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Toronto is about to make life a lot more difficult for motorists... on purpose! (pg. 4)
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| Dj Smitty20 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dr. Z
Unlike those Chinese people (who stare at the ground when they walk anyway), I actually care about the air space and the community I live in. The last thing I want is a giant metal rollercoaster disturbing above my head.
In any case, the problem is that we live in a retarded society where:
1. a 200 employee office building needs 200 parking spaces...
2. to order a $5 sticker off of ebay , a UPS truck hand delivers it to my door, an environmental nightmare...
3. driving my car into the city and driving out is as (if not less) expensive as public transportation...
4. etc |
The people who designed Toronto's traffic system 40-50 years ago were incredibly short sighted. The traffic is just a ing mess and is going to be an issue for decades, probably for the rest of our lives anyway. Not having been raised in Toronto, I'm not sure, frankly, how people can stand the daily commute, whether it be by car, public transit, the GO train, etc. Why is there STILL no rail or transit line to the Airport? ing unbelievable.
Just because I live in London doesn't mean I love it here either. For a city of about 400,000, our traffic is a mess too and sometimes takes me 45 minutes to get from one end of the city to another between 3 to 7pm. KW's expressway system is consistently a gong show during rush hour times as well. Too many people, too many cars on the road. Infrastructure clearly has not kept up across Ontario. |
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| SSSanchez |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
So you are telling me that the current subway/transit and road system is sufficient? Or do you just feel the need to counter every single point i make in spite of its validity? LOL |
Eh Seņor,
I only wish we were able to equip our vehicles with 'Chuck Norris' style missiles (as in Delta Force) to knock-off cyclists and parking enforcement...or battering rams that deploy from underneath the car...this would be ideal. I am a cyclist but obey the rules of the road (though I mostly mountain bike off-road). There are simply too many cyclist that disobey the rules of the road; they wish to share the space...but how many times do you see cyclists zip across a four-way intersection and not stop? Or zig-zag in and out of traffic? They have no courtesy. It's so common. I wish there was some sort of stringent enforcement for cyclists...but that's unlikely.
I support green initiatives (at least practical ones). This city will be held hostage by a combination of NIMBY idiots and our excessive and 'ā la mode' Enviroweenies.
On New York....probably the most accessible, well-integrated and affordable transit system that I have seen. Aside from its current financial situation (Bloomberg wanting to privatize some services), I speak accolades of the size, scale and efficiency of their transit; it's like clockwork. The region' s MTA spans NJ, Connecticut and Long Island...out even into the Hamptons with connections to the major hubs in Manhattan and Queens. Their fare system is also well integrated. Many New Yorkers that work in Manhattan live in the suburbs and commute (speaking outside Brooklyn & Queens on Long Island). The single card fare system allows to you use the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), connect to trains in the city, use the bus service...all with ONE pass (obviously the fares depend on distance travelled). They have EXPRESS trains in the core city transit system. You can commute from say Bronx , Brooklyn or Queens into Manhattan on express service (not stopping at every station...rather, say every 5 stations). Imagine how long it takes to travel from Kipling to Kennedy.
They benefited from their early days since most of the current lines were built by 1950 by private entities that were then amalgamated into one service. However, they are expanding and currently building the 2nd Ave line that will become the most easterly line (after Lexington Ave) that will cross Manhattan (north to south)...and building it in a high density urban area. It is possible.
Perhaps they are able to achieve this because they don't spend hordes of dollars on debating whether raccoons and pigeons have psychological disorders stemming from re-zoning... or spending money on every variation of environmental assessments...or spending money on going for a 'business lunch' at the House of Lancaster...or arguing as to 'who gets to sit beside who' in the annual city council photo. |
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| SgtFoo |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dr. Z
In any case, the problem is that we live in a retarded society where:
1. a 200 employee office building needs 200 parking spaces...
2. to order a $5 sticker off of ebay , a UPS truck hand delivers it to my door, an environmental nightmare...
3. driving my car into the city and driving out is as (if not less) expensive as public transportation...
4. etc |
yea all of this is absurd.
It simply is insane, that it would cost me nearly the same to commute via transit to work (from richmond hill to downtown toronto) as it would cost me to use my car.
!!! How do I even get out of the loop?
