Ontario Liberals and Transit

[TheTigerMaster]

It's as if they've never been on a subway before. They have this idolized view of it.

 

[ehlow]

I really don't get where these rants of yours come from, I have always lived in Scarborough and I do not feel slighted at all, transit investment is not running short past Victoria Park, a very significant portion of the LRT lines are/were in Scarborough.

And Vaughan gets a subway so we should too? That's ridiculous, and I am against the Spadina extension too, don't worry. And what is just so wrong with building the SLRT that is just as good if not better than the subway for half the price? Really? What is it? I just don't grasp what you are so up in arms about.

If I lived in Scarborough I would've been pretty excited with SELRT, ECLRT, Scarborough LRT up to Malvern, Scarborough-Malvern LRT (which actually went east on Eglinton and up Kingston Rd).

4 LRTs covering a lot of Scarborough.

 

[ehlow]

Honestly people feel the SRT is loud and rickety and the subways go underground and are perceived to be warm. Especially during winter.

They should just add heated shelters then lol...

The Scarborough LRT would have had much longer & more spacious 3 car vehicles, not rickety, worked well including in winter, fully grade separated up to Malvern.

 

[WislaHD]

If I lived in Scarborough I would've been pretty excited with SELRT, ECLRT, Scarborough LRT up to Malvern, Scarborough-Malvern LRT (which actually went east on Eglinton and up Kingston Rd).

4 LRTs covering a lot of Scarborough.

And to think most of these would be opening this year or next if Ford wasn't elected...

 

[rbt]

And to think most of these would be opening this year or next if Ford wasn't elected...

In 2009, only SELRT and SRT rebuild were to be completed by 2015. ECLRT had promised funding and would have started construction by now (slightly slower timeline IIRC), but the Kingston Road LRT did not have funding.

If Miller ran for a 3rd term or Giambrone won, they probably would have talked the province into funding the Kingston Road LRT by now and would have been lining up for a 2015 construction start.

I also tend to think the province would have been looking at fewer GO projects and more TTC projects. GO Electrification funding is about getting something done; which requires keeping the mayor and indecisive councillors out of the way. Metrolinx projects are getting done, and TTC projects (through no fault of the TTC itself) are not.

 

[GenerationW]

There wasn't much clamouring for subways before RoFo came along.

If that was true, the Transit City candidate wouldn't have finished a distant third in 2010. Even Smitherman had three subway extensions (including B-D) in his transit plan.

There were plenty of subway-LRT debates around here in 2009-10.

Yonge North is perpetually in limbo until DRL is funded.

The good news is that if York Region with its swing-ridings really do hold so much political sway in Ontario, then it is from that pressure we will finally act on the DRL.

Not very reassuring. We should be getting a DRL mainly due to pressure from Toronto. York Region only cares about Yonge.

During the campaign, I got the impression that Yonge became a higher priority for the Liberals. Suppose that York Region pressure leads to funding for Yonge during this mandate without a DRL. Then what?

 

[WislaHD]

Then the Yonge line becomes so hopelessly congested that it'd be political suicide for any candidate municipally, provincially or federally to not endorse a DRL.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

If that was true, the Transit City candidate wouldn't have finished a distant third in 2010. Even Smitherman had three subway extensions (including B-D) in his transit plan.

There were plenty of subway-LRT debates around here in 2009-10.

Go find some links from any media source from 2003-2009 that supported the completion of any subways, not anonymous internet posters. Why can't you admit the people of Toronto have some culpability in this at least once?

Not very reassuring. We should be getting a DRL mainly due to pressure from Toronto. York Region only cares about Yonge.

During the campaign, I got the impression that Yonge became a higher priority for the Liberals. Suppose that York Region pressure leads to funding for Yonge during this mandate without a DRL. Then what?

And you were the only person in the entire GTA that did so. All indications are that it will be built to Steeles, and does really sound like a good idea?

 

[W. K. Lis]

The provincial government will have to change the Highway Traffic Act and other laws, in its control, to assist public transit and give it much better priority.

One example could mean changing the traffic signals to match signals used in the rest of the world.

(Note the lack of verbiage that we currently pollute with signage.)

That includes definitely giving public transit true priority, so that ONLY public transit should cross signalled intersections, where appropriate. Currently, we see single-occupant motor vehicles making left turns getting priority.

