Mayor John Tory's Toronto

[Jonny5]

It's Sunday morning. I'd never describe getting around on a Sunday morning as 'soul-destroying misery'.

But there's zero warning or notice. The street is just spontaneously closed! There's no way for anyone to have any idea it's happening!

 

[JWBF]

Canada has never had an official state religion...you obviously don't know what you're talking about. It's also, as I previously pointed out.... irrelevant. Whether or not there was just cause to put streetcar stops in front of churches at the time they were implemented (the 1920's), it's certainly hasn't been the case for a very long time. They are redundant.

My interest is in improving public transit service. What is your argument in favour of retaining redundant streetcar stops?

"Redundant" is from your point of view, and as such, your other arguments follow the same logic. There is nothing wrong with that but it t'would seem this logic really narrows choices, and your knowledge of history.

As with all decisions it should be up to the community.

 

[arcum]

"Redundant" is from your point of view, and as such, your other arguments follow the same logic. There is nothing wrong with that but it t'would seem this logic really narrows choices, and your knowledge of history.

As with all decisions it should be up to the community.

There is no doubt that the community would rather keep streets/transit open than let 2,000 people post Facebook pictures of their marathon accomplishments.

 

[Jonny5]

There is no doubt that the community would rather keep streets/transit open than let 2,000 people post Facebook pictures of their marathon accomplishments.

As usual, "the community" is ignorant.

 

[JWBF]

There is no doubt that the community would rather keep streets/transit open than let 2,000 people post Facebook pictures of their marathon accomplishments.

And woe to the free advertisement and patronizing of local/small businesses... we all want big box stores in our areas, don't we?

 

[salsa]

I have been a loyal Urban Toronto reader since this forum was created... but this thread has really tried my patience. John Tory never threatened to cancel the marathon, or move the marathon. Yet this forum has now spent pages and countless posts calling John Tory "out of touch" "against physical fitness" "pandering to drivers" and "old" simply because he suggested that some (NOT ALL) events should find alternative locations instead of the DVP or Gardiner.

Toronto has amazing events which shut down major arteries the Santa Clause Parade (which I believe is one of the largest in the world and broadcast internationally), Pride, heck - I'll even throw in the marathon even though size wise - with 10,000 runners or 20,000 runners pales in comparison to the other two events, Caribana, and others. These events help make Toronto great, they bring in tourist dollars and make up the fabric of our city. We should continue to shut down city streets for marquee events.

However, does EVERY event or ride or fundraiser need to close down the DVP or Gardiner? I don't know. Do we need two different marathons?. I personally don't think so. As with any decision there should be a set of criteria applied to approving such permits (is it international in scope?, does it attract external funding?, is there an alternative route?, is it a tourist event? etc...). This is all John Tory has said - that not every event should close a major city street. Toronto needs a balance; ca c'est tout.

Instead of spending time talking about other JT initiatives such as rear door boarding on the King car, or bringing visa/debit to the TTC (which is real f'ing progress) people on this thread have nit-picked and have blown out of proportion this - its disheartening, it does not elevate the discourse in TOpoli and concentrates on a chimeric negative that actually was never raised. The marathon sky isn't falling folks [sic] so come back from the brink.

Some of the comments here were not directed at John Tory, but at certain posters who think that closing a street for marathons are a dumb idea. I agree that some of the criticism against Tory were uncalled for, however "pandering to drivers" is exactly right. From the day he ran for Mayor, he has clearly shown that cars will trump all else in his traffic policies. "I have said all along that any proposal that will add to road congestion by reducing lanes of traffic is a non-starter in my books". "I will not support any solution that extends people’s commute times". Therefore he's against Eglinton connects because it costs money and reduces traffic lanes. He's against open streets. He wants to keep the Gardiner despite all the benefits of tearing it down. His appointees are almost entirely suburban councillors. He comes out with a 6-point congestion plan that pretends to get everyone moving again, but cyclists, pedestrians and transit signal priority have been completely absent from the conversation. Letting people use the back doors will not fix the beleaguered King streetcar without more radical solutions like closing King St to cars during rush hour. These kinds of easy peasy changes are a good start, but will only go so far at improving commute times.

So now his latest idea is that certain events may have to move to another month, or move somewhere else. It's not entirely illogical, but again his priority is minimizing traffic disruption (i.e for cars). I don't know why you singled out the DVP and Gardiner, because Tory explicitly used Yonge street in his marathon example. I'm tired of this notion that Yonge street should be an arterial road. A better solution would be to have the subway open a few hours earlier on the day of a marathon. The Yonge line alone carries more people than the freaking 401 and it's 16 lanes of gridlocked hell, but noooo it's more important that Yonge street is open to cars on a Sunday morning. Hope this gives you a better idea why some of us are frustrated with this kind of stuff. And for the record, we did spend plenty of time "talking about other JT initiatives" when things like bringing visa/debit to the TTC were the news of the day. I don't think anyone complained about that.

 

[Gavin]

But there's zero warning or notice. The street is just spontaneously closed! There's no way for anyone to have any idea it's happening!

Seriously. I mean, it's not like these events/runs are held on the exact same weekend every year or anything.

We're such a small-minded big city.