-static income(for the time being) only allows me to either A: own a car and commute, or B: sell the car and rent a place downtown and transit to work (which by the way is already more expensive than a car at that point).
The city is making decisions about transportation without analysing the daily patterns of people.
There are commuters to Toronto and there are people that live in Toronto. Both of them fight for space in the transit system. More subway grids would make more sense.... thereby alleviating the number of cars/businesses/parking lots/residences that saturate the areas surrounding the mis-shapen subway system we have.
Another problem is the people who live 10 minutes from work, downtown, and STILL insist on driving their Lexus/BMW/Porshe to work!!!!! TAKE ING TRANSIT!!!!! |
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| Skipper |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dj Smitty20
Just because I live in London doesn't mean I love it here either. For a city of about 400,000, our traffic is a mess too and sometimes takes me 45 minutes to get from one end of the city to another between 3 to 7pm. KW's expressway system is consistently a gong show during rush hour times as well. Too many people, too many cars on the road. Infrastructure clearly has not kept up across Ontario. |
London traffic is the worst, if only because you keep thinking "wtf, this is London, why does it take me an hour to drive across this tiny city?" |
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| Tordan |
| quote: | Motion passes to add bicycle lanes to Jarvis Street
Web Staff, cp24.com
A motion to narrow Jarvis Street and add bike lanes to the downtown thoroughfare has passes at Toronto City Council.
The vote to file an environmental study on narrowing the street passed 28 to 16 just after 6 p.m. Monday. The motion sought the removal of one of the street's five car lanes, improved sidewalks and lanes for bicycles.
Critics, including Don Valley East Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong, say Mayor David Miller and his supporters are waging a war on drivers.
Scarborough-Agincourt Coun. Mike Del Grande, who also opposed the motion, suggested that reduced driving capacity would lessen tourism and be bad for business-owners on the street.
However, proponents of the motion say the bike lanes will go far in easing transportation to the downtown core for cyclists.
Monday is Toronto's official Bike to Work Day and the first day of the city's Bike Month. |
Don't they understand that most of the people on bikes downtown already live in the vicinity? The people in cars are driving for a reason... the crappy transit system!! How is this move going to solve anything? "improved sidewalks" WTF is that? |
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| kaniz |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
This might help
http://torontoist.com/2009/05/four_..._wheels_bad.php
Apparently they want to revitalize the neighbourhood. All this will do is create congestion and cause people to avoid the area altogether as far as im concerned. These bike lovers tend to forget that even people who live there need to get in and out of neighbourhoods. Also im pretty sure people on jarvis need to "just pass through" other neighbourhoods in Toronto to get to where they need to go.
This whole idea smacks of NIMBYism and "me first" selfishness |
I'm a cyclist, and think this is a stupid move. There is a bike lane one block over, and adding one to Jarvis just seems useless. They would be better served creating a Bike Lane to connect downtown with the north end of the city along Avenue or something.
Biking on Jarvis is scary - thats why I always take the extra 30 seconds to go a block over and go along Sherbourn instead. |
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| Intangible |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Unbelievable |
+1
(more unbelievable this is probably the first thread that I have ever agreed with Jayx1 :nervous: ) |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Intangible
+1
(more unbelievable this is probably the first thread that I have ever agreed with Jayx1 :nervous: ) |
LOL
Im sure the increased smog on jarvis will make up for the lawnmowers :rolleyes: |
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| StereoPrincess |
I wouldn't mind more bike lanes all over the city if cyclists weren't terrorists.
everyday i go around the city in fear of getting hit by a bike while walking, or having a bike steer around every corner and go under the tires of my car or a cyclist ramming into my windshield. i live in constant fear. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by StereoPrincess
I wouldn't mind more bike lanes all over the city if cyclists weren't terrorists.
everyday i go around the city in fear of getting hit by a bike while walking, or having a bike steer around every corner and go under the tires of my car or a cyclist ramming into my windshield. i live in constant fear. |
Dont worry, ive got you covered. I play chicken with them when they drive the wrong way on a one way street and refuse to get out of my way! ;) |
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| StereoPrincess |
| lol. also, i guess they don't understand that no one will even want to bike on Jarvis. I wouldn't walk or bike along there. i would rather not get mugged/raped/shot, thanks. it's also difficult to pick up hookers on a bicycle. |
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