That includes allowing the cameras on board buses, streetcars, and light rail vehicles to send its signals through computers to issue traffic tickets.

What other changes to the Highway Traffic Act or other laws would you propose?

 

[aquateam]

The provincial government will have to change the Highway Traffic Act and other laws, in its control, to assist public transit and give it much better priority.

One example could mean changing the traffic signals to match signals used in the rest of the world.

(Note the lack of verbiage that we currently pollute with signage.)

That includes definitely giving public transit true priority, so that ONLY public transit should cross signalled intersections, where appropriate. Currently, we see single-occupant motor vehicles making left turns getting priority.

That includes allowing the cameras on board buses, streetcars, and light rail vehicles to send its signals through computers to issue traffic tickets.

What other changes to the Highway Traffic Act or other laws would you propose?

There must be a better way than to have the traffic lights communicate in semaphore.

How about we just have a white light underneath the traffic lights for buses, like they do in Montreal?

I wish King/Queen had cameras at intersections to ticket cars making lefts/blocking the streetcar. I'm pretty sure they'd pay for themselves in no time.

 

[W. K. Lis]

There must be a better way than to have the traffic lights communicate in semaphore.

How about we just have a white light underneath the traffic lights for buses, like they do in Montreal?

I wish King/Queen had cameras at intersections to ticket cars making lefts/blocking the streetcar. I'm pretty sure they'd pay for themselves in no time.

If they can issue tickets for running a red light using stationary cameras, why can't they issue tickets for drivers making illegal left turns from the point-of-view of a dashcam on a bus, streetcar, or light rail vehicle?

 

[aquateam]

If they can issue tickets for running a red light using stationary cameras, why can't they issue tickets for drivers making illegal left turns from the point-of-view of a dashcam on a bus, streetcar, or light rail vehicle?

That works too. I guess I'm just more familiar with stationary cameras, and I'm not familiar with any legal issues from having the TTC issuing tickets. Plus I'd prefer to have the cameras operate independently of the streetcar drivers (who may forget to turn them on), although if I were a streetcar operator I would gleefully record every infraction.

Actually, dash cams make a lot of sense. The TTC should get all the money from the tickets they report instead of it going to general revenue. The city raised $78 million from parking tickets in 2013, so the TTC could probably get in ~$10 million through driving infractions (which are less frequent but have much steeper fines). To put that in context, the TTC makes ~$20 million in advertising revenue (on a budget of $1.6 billion.) Although the main benefit is in improved reliability from drivers knowing that they have to behave around streetcars and buses.

 

[junior43]

That works too. I guess I'm just more familiar with stationary cameras, and I'm not familiar with any legal issues from having the TTC issuing tickets. Plus I'd prefer to have the cameras operate independently of the streetcar drivers (who may forget to turn them on), although if I were a streetcar operator I would gleefully record every infraction.

Actually, dash cams make a lot of sense. The TTC should get all the money from the tickets they report instead of it going to general revenue. The city raised $78 million from parking tickets in 2013, so the TTC could probably get in ~$10 million through driving infractions (which are less frequent but have much steeper fines). To put that in context, the TTC makes ~$20 million in advertising revenue (on a budget of $1.6 billion.) Although the main benefit is in improved reliability from drivers knowing that they have to behave around streetcars and buses.

It would have to be continuously recorded and monitored afterwards. You can't rely on the TTC drivers to take photos from dash cams (it would be illegal due to recent laws preventing texting and use of any electronic devices.) I would rather the driver pay attention to the road and pedestrians than focusing in on nailing a driver. Not sure if having someone review the tapes would be cost effective though. It certainly would at the beginning, but after a while the drivers would learn and infractions should go down. Also, the driver could flag his tape for review if he remembers seeing several incidents.

I like the idea in the long term, the details just need to be ironed out IMO.

The police really need to do blitzes on popular offending corners (left turners) in the short term - same with the parking authority. We need to enforce the laws we have to correct driver behaviour and get everyone moving more efficiently.

 

[salsa]

Then the Yonge line becomes so hopelessly congested that it'd be political suicide for any candidate municipally, provincially or federally to not endorse a DRL.

Still waiting for John Tory to become politicly dead.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Still waiting for John Tory to become politicly dead.

salsa you are so hard on tory...