - As possibly the last time that we'll get a chance to go away for a weekend for the year, Jason and I decided to visit Cambridge for a couple of days (Kingston was our first choice, but all the hotels were booked). Initially we were both fairly excited, as the Town is known for its churches and great architecture (I mean, even Waterloo has its School of Architecture there ! what could go wrong ?).

Well I was wrong...

Cambridge turned out to be a big disappointment. Historic downtown Galt was a joke: not only were the majority of the stores closed, many of them are also empty and abandoned. The streets were also eerily quiet, there was nobody around ! Sure, the churches were nice (see above) but they were the only highlight ! Jason and I managed to visit all 3 town centres within an hour (the other 2 were just a street lined with closed stores - and they aren't great stores either !) How silly I was to envision that the town would be like old Quebec City or even small town New England !

Is this the death of small town Ontario ? did small towns like Cambridge die due to competition from the mall, from Walmart, and from urban sprawl ?

So instead, Jason and I spent our time in Cambridge doing things that we could have done in Toronto: dinner, movie, and sitting around watching tv. Not that I mind of course, but I had expected better from the town itself.

Well note to self: next time, see a bigger city !

Race, Class and Natural Disasters

Septembe 1st, 2005 - Like millions around the world, I've been glued to my tv set the past couple of days, shocked by the images showing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Southern USA.

Scenes of bodies lying on the streets, people pushing shopping carts filled with their belongings along highways, children crying and pleading for help, looters breaking into stores - these are images that I often associate Third World, war-torn countries with - and most definitely not an American City - especially New Orleans, with its unique French Quarter and historic Garden District, and those wild Mardi-Gras parties.

Katrina however uncovered a hidden side of New Orleans (and perhaps most American cities) that most of us forget and ignore. While the reporters covering the disaster did not point this out on the air, the camera held nothing back. Most of those who stayed behind after the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans were poor and black. As were most of the looters.

In a city where the poverty rate is double the national's average, where over half of the city is African-American, whatever disaster plan that the city had simply failed to address the needs of this underclass. Lacking money, education, and the means to get out of the city, they became the tragic victims in this disaster. The result of course are the heartbreaking images of people struggling to survive inside the Superdome and the Convention Centre - reminiscent of Third World refugee camps.

And can we blame the people for looting ? Sure enough, there were many who took advantages of the tragedy for personal gains; many however, simply broke into stores because they had no other choice: their instinct was to survive and if that means breaking into a store to get some food and water, then so be it.

The hurricane revealed deep segregation continues to exist in American cities. The poor continues to suffer disapportionately. While it is true that the storm did not discriminate, the system however, put poor African Americans at greater risk than other groups, and thus make them more vulnerable to the disaster.

There is no doubt that New Orleans will be rebuilt, but what will happen to the poor people living in the most flood-prone sections of the city ? Will the "new" New Orleans have a place for them ? is this an opportunity for things to change ? or will the poor become invisible again, until perhaps the next disaster ?