TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[DSC]

Another approach to SUBWAYS SUBWAYS SUBWAYS :->

One Parisian politician may have figured out a new way to seduce the electorate: by promising to convert the city’s abandoned metro stations into discotheques, swimming pools, restaurants and theatres.

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, member of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire party, is one of six candidates running for mayor of the French capital in March 2014. If elected, she announced in February, she will transform Paris’ deserted metro stations into social, sporting and cultural spaces.

Paris’ underground network has 11 disused stations – some of which were closed during WWII due to wartime spending cuts, and some of which never opened after their initial construction. Porte Molitor, for example, built to link metro lines 9 and 10 and to service southwest Paris’ football stadium Parc des Princes, proved too complicated to use and now serves as a train garage.

Trains still travel through some of these ghost stations; if you look closely, you can make out the abandoned platforms in the dark. The unused platform at the Porte des Lilas station, which opened in 1921 in the northeast of Paris, has served as a film set for movies including the 2001 French romantic comedy Amélie. Other abandoned stations are used as spaces to test equipment.

Kosciusko-Morizet enlisted the help of young architect Manal Rachdi and urban planner Nicolas Laisné to create several examples of possible renovations. One illustration shows a swimming pool surrounded by the metro’s distinctive, glossy, white tile walls; in another, a mood-lit nightclub dance floor replaces the train tracks; a third shows a gallery space in the shape of a white tunnel. If her campaign is successful, Kosciusko-Morizet plans to launch an online forum allowing Parisians to voice their own ideas for renovating these forgotten stations.

With incumbent mayor Bertrand Delanoë not running for re-election, the Paris elections are a close call – and Kosciusko-Morizet is currently running slightly behind her rival, Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo. Whether or not this underground project will ever see the light remains uncertain. If nothing else, however, it’s a fascinating exercise in urban renewal and inspiration for how these abandoned spaces could be put to use.

 

[M II A II R II K]

The separated bus lanes could be beautified like this:

 

[M II A II R II K]

The best and worst TTC bus and streetcar routes

All Routes: http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/Customer_Service/Quarterly_Reports/Route_Performance_Q4_2013.pdf

The percent means that proportion of vehicles that were within +/- 3 minutes of the scheduled headway.
More specifically that when each vehicle passes a ‘timing point’ it is compared to the vehicle in front of it
that last crossed that same point.

 

[W. K. Lis]

"Frequent, rapid bus service could ‘transform’ Toronto transportation, chief planner says"
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...rm-toronto-transportation-chief-planner-says/

Heated bus shelters! Frequent fast bus service! Great ideas, clearly she liked what she heard from Jarrett Walker.

The best thing about these ideas is that they can be implemented quickly, we don't have grow old waiting for it.

Unfortunately, all that needs money. With the TTC being the LOWEST urban public transit agency in North America, that's not going to change until the province, AND the federal governments show better support towards public transit by subsidizing the operating budgets on a regular basis, and not for one-time special circumstances.

 

[BMO]

The best and worst TTC bus and streetcar routes

All Routes: http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/Customer_Service/Quarterly_Reports/Route_Performance_Q4_2013.pdf

The percent means that proportion of vehicles that were within +/- 3 minutes of the scheduled headway.
More specifically that when each vehicle passes a ‘timing point’ it is compared to the vehicle in front of it
that last crossed that same point...

Funny how the worst performing routes are mostly all in the North-West part of the city, or pass through there.

 

[salsa]

Unfortunately, all that needs money. With the TTC being the LOWEST urban public transit agency in North America, that's not going to change until the province, AND the federal governments show better support towards public transit by subsidizing the operating budgets on a regular basis, and not for one-time special circumstances.

Part of the Metrolinx revenue tools will be allocated for local transit, so maybe it could be funded from there.

 

[nfitz]

The best and worst TTC bus and streetcar routes

All Routes: http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/Customer_Service/Quarterly_Reports/Route_Performance_Q4_2013.pdf

Interesting. I think for buses, there is a good correlation betwen route length, and reliability. The shorter the route, the more the reliable. Those short shuttles to the subway station are excellent!

Perhaps a justification for breaking a lot of routes at Eglinton when the new line opens.

 

[salsa]

It seems that TTC bashing has become a sport among some people, and sure enough my professor (who teaches sustainable energy) brings up this slide to show how "pathetic" our transit is.

