Fords Working to Fire Webster, Stintz, Scrap Streetcars: Star

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Webster still driving TTC 3


By Don Peat ,City Hall Bureau First posted: Friday, July 22, 2011 1:19:59 EDT PM
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TORONTO - Is it the end of the line for TTC chief general manager Gary Webster?
Not yet.
Former TTC vice-chairman Councillor Joe Mihevc accused Mayor Rob Ford’s administration of plotting to oust Webster and replace him with a candidate dedicated to building the Sheppard subway.
“It’s in play,” Mihevc told the Sun. “Torontonians need to voice to their mayor that they want competent managers, not lackeys running the TTC.”
TTC officials confirmed Webster was still on the job Friday.
Mihevc said firing Webster would send the message across the city civil service that politics rather than professional competence matters.
“It’s a question of whether we want professional managers or ass kissers at the TTC,” Mihevc said.
The Ward 21, St. Paul’s councillor lauded Webster for having a proven track record at the TTC, despite the TTC’s recent customer service woes. If Webster gets the boot, Mihevc stressed TTC riders will notice it.
“They’ll feel it on the street,” he said. “You will have a very poor public transit system.”
Commission spokesman Brad Ross said Webster wasn’t available for an interview Friday but was working hard with staff on the 2012 budget and ongoing customer service improvement initiatives.
“The TTC is a large, complex organization. His continued leadership has never been more important,” Ross stated in an e-mail.
Councillors on the TTC commission would have to vote to remove Webster.
TTC chairman Karen Stintz could not be immediately reached for comment.
Councillor Doug Ford declined to comment Friday.
Adrienne Batra, the mayor’s press secretary, refused to discuss Webster.
“We don’t comment on personnel matters,” she said.

 

[jje1000]

Some councilors on the commission jump to the defense of Gary Webster:
http://www.thestar.com/news/ttc/article/1029203--commissioners-voice-support-for-ttc-head?bn=1

When it come time to act, will they line up with Ford instead?

 

[ShonTron]

Case Ootes, or worse, Gordon "transit is not a social service"* Chong, whose only professional training is in dentistry. But having his Ontario PC seat downsized by Harris set him up for all sorts of gravy-soaked government jobs.

I found it really interesting that Karen Stintz floated the ballon of just cutting the Sheppard losses and just extending the line to Vic Park. That's probably the most sensible thing to do with that corridor. Either Stintz is toast (but then so is a friendly Ford vote), or she is intentionally changing the tune on the P3 Sheppard pipedream on behalf of the administration.

*Actual quote, in response to criticism to a scheme to eliminate post-secondary GO discounts

 

[Palma]

FWIW, my mother sent an email complaining about the grocery bag fees and quickly got an email back, the first couple of paragraphs were clearly personally written. I guess they could have been by a staff member but it wasn't just a rote response. I feel like if this were an outright lie The Toronto Star would be reporting it every day. Really, as this whole thing shows, it's the least of the issues...

Well I tried calling Ford when he just became mayor and his assistant answered the phone and would not put the call through. He kept asking me what I thought Ford could do. (A snowplow on contract from the city did damage to my vehicle). Its a long story but anyways I then decided to send Ford and email regarding the damage. I got a reply about 1 month later. How is that for customer service? Even under the Miller administration when the damage occurred, I got a response back within days. Ford ended the email by saying it had gone to their Revenuer Dept. And I am thinking what does their Revenue dept have to do with this when it should be the city's insurer (Which I had been I contact with). Some months go by and I send another email. This time I get a callback again from Ford's assistant but this is weeks after my second email.

So I do not believe for 1 minute he responds to calls right away. Its probably only the easy calls that he does take or call back. It's easy to say "I return every call". Who is going to prove him wrong? Its not until people who do not have their calls return make it into the newspapers that Fiord will be exposed as being a liar. Or when Ford says "people are telling me they want smooth roads and clean streets. I find it hard to believe those are the priorities for people living in Toronto. And if so does this mean garbage will revert back to 2x a week or at lest every week or at least the compost should be 2x a week. I doubt it. He only wants the savings from all the Dept's and cuts so he can finance that subway on Sheppard. He should be pushing

 

[Palma]

My last post should have ended as - He should be pushing that the LRT on Eginton should be subway and if anything on Sheppard LRT. But of course his supporters are in Scarborough. I guess the LRT falls short of actually making it into Etobicoke to make a difference to the people there. But those people probably rely on cars anyways and he knows that which is why he is not pushing the subway on Eglinton where as in Scarborough they rely on transit.

