The Environmental Assessment for the western extension of the waterfront line will get underway soon with the usual preparatory phase of creating the Terms of Reference. This brings to mind a note I received a while ago from Hamish Wilson, long time opponent of the Front Street Extension, and begs the question of whether the transit EA can be used to revisit options for the corridor as a whole much as the EA now in progress for the Airport Link has widened out to a general review of the northwest corridor. Continue reading
Reader Comments: Streetcars, LRT and Subways
This perennial issue never goes away, at least not on my site. Continue reading
Reader Comments: Fares and Fare Collection
Another set of comments from the backlog: Continue reading
Reader Comments: Transit Service Quality
This post is in the best journalistic tradition. On those slow days and holiday weekends, all the material you’ve been saving up for months finally sees the light of day. To readers who submitted comments and wondered where they went, take heart. Today is for you! This post collects comments loosely related to service quality and operations.
Back in March, I was writing about how transit services are analyzed. We’re still waiting for the 2007 Service Plan to give us updated stats, but it’s time to rekindle the discussion here. Continue reading
Farewell to the Royal, the Paradise, the Kingsway and the Revue (Updated)
NOW magazine reports that the Royal will be taken over by the company now operating the Regent theatre up on Mt. Pleasant Road. Read about it here.
Although the Kingsway will close, there are no plans to sell the building, and this leaves the theatre intact. We will have to wait and see.
My original post from last Sunday, the 25th, follows below. Continue reading
Where Did The Rush Hour Go? (Updated)
Looking at the June schedules for the TTC, I was struck by something quite odd: on some streetcar routes there is either no additional rush hour service, or only a marginal change in service levels. Have riders abandoned the TTC? Are “downtown” riders travelling at times other than the conventional peak period? Or is the TTC just pinching pennies by cutting service? Here are some examples: Continue reading
Tories and Liberals: All Study, No Money
Two media reports caught my eye on the subject of TTC funding. It’s amazing how much people can avoid making real commitments to transit, and how much they hide behind “financial accountability”. Continue reading
Waterfront East and West: An Update
Two important steps were taken at this week’s TTC meeting regarding Environmental Assessments for the various waterfront transit schemes. Continue reading
TTC Budget Update: New Streetcars vs Old
The issue of any new projects at the TTC is bound up in questions of provincial and federal funding right now, but at least one logjam is out of the way. Continue reading
Ontario Spends on Roads, Reneges on Transit
In between the World Cup, the Stanley Cup (does anyone even care?), strikes, resignations and other scandals, the Ontario Minister of Transportation announced a $3.4-billion, five-year plan to invest in highways. Remember that as you read what follows. Continue reading