I watched the "Not Just Bikes" video above, and I found it to be a little patronizing and frankly, incorrect. Certainly I have my gripes about GO, and the parking garages, but there seem to be some omissions that indicate a lack of research. Most of the parking lots he visits are already slated to become mixed use communities no? At least I know Oakville, Pickering, Newmarket, Danforth, Bronte, Downsview, Weston, Kipling, and a few others are. It feels weird that one would offer such a bleak view of GO without being up to date on whats actually happening with it.
This is the first one that I have watched.
My impression:
While I generally sympathize w/his POV, I find it a bit fact light, a tad grating/patronizing and too bloody long.
Clearly the video is intended as a form of advocacy.
Great!
So long as you make it persuasive to the people you need to, in order to change the status quo.
He makes a crack in the video about being 'cancelled' by his suburban friends..............I don't think he's wrong.
In any event, he's likely to be cancelled by all the suburbanites who aren't his friend.
What he needs to do, aside from cutting back on some of the snark...............is break this video down into its fundamental concepts, and pair them w/the logical solutions.
1) Parking at GO Stations: Its mostly free, that should change, I agree. Why would people who park for free agree? Because you agree to cut the price of their train trip, by the exact same amount you charge for parking + an extra 5% for being such a good sport! You introduce a price that is manageable and in line w/the fact feeder transit couldn't handle a massive shift all at once................say $4-6 per day. But you take that off the trip from, say, Pickering, that the per trip cost drops $2.50-3.50 ($5-7 round trip)
2) Transit/Walking/Cycling infra at/to GO Stations: Pick a select number of bad stations where change can be made to happen and work; identify the service improvements for local transit required, and what's needed to handle a shift of say 20% of those currently parking, to transit. Show what kind of cycling infra you want (Bike Boulevard/Cycletrack) and where it needs to be.
Now cost those; prioritize, give Mx a case to make; and given suburbanites who drive to transit a real reason to support change.
3) Suburb-suburb commutes..........first, cut the patronizing BS and admit this is a challenge in most large cities. Transit works best with density, which is almost never uniform and tends to favour the centre over the periphery.
Yes, we can make it better. But which better would you like? We can't build 3 new cross-town GO lines............even 2 is likely only possible a generation or more from now. So prioritize 1. What route would make such commutes more possible and easier. What would it cost to build? How many commuters would it serve? What it would cost to operate? What role would Highway tolls play in its success? How would you sell the drivers of said highways on change?
I'm anti-highway, I'm anti-sprawl, I'm pro-transit.................but I also understand, I need the support of people who live in the burbs, and commute by car to change the world. Patronizing them is not the most useful way to make that happen.
Just sayin.
