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TTC: Other Items (catch all)

jameskoole said:
Another couple of months with bus replacements on the 502/503. Brad Ross says June will see the return of streetcars. But only until September when the buses return. These routes might as well be called bus routes with the occasional periods where they run streetcars. They blame the delays with the new Flexities, but this bus replacement has been going on for years now. They don't seem to want to run streetcars on these routes for some reason.
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One of the reason they replace them with buses is because they are a short route and there are a lot of streetcars either being rebuilt or that can't be rebuilt and are being used for spare part. They are putting them back onto 502 and 503 for the summer because St. Clair is closed to streetcars well they get it ready for the new ones to go into service on the 512 eventually.
 
jameskoole said:
Another couple of months with bus replacements on the 502/503. Brad Ross says June will see the return of streetcars. But only until September when the buses return. These routes might as well be called bus routes with the occasional periods where they run streetcars. They blame the delays with the new Flexities, but this bus replacement has been going on for years now. They don't seem to want to run streetcars on these routes for some reason.
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The new buses did arrive early to fill in the gap for the late streetcars. The 512 will be very annoying this summer as they won't use the streetcar lanes but instead board on the curb. The TTC says hello to traffic jam and unreliable (presto-less) transit on St Clair all thanks to the TTC. The streetcar lanes would be closed off anyways for platform modifications for the new cars so bus can't even use them if they were wide enough. I feel like it's 2005 again.
 
The TTC used to own rail grinders but I do not recall ever seeing notices about a major streetcar rail grinding project in recent years.

Streetcar track maintenance
Rail grinding for 2016
Work description and purpose
As part of its streetcar track maintenance program and state of good repair, TTC will be conducting rail grinding along a number of sections of its streetcar network that developed some rail roughness.

The TTC has obtained a contracted service to provide the rail grinding. This work is intended to improve the current condition of the rail surface which will aid in reducing noise and vibration levels, extend the life of the rail and provide a smoother streetcar operation through those areas.

Work hours
Grinding sessions on sections of the streetcar network is currently scheduled between April 27 and May 17. To ensure that this grinding operation is carried out to its optimum potential, the slow moving rail-grinding unit will begin operations from approximately 9 p.m. and will continue until the start of morning streetcar service at approximately 5 a.m.

Grinding activities will generally occur one to two nights on each section of the streets listed below between April 27 and May 17, weather permitting. A street sweeper will be used to clean the track area each day following grinding operations. Streetcars will be diverted after 9 p.m. to accommodate the grinding work. A shuttle bus service will be provided.

Scheduled grinding locations
*Timelines subject to change - weather dependent

On College Street - April 27, 28 and May 1 to 4 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • St Clarens Avenue to Brock Avenue
  • Sheridan Avenue to Dufferin Street
  • Gladstone Avenue to Dovercourt Road
  • Dovercourt Road to Ossington Avenue
On Gerrard Street East - April 29, 30 and May 5 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Gainsborough Road to Bowmore Road
  • Leslie Street to Glenside Avenue
  • Parliament Street to River Street
On Queen Street East - May 6 to 9 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Neville Park Boulevard to Glen Manor Road
  • Connaught Avenue to Kingston Road
  • Logan Avenue to Lewis Street
On Queen Street West - May 10 to 12 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • McCaul Street to Spadina Avenue
  • Bathurst Street to Cameron Street
  • Markham Street to Strachan Avenue
On Fleet Street - May 13 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue
On Dundas Street West - May 14 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Morrow Avenue to just north of Bloor Street
On Cherry Street/Sumach Street - May 15 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Streetcar loop to King Street - (new 514 Cherry streetcar route scheduled for operations this summer)
At Russell Yard - May 16 to 17 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • South end of yard
Thank you for your patience as we work to improve transit in Toronto.

For further information:
Diego Sinagoga, Community Liaison, 416-393-2197; diego.sinagoga@ttc.ca.
 
