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Toronto Harbour Ferries

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themarc

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I'm sure there are lots of great ferry photos buried in peoples archives - I didn't see a ferry thread so I decided to start one here.
 
The ferry is a microcosm of what sucks about Toronto. Here we have this magical ride to these idyllic islands only 15 minutes away from the downtown of a megalopolis of 6 million. What could be one of the greatest urban experiences in North America is let down by:

1. the horrendous, slave-trading ferry compound at the foot of Bay street where you are locked into a roofless, concrete holding cell where the sun beats mercilessly down on you.

2. Beautiful, turn of the century boats that have been prostituted out with Presidents' Choice cookie advertisements on all sides.

3. Idiotic nanny state guardrails that prevent people from coming up close to the old railing and seizing the arresting skyline and the breeze coming off the lake.

Why is this a microcosm of why Toronto sucks? Because it's the three things we do so poorly in this city:

i) design
ii) corporatization of public space
iii) nanny state regulations

I swear, if we could get a grip on these three things, I would honestly tell people that Toronto was my favourite city in the whole wide world.
 
Hipster Duck said:
The ferry is a microcosm of what sucks about Toronto. Here we have this magical ride to these idyllic islands only 15 minutes away from the downtown of a megalopolis of 6 million. What could be one of the greatest urban experiences in North America is let down by:

1. the horrendous, slave-trading ferry compound at the foot of Bay street where you are locked into a roofless, concrete holding cell where the sun beats mercilessly down on you....
Click to expand...

Totally agree, I can't stand waiting in these lines - check out the BlogTO pictures (5th & 8th from the top) - no progress in 100 yrs!
 
That reminds me to pre-purchase tickets for those days I plan on heading down there. As I usually bring my bike, I end up using the uncrowded Ward's or Hanlan's ferries. They often aren't the classic Island ferries (being open barge-like ferries) but they do offer the great city views without nanny railings.

Oh, and that would be Toronto Harbour Ferries. Fixed.
 
The ferries is part of the reason I oppose a pedestrian bridge to the islands.. because it would be the end of them. The Island ferries are one of the iconic things about Toronto that give it character!
 
The_Architect said:
The ferries is part of the reason I oppose a pedestrian bridge to the islands.. because it would be the end of them. The Island ferries are one of the iconic things about Toronto that give it character!
Click to expand...

I oppose a fixed link as well - but I think a gondola across the eastern gap from Cherry Street to the Centre Island Pier (or at least the fire station) would be a good way of improving access to the island without upsetting the balance of park and island living that currently exists - the gondola could be operated by the same folks/department/union that run the ferry to not rock the boat (no pun intended).
 
The_Architect said:
The ferries is part of the reason I oppose a pedestrian bridge to the islands.. because it would be the end of them. The Island ferries are one of the iconic things about Toronto that give it character!
Click to expand...

I think this is an unfounded fear. Even with bridges (and tunnels), ferries still operate in places like London, Sydney, Halifax, Vancouver, New York, etc...

A bridge over the eastern gap would still be very out of the way for most visitors to the islands. It might kill the Ward's Island ferry, but I still think there would be a good market for the Centre Island and Hanlan's Point routes.
 
themarc said:
There was a time when having a "U" in the harbour was a terrifying Nazi related thing LOL!
Click to expand...

Lol, nice one! :D

CDL.TO said:
A bridge over the eastern gap would still be very out of the way for most visitors to the islands. It might kill the Ward's Island ferry, but I still think there would be a good market for the Centre Island and Hanlan's Point routes.
Click to expand...

I agree that this is still pretty far for most and that the ferries would survive, but I think a bridge from the Eastern Gap would effectively kill the (desired?) isolation of the resident community on the island.

That said, if its not a huge issue for the community then why not?
 
Do all the Centre Island ferries have the lousy setup that keeps people away from the railings on the edge of the boat? Last year, one boat had the new arrangement, the one that took me to Centre Island. It felt like a betrayal, as if something that belongs the city was severely compromised: those captivating skyline views, the breezes, and the sounds of the boat cutting through the waves. But on the way back, there was another ferry that didn't have the nanny-state setup. (It wasn't one of the barges.) City hall has to stop messing around like this. People need every moment of spectacle to reinforce that Toronto is a great city.
 
junctionist said:
Do all the Centre Island ferries have the lousy setup that keeps people away from the railings on the edge of the boat? Last year, one boat had the new arrangement, the one that took me to Centre Island. It felt like a betrayal, as if something that belongs the city was severely compromised: those captivating skyline views, the breezes, and the sounds of the boat cutting through the waves. But on the way back, there was another ferry that didn't have the nanny-state setup. (It wasn't one of the barges.) City hall has to stop messing around like this. People need every moment of spectacle to reinforce that Toronto is a great city.
Click to expand...

The restriction of use of the ferry space apparently is a Transport Canada doing. I was informed by a couple managers relating to the Parks Department that Transport Canada was reducing the ferry capacity by 20% this year. No real reason was given - I can't think that safety would be one of those reasons BUT these craft are all over 60 years old so maybe it is a precautionary step. This has nothing to do with City Hall or the TPA.
 
CDL.TO said:
I think this is an unfounded fear. Even with bridges (and tunnels), ferries still operate in places like London, Sydney, Halifax, Vancouver, New York, etc...

A bridge over the eastern gap would still be very out of the way for most visitors to the islands. It might kill the Ward's Island ferry, but I still think there would be a good market for the Centre Island and Hanlan's Point routes.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Most of the crowd going to the islands is looking to get to Centre Island and to a lesser extent Hanlan's. Having a ped/bike bridge over the Eastern Gap wouldn't really open the floodgates since it would be more trouble for most people to get to the crossing point on the mainland and the bridge would probably have to be raised sometimes.
 
the lemur said:
Agreed. Most of the crowd going to the islands is looking to get to Centre Island and to a lesser extent Hanlan's. Having a ped/bike bridge over the Eastern Gap wouldn't really open the floodgates since it would be more trouble for most people to get to the crossing point on the mainland and the bridge would probably have to be raised sometimes.
Click to expand...

And I think it is really important to improve access without negatively impacting the community over there - by making the access slightly inconvenient solves this issue.
 
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