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Rob Ford's Toronto
- Thread starter MetroMan
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casita
Senior Member
It's hard to believe that a few years ago Toronto was considered one of the most successful governments in Canada.
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CalgarianExOntarian
Active Member
Oh, man. I totally agree about the incredible difficulty of that! Sorry!
Honestly, Scrooge was just the first bad-guy-turned-good that popped into my head when I was trying to make a point about stories versus real life.
But ... Ghost of Rob haunting Doug, Doug totally not getting the point, Doug giving terrible BS answers to the media in response to questions about rumours of a supernatural visitation ...
Somebody on this thread or on Twitter could take that and run with it, I think.
nohostages
Active Member
This is apropos of nothing Fordish however I feel the need to share it here. I think Tory should consider Soks' idea to waive fares on the subway before six a.m. to time shift the rush. I also think new office builds should be required to have a drive through courier drop. I did courier service driving for a couple months years ago and it was brutal trying to get near the drop zones and the situation is even worse now. Every building needs loading docks enough to accommodate its own tenants. No plan for traffic management and deliveries no permit.
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TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
Mmmm, defends how you define "successful." It's true David Miller was appearing on the cover of Time Magazine etc. but all the systemic issues we've seen the last few years, from terrible councilors getting reelected to ineffectual integrity laws, existed back then. Mammoliti and Ford were saying stupid things on council, it's just that most of us weren't paying such close attention.
I forget all the details of Vancouver's governance system but my recollection is that it's superior in most ways. They have at-large councillors, for one thing, which is huge when it comes to someone other than the mayor speaking for the whole city, and it makes it harder for the Mammolitis of the world to get elected in the first place.
Toronto was considered a successful, even model government, under Metro. At least from the 50s through the 80s, anyway. Amalgamation didn't destroy this on its own; the problem was combining that with giving the city more to do and no resources to do it. That's a discussion for another forum, I suppose, but Rob Ford didn't start this. He's a symptom of bigger problems, some of which the city cannot fix on its own.
The really ballsy thing would be if someone actually did this with roads. What if you (for example!) tolled the DVP and Gardiner (for starters) but with very low tolls from 5 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and then jumping up until 9:30. Would that cause companies and workers to shift the rush? Helping the rush on the subway is a good idea but it's pointless if you don't apply the same logic to the real sources of congestion which, you know, are cars.
The really nutty part of it is that you could use the money collected from those tolls to build more transit! And then there would be more room on the subway! I think I just invented this crazy idea.
Really, a few bold, game-changing ideas of any kind would be nice.
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the lemur
Senior Member
This is actually how ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) works in Singapore on the expressways and arterials. A 26-km trip across the island, north to south, ending in the city centre, will cost SGD 15 (about CAD 13) at peak times, but only SGD 2 (CAD 1.75) at off-peak times.
At the same time, travel on the rapid transit system is free before 7:45 am if you tap on outside the city and tap off within it, and you get a 50-cent rebate between 7:45 and 8.
There was also a road pricing system that was meant to be implemented in the Netherlands by now (the government abandoned it because it thought there wasn't enough support for it) that would have charged drivers by distance driven, with varying rates at peak and off-peak times, all rates determined by vehicle emissions, and a corresponding phase-out of gas taxes, registration fees, etc.
Agreed. Tory seems at least willing to consider things. The Fords were never really interested in changing anything, even though they liked to throw around simple solutions to complex problems.
casita
Senior Member
That is the era I was referring to, TJ.
TJ O'Pootertoot
Senior Member
Ah, it's just more than a few years ago now
But one can't help but dream of better times.I believe Paris has something similar too but maybe in the outer burbs? Anyway, Soks' idea is a great start but it seems short-sighted to me to try to solve the transit piece of the puzzle without also dealing with the more daunting car problem. That's all for another thread anyhow
Racquette
Active Member
I believe Paris has something similar too but maybe in the outer burbs? Anyway, Soks' idea is a great start but it seems short-sighted to me to try to solve the transit piece of the puzzle without also dealing with the more daunting car problem. That's all for another thread anyhow
Because 'Subways subways subways' was the only transit plan in Rob Ford's Toronto... (Not that I have anything against subways! But what a relief to know that real ideas for the relief of congestion may actually be explored now!)
pud99
Senior Member
Blatantly plagerized from Sarah Thomson's biography.
pud99
Senior Member
nohostages
Active Member
I will find the appropriate thread. However one more teensy post on this topic. The Soks idea is a low cost effort to see if time shifting has any appreciable effect. Those trains are running anyway, nearly empty.
Perhaps some of those who drive in would consider transit instead if it was less crowded thereby getting some cars off the road as well. The time shifting of road tolls is a natural extension of the concept but the infrastructure is not ready and the appetite for road tolls is lukewarm at best. A successful time shift campaign on the TTC could be illustrative for the adoption of the whole schmear. O'Pootertoot for transit commissioner!
wombat
New Member
Tmz
I haven't had much of a chance to look upthread to see if this caused a stir Saturday night, so if it's already been commented on, please forgive me.
But does anyone know the story behind this tweet?
@TMZ Breaking: rob ford died just a few hours ago. ER sources. Press conference in the morning around 8-10! again fresh tip!â€
It obviously was either an inaccurate tip from a source or a hoax. I first saw it Sunday night, almost a full day after it was tweeted, and saw that there was next to no response to it.
Does anyone know what happened?
I haven't had much of a chance to look upthread to see if this caused a stir Saturday night, so if it's already been commented on, please forgive me.
But does anyone know the story behind this tweet?
@TMZ Breaking: rob ford died just a few hours ago. ER sources. Press conference in the morning around 8-10! again fresh tip!â€
It obviously was either an inaccurate tip from a source or a hoax. I first saw it Sunday night, almost a full day after it was tweeted, and saw that there was next to no response to it.
Does anyone know what happened?
Videodrome
Senior Member
This is the first that I have known of TMZ's claim. If he was even close to death, it would be dominating the news...
Lamport Davenport
Active Member
Many of the lower-paid, more menial jobs start early, which means an even earlier departure from the outer suburbs. Free TTC would help many of those disadvantaged folks. Some cities have tried it - free if you arrive at your destination before 7am - and it's worked so well, their local critics called these free early subways "gravy trains. "
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