 

[JWBF]

Seriously. I mean, it's not like these events/runs are held on the exact same weekend every year or anything.

We're such a small-minded big city.

They are not? Damn I got to stop reading this board.

 

[canmark]

For those worried about advanced notice, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has already posted its run date for next year: October 18, 2015. In addition to full and half marathons, there is a 5K run/walk that is used as a fundraiser for many organizations. I participated in 2013 to raise funds for ALS. I was quite happy to be pushed in a wheelchair from the Exhibition Grounds along Lakeshore to Bay Street and Nathan Phillips Square.

This is a major marathon event that attracts participants from all around. It may not have quite the prestige of the New York or Boston marathons, but our people in New York and Boston complaining about road closures?

Not everyone may participate in marathons, but not everyone participates in other events which close streets, such as the Santa Claus parade or the Pride parade, Taste of the Danforth or Taste of Little Italy, Run for the Cure (breast cancer) or Ride for Heart, the May Day march or St. Patrick’s Day parade, Toronto Indy, Grey Cup parade or Khalsa Day parade, but that’s the cost (and benefit) of living in a big city.

 

[adma]

Anyway, on behalf of Mayor Troy, Merry Xmas

 

[The Golem]

One of the nice things about being a volunteer is that you have the opportunity to take lots of photos and video
This man completed the marathon while juggling:

The Scream

How dare these few taxpayers interfere with my Sunday morning antiquing!

There is no doubt that the community would rather keep streets/transit open than let 2,000 people post Facebook pictures of their marathon accomplishments.

Again, not true at all. The Beaches is so into it, they have a pre-marathon "Jazz tune-up" run/party.
http://www.canadarunningseries.com/jazz/

and during the Marathon there are bands playing and lots of people on the street cheering on the runners. Near Broadview/Eastern there was a Greek choir and dancers.

Dance party near east side turn-around!

[video]http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2uyopza%3E&s=8#.VJwTO14CpU[/video]


And this sort of activity goes on all along the route through the various neighbourhoods and areas the runners pass through.

Typically there are hundreds (maybe thousands) lining the street for the final couple of kilometers.

So I'd say communities are into it. But individuals like you who think a city only exists to provide roads for you to drive from home to the shopping mall or work, are the ones to complain.

 

[picard102]

But individuals like you who think a city only exists to provide roads for you to drive from home to the shopping mall or work, are the ones to complain.

This sort of black and white nonsense is idiotic.
But you did say Tory was out of touch because he's old, so I shouldn't expect anything but divisive sound bites.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Christmas Ape - Troy McClure - a dedication to RF perhaps?

Anyway, on behalf of Mayor Troy, Merry Xmas

Adma:

Where did you find this interesting comedy Christmas record album?

Noting that "Stereo" and "High Fidelity" are on the cover this looks to date
from the late 60s/early 70s era... I searched You Tube to see if anyone posted
the music or any video - I found nothing...

Perhaps this should be a dedication to RF remembering all the "monkey business"
that was happening back when RF was Mayor...Things are now quiet with JT at the
helm - as it should be - and Torontonians should give him time to "right the ship"
remembering the problems during RF's term...

Lets see how JT fares as Mayor in 2015 - I for one wish him well...

LI MIKE

 

[freshcutgrass]

Originally Posted by pw20
Toronto has amazing events which shut down major arteries the Santa Clause Parade (which I believe is one of the largest in the world and broadcast internationally), Pride, heck - I'll even throw in the marathon even though size wise - with 10,000 runners or 20,000 runners pales in comparison to the other two events, Caribana, and others. These events help make Toronto great, they bring in tourist dollars and make up the fabric of our city. We should continue to shut down city streets for marquee events.

However, does EVERY event or ride or fundraiser need to close down the DVP or Gardiner? I don't know. Do we need two different marathons?. I personally don't think so.

Actually, I think I recall there being more than two marathons that shut down the whole downtown core surface transit.

The Santa parade actually allows the streetcars to get through. Parades have gaps that allow for this. Caribana doesn't affect any streetcars. I don't remember if Pride parade allows streetcars through, but it does not affect all east-west streetcar routes downtown as the marathons do.

Marathons do not have gaps and you can't just stop runners for a few minutes periodically to let streetcars through the way you can with a parade. For whatever reason, they make sure the marathon routes cut off every single east-west surface transit route in the entire downtown core. That's simply absurd. This is why "alternate routes" don't work (unless you think a 10-mile diversion is your idea of practical). And almost nobody is going to have prior knowledge that the marathon is happening...it simply isn't common knowledge.

Of course we should all the events we want...including all the marathons people want to organize.

The serious issue here is shutting down public transit. You simply do not do this. And Toronto is famous for screwing up transit (especially streetcars) willy-nilly....they are just so unbelievably cavalier about it too. The idea that it is ok to shut down public transit for anything less than an unavoidable disaster or emergency is very, very stupid. It isn't called an essential service for nothing.

The crazy thing is that the solution is just so easy.... coming up with a suitable marathon route that doesn't interfere with public transit....or at the very least not paralyze the entire downtown core's surface public transit.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

FCG: as a public service, here is the link you'll need for next October. Looks like you'll be OK.

http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/faq/faqclosures.htm