DSC said:
The TTC used to own rail grinders but I do not recall ever seeing notices about a major streetcar rail grinding project in recent years.
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yes the used to use an old PCC streetcar with a second as the grinder they ended up selling them to Halton County Radial Society .

collection_1946_W-30L.jpg
 
Steve X said:
The new buses did arrive early to fill in the gap for the late streetcars. The 512 will be very annoying this summer as they won't use the streetcar lanes but instead board on the curb. The TTC says hello to traffic jam and unreliable (presto-less) transit on St Clair all thanks to the TTC. The streetcar lanes would be closed off anyways for platform modifications for the new cars so bus can't even use them if they were wide enough. I feel like it's 2005 again.
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The reason why the new buses came in early was to increase the spare ratio.

Apparently there are TTC buses with presto installed on them already. I expect in another month or so you will start to see more of them with presto
 
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nfitz said:
I certainly wouldn't like to have my blood taken on a frequent basis. The risk of this procedure is low, but it isn't zero.

Throw in that it's generally considered a violation of human rights in Ontario by the government agency in charge of human rights, and it's not clear-cut. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-drug-and-alcohol-testing

More importantly, they don't consider it effective. So why bother?
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If its a Human Rights violation why is TTC moving ahead with it? They aren't even waiting for the matter to go through arbitration, they're just going ahead with it regardless if its a violation or not

The Union says they are going to court. Why is TTC going down a road where apparently they may lose. I think its to show the public that they tried to do something about this issue, so they come out looking good even if they lose?
 
nfitz said:
I certainly wouldn't like to have my blood taken on a frequent basis. The risk of this procedure is low, but it isn't zero.

Throw in that it's generally considered a violation of human rights in Ontario by the government agency in charge of human rights, and it's not clear-cut. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-drug-and-alcohol-testing

More importantly, they don't consider it effective. So why bother?
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All in all, the page you linked actually supports drug and alcohol testing in the context of the TTC by stating it balances human rights and safety requirements; it says that it is discriminatory in general, but the TTC scenario is clearly called out as being acceptable.

If you look on that page it says: "It is the OHRC’s view that such testing is prima facie discriminatory and can only be used in limited circumstances. The primary reason for conducting such testing should be to measure impairment.[2] Even testing that measures impairment can be justified only if it is demonstrably connected to the performance of the job; for example, if an employee occupies a safety-sensitive position" TTC operators are clearly employed in safety-sensitive positions as they're driving multi-ton vehicles on shared-use rights of way with passengers aboard and other road users around them.

Below that it says "It is the OHRC’s view that by focusing on testing that actually measures impairment, especially in jobs that are safety sensitive, an appropriate balance can be struck between human rights and safety requirements, both for employees and for the public." Sounds like they're for it.
 
DSC said:
On Dundas Street West - May 14 - in areas between/in vicinity of:
  • Morrow Avenue to just north of Bloor Street
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Kind of silly that this work isn't being carried out before May 2, while the 505 is still diverting to High Park Loop. But rail grinding on this section of track is very much welcome regardless, as my bedroom window faces out toward the street and I can confirm that it's quite loud.
 
smably said:
Kind of silly that this work isn't being carried out before May 2, while the 505 is still diverting to High Park Loop. But rail grinding on this section of track is very much welcome regardless, as my bedroom window faces out toward the street and I can confirm that it's quite loud.
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get some pic or video if you can of the, doing it. Rail grinding puts on quite the show of sparks.
 
DSC said:
The TTC used to own rail grinders but I do not recall ever seeing notices about a major streetcar rail grinding project in recent years.
Click to expand...

EastYorkTTCFan said:
get some pic or video if you can of the, doing it. Rail grinding puts on quite the show of sparks.
Click to expand...

There's a page about recent TTC rail grinding here:

http://sersatotaltrack.ca/media-cen.../News/successful-grinding-project-in-toronto/

and here:
http://sersatotaltrack.ca/media-cen...nding-project-for-rhomberg-sersa-rail-canada/

It describes the machine as being capable of getting off the tracks quickly to allow streetcars to pass, which is probably why there wasn't much notice of it. There's a picture there as well. The machine was in Ottawa this past fall to grind the rail on the O-Train Trillium line. The plates on it are European, and the tax disc was valid through 2014, so it hasn't been in Canada all that long. When it was in Ottawa, it had an additional set of grinding equipment on a small sled behind it.
 
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