 

[Calrissian]

anyone that rides the street cars will trade in those moving stop signs for subways any day/night. Took me half an hour (including waiting time) to commute vs a 10 min bike ride, and maybe a 25 min walk...

Oh, because the plan is to remove the king street car for a king subway? and the queen street car for a queen subway?

ya, no one who rides those street car routes would trade them in for a subway out in the middle of scarburbia.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Oh, because the plan is to remove the king street car for a king subway? and the queen street car for a queen subway?

...and a Spadina subway? & a College/Carlton/Gerrard subway? & a Queens Quay subway? & a St. Clair subway? & a Dundas subway? ....

 

[UD2]

this is making me angry.

 

[allabootmatt]

Does anyone else find it slightly bizarre the media has done absolutely no followup on Mihevc's comments? The Star had a story suggesting a solid majority of commissioners want Webster to stay, and presumably Stintz' advocacy of a truncated Sheppard suggests she doesn's back the batshit-crazy streetcars-for-Scarborough-subway scheme. Yet no one seems to have bothered to ask uh, what the hell is going on?

 

[rbt]

The TTC states that their crowding standard for a CLRV is 74 riders, for a bus 48. It follows that in the peak period 3 busses would be required to replace 2 streetcars, offpeak it can be 1:1. Again, not my numbers, talk to the TTC.

The new streetcars on order are larger than an ALRV with a capacity closer to 150.

 

[rbt]

Case Ootes, or worse, Gordon "transit is not a social service"* Chong, whose only professional training is in dentistry. But having his Ontario PC seat downsized by Harris set him up for all sorts of gravy-soaked government jobs.

...

*Actual quote, in response to criticism to a scheme to eliminate post-secondary GO discounts

He isn't necessarily wrong. Setting up a separate organization to identify persons in need and buy them necessary transportation (might be a car/fuel depending on work they can do) would be better than subsidizing operations for the entire system. Instead of giving persons like myself a 25% discount they could give someone who needs it a 50% discount or more.

Of course, I don't believe the road network in larger cities should be a social service either. Works department should be charging user fees to, at very least, break even on that file.

 

[Justin10000]

Urban myth department.

The TTC states that their crowding standard for a CLRV is 74 riders, for a bus 48. It follows that in the peak period 3 busses would be required to replace 2 streetcars, offpeak it can be 1:1. Again, not my numbers, talk to the TTC.

The crowding standard is what the TTC has set for the upper acceptable limit for crowding. It can be changed anytime, and with this administration, I'll bet it will increase. Anyone who has ridden a bus or streetcar knows some runs carry far than the set crowding standard. The design capacity for the CLRV is 102 passengers for "normal service usage", and 150 at crush, ALRV is 155 and 205 respectively. One streetcar at max capacity can do the work 2-3 buses at max capacity, and I am not even factoring the larger ALRV, and the much larger Flexities.

My point stands, you'll need more buses to do the work of the higher capacity streetcars. You cannot replace streetcars with buses 1:1 using off-peak numbers. Every transit system is designed to peak capacity, and you have to accept there will be many vehciles idle during the day. Replacing the streetcars will be a disaster of the highest order.

 

[toraerach]

The obvious bias and poor reporting by the star (obviously to be inflammatory), or the naivety of the readers...

Can you blame the Star for telling only one side of the story when only one side will talk to them?

 

[M II A II R II K]

The streetcars would have to be replaced with articulated busses, nothing less.

 

[sixrings]

Although I DID NOT VOTE ROB FORD... and he HAS NOT won me over, I was still contemplating voting PC in the provincal elections because I wasnt happy with Mcguinty on a number of things (Surprisingly I was OK with the GST, minus how its applicable to some things and not others, just apply it to everything). However NOW there is no way I am voting PC, I am deffinately voting LIBERAL. I hope others changed there mind as well. Whats really scary is that if FORD just acted somewhat sane the first year in office we would probably have a 99% chance of having a PC Mayor, a PC premier and a PC Prime Minister...