TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[crs1026]

Licensing would be a pile of work and bureaucracy that we don't need. Just hand offenders a ticket. They are supposed to obey the Highway Traffic Act, just like any other user of the road.

I have always found the bike vs motorist thing to be a tie game. There are some incredibly stupid and irresponsible cyclists, just as there are some incredibly stupid and irresponsible motorists. Pointing fingers or stereotyping in either direction is not constructive or mature.

The solution is to separate the two. Watching a cyclist in a bike lane next to a truck or bus just makes me cringe. People squish, cars less so.


- Paul

 

[Duck]

Sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said about the e-bike involved. It wasn't fair to stereotype, so I'll leave it at that. I traditionally don't think of an e-Bike (the Chinese ones with the superficial pedals, just to get around the rules) as being "assisted bicycles". I see them more as an excuse to "almost have a real scooter/motor vehicle" but with none of the hassles of following rules or getting an expensive licence, training or insurance. That's the part I don't much care for.

 

[nfitz]

Should you need licence to operate those 4-wheeler scooter things that the physically impaired use on the sidewalk? Those seem more a danger to other people than these e-bike things, that are likely only to kill the driver.

 

[PinkLucy]

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=0be4970aa08c1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

Each time the City has rejected licensing as a solution to the problem under discussion.

The major reasons why licensing has been rejected are:

• The difficulty in keeping a database complete and current
• The difficulty in licensing children, given that they ride bikes too
• Licensing in and of itself does not change the behaviour of cyclists who are disobeying traffic laws.

Licensing in and of itself also does not change the behaviour of drivers who disobey traffic laws

 

[W. K. Lis]

Should you need licence to operate those 4-wheeler scooter things that the physically impaired use on the sidewalk? Those seem more a danger to other people than these e-bike things, that are likely only to kill the driver.

For example:

 

[W. K. Lis]

What D.C. Metro Inspectors Found During the System Shutdown

See link.

Exposed wiring found during an inspection of the D.C. Metro this week. Image: WMATA

The D.C. Metro was shut down for 29 hours straight earlier this week while inspectors checked for defects in jumper cables, which transmit power between sections of the electrified third rail, along all the track in the system. To its credit, WMATA publicly documented the process.

Stephen Repetski at Greater Greater Washington reports that inspectors found 26 jumper cables needing repair. Exposed wiring in the cables had started a fire on Monday and also caused the fire at L’Enfant Station last year that killed a person via smoke inhalation. The fatality led the feds to take over Metro safety, and at that time system-wide cable inspections were conducted too. Repetski writes:

WMATA replaced 125 cables, and inspections were set up for the cables to be inspected yearly.

[General Manager Paul] Wiedefeld didn’t say if any of the 26 cables found Wednesday had been replaced last year, so we don’t know if the cables are just one year old and failed recently, or if the issues were missed during routine inspections.

In other news, in New York City the L Train Service Between Brooklyn & Manhattan May Be Shut Down For Years. See link.

 

[crs1026]

I take a little comfort (but only a little) that the tunnels into Manhattan were built in a far earlier time. It's not surprising that they are wearing out. Besides, flooding with salt water is a truly catastrophic event. One can't expect that to happen without a lengthy refurbishment. You don't just mop up and reopen.

Could it happen in Toronto? Of course, though perhaps through a different kind of event. The Bloor to Union tunnel is getting older. Deferring maintenance is always tempting. David Gunn was a fanatic about state of good repair... look where it got him.

- Paul

 

[W. K. Lis]

David Gunn was General Manager of the Washington DC Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), 1991 to 1994. Apparently, he didn't get along with their board of directors.

Gunn was Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), 1995 to 1999.

 

[Johnny Au]

Gunn said that he believed in a state of good repair. However, during his respective tenures, the Washington Metro got into a state of disrepair, which made it ripe for cables catching fire a few decades later, as well as the Russell Hill crash, though Gunn was "lucky" he was in Toronto, as one year after the Russell Hill crash, the Washington Metro had a fatal crash.

Oh, and Gunn was an opponent of new subway construction in the cities' respective subway systems he oversaw.

 

[salsa]

Right. I guess that means we are limited to only the option of having "express" trains at peak hour.

I was in NYC during the last few days where I spent a lot of time riding the subways. Their system of express and local trains is an amazing service that I deeply wish Toronto could have on the Yonge line.

 

[kotsy]

The express trains/tracks are really great but I don't know of any other city that has them, let alone Toronto.

 

[Duck]

Chicago has them on at least some lines; I think many of them used to operate skip-stop or express/local, but now only some of them do.

 

[kotsy]

Thank you for giving me another reason to look forward to my Chicago trip

 

[DSCToronto]

Thank you for giving me another reason to look forward to my Chicago trip

If you are in Chicago I STRONGLY recommend that you take one of the architecture boat cruises run by the Architecture Foundation. If you want to cruise on a weekend you definitely need to book ahead. See http://www.architecture.org/ Excellent guides and a fun way to see lots of fantastic architecture.

 

[kotsy]

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely look into that!