Of course I was immediately suspicious of some of the numbers. Toronto's population is indeed correct when you consider the metro region, which it perfectly fine but London's population is NOT the metro region. It's supposed to be 15,010,295, but she cherry-picked the population of only the city itself (and it's also outdated). As for daily ridership, the TTC actually gets 2.65 million in total, so I thought she only used the subway ridership. But then I check the TTC's official website and I couldn't find any numbers that low in any of the last 3 years. I'd love to know where she got that number from but there were no references. As for London ridership I really don't know, but nevertheless this was such a blatant misrepresentation of our city, and it left a bad impression on the international students. Might as well cram NYC in that same slide, since it's apparently only "slightly bigger than Toronto" by her logic (can't believe she said that with a straight face).

If our subway was tripled in size, our city would be set for the next 100 years but it still wouldn't look anything like London. Why not at least explain relevant things such as political issues, land use, low density? Actually, why not just skip this crap all together as it has absolutely nothing to do with sustainable energy systems. I should have just stood up and give her an earful in front of everyone, but I'm not that kind of person.

I don't disagree that the TTC is "pathetic", but this is beyond stupid for a university professor. If anyone wants to insult the city that I love, then you either make a good case for it or have your balls kicked.

 

[ehlow]

Wow that's really sad that your prof would do that.

I also hate when people compare Toronto to NYC, London or Paris, places that are WAY bigger and denser.

Showing subway maps only completely discounts the value of the bus and streetcar network. Some of our bus and streetcar lines carry more people than some subways. The Finch bus carries more than the Sheppard subway.

We obviously do need to expand our transit system, but comparing us to London, NYC or Paris crazy. Also annoying is when people compare us to Asian cities, which happens a lot. In the same vein, the term "world class" annoys me.

 

[rbt]

It seems that TTC bashing has become a sport among some people, and sure enough my professor (who teaches sustainable energy) brings up this slide to show how "pathetic" our transit is.

...

Actually, why not just skip this crap all together as it has absolutely nothing to do with sustainable energy systems.

In terms of energy, the Toronto system has more riders per km of metro making the Toronto system far more energy efficient than the London system. The Toronto system is the model system (for sustainable energy, from a metro only perspective, as less energy would be used per passenger) and London gets a failing grade.

That's what really makes this comparison messed up. She's gotten the goal backward from the start.

Having a metro stop for every single building is the worst case scenario and where bigger is better logically concludes.

 

[Johnny Au]

Toronto has one of the most sustainable subway systems in the world, as it has among the most passengers per kilometre. Take out the Sheppard line and the Scarborough RT and Toronto is near the top.

 

[M II A II R II K]

That's because of the lack of extra subways, and everyone's crammed on what little there is.

 

[junctionist]

So what that it's sustainable? It's scarcity that lowers quality of life and not a good situation. You can't take a quick subway train to many places because the network is small. So you're stuck on a bus or in a car on a congested street, losing valuable time.

 

[ehlow]

So what that it's sustainable? It's scarcity that lowers quality of life and not a good situation. You can't take a quick subway train to many places because the network is small. So you're stuck on a bus or in a car on a congested street, losing valuable time.

I think most of us agree that the system of transit lines that are traffic-immune and fast, frequent & reliable needs to be expanded.

There are two transit lines under construction which will make that system map above look much bigger, and two more fully funded and ready to start construction. There are several more that most want to see started (DRL etc).

If we want to see our system expanded, the only thing we can really do is support governments which will continue to build the currently planned lines and start work on more lines, and also commit money to pay for rapid transit construction. Not cancelling plans that have years of work is a good idea in my opinion as well. If we keep adding to the 5-10 year pipeline, then hopefully by 2020, every year or two afterwards there will be a new transit line opening.

In the meantime until 2020, we can support those who would give the TTC the financial ability to run better service with more buses & streetcars, so that people can get the best service on the surface routes possible.

We do have the UP express line and Spadina extension opening in 2015 & 2016 to look forward to in the short term, as well as new streetcars, Union station, and watching Eglinton get built.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Judging how the NDP don't seem to want to go to a spring election and how the Liberals seem to really want to push through the transit taxes, I think the chances of MAJOR expansion to our transit network are becoming stronger by the day. Now we just need to get a Mayor who is willing to put some money into the TTC for strong operating procedures. Keesmaats mention of reinstating the transit city like bus plan is promising, and if our next mayor returns TTC crowding levels to that before Fords cuts, I will be happy.

We have also finally entered the period of regular transit expansion openings, which haven't been common for decades. We will have a major opening at least annually from now on, and increasingly more like every 6 months. The TTC modernization with PRESTO and new streetcars is also going to change the face of the TTC hugely.