City
Snowmafriggingeddon and the Scarborough RT
This is what the TTC's Scarborough RT looks like... on a good, snow-free day. Running. Relatively smoothly.
But as we know, the system isn't very well able to handle heaps of snow. Consider it a very, very unfortunate, geo-specific design flaw. So with the first big winter storm of the season, I'm wondering if it'll make it through the evening rush hour.
What do you think?
Photo by Stephen Gardiner.
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Its going to be a fun trip to scarborough
But how does the TTC handle this problem?(*when the subway goes above-ground) They don't seem to have snow problems do they?
- on subways, it uses glycol (de-icing fluid) in the open areas to ensure the power rails remain clear of snow and ice. Specially-fitted trains apply the glycol as they move along the outdoor lines
- likewise, on the SRT. Last year, the TTC did experience problems on the SRT due to heavy snowfalls and snow drifts. However, glycol is being applied to the power rails on the SRT as we type. That is sufficient to keep the trains running, provided heavy accumulations of snow do not occur - 20 centimetres should not prove problematic.
Brad Ross
Director - Corporate Communications
TTC
There is a suggestion that the SRT be replaced with an LRT.
And let me tell you that as poorly placed and geographically challenged as the TTC bus shelters are at least they keep the snow and wind out. The "shelters" on the Viva line seem as though they were designed to funnel wind directly at you no matter where you stand. The most sheltered spot is actually behind these things. These must have been chosen based on looks rather than practicality.
...Streetcars and LRT actually handle the snow better. It's the automobiles that don't and delay everyone...."
Its not automobiles that delay everyone. It is stupid people that delay everyone - whether its pedestrians who jay-walk or cyclists who drive in snowy roads right in the centre of a line endangering everyone or transit riders who run after buses in the middle of traffic or drivers who can't handle the difficult conditions. Everyone shares the responsibility. Your anti-car attitude is not welcome here.
streetcar routes. Sadly, routes and vehicles were removed from service over the last decades and now we're paying the price.
Why high-speed rail transit wasn't put on Sheppard, Finch and others at the time of their widening back in the late '60s or early '70s beats me. It could have helped immeasurably now.
If a car has a problem, it doesn't block the ENTIRE street. Because of the tracks and the tight streets we have streetcars on (i.e. old, narrow, commercial streets with parking and just 4 lanes) whenever there's a problem there a total nightmare. Problems on Queen, King, College and Dundas mean that entire street gets shut down. Streetcars and LRT are a horrible idea and they all need to be removed. Transit should only use buses and subways. Rails and roads are a horrible combination, never mind being horribly dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians.
I have to work in bloody Scarborough, and I dread battling the damn LRT every day. Come winter, it gets waaaaay worse.
It's as if they built it in deliberate ignorance of the fact that Toronto has bad and often-snowy winters. It's not as if they built the LRT in balmy Victoria and then all of a sudden teleported to Scarborough.
Why was it not built with the long-known winter conditions in mind!?
I shudder thinking of the inevitable mornings where the LRT breaks down and they bring in those shuttlebuses that take around an hour to cross 10 minutes' worth of LRT distance.
Blurg!
PS: And another thing: being above-ground, the LRT stops are bone-chilling wind tunnels of freezing hell, which is then made even worse when you get on the train: the heat is often turned off, and the doors have big gaps at the bottom, where the -20 winds roar in, making your already lowered set-temperature even more intolerable. Down with the winter LRT!
To make my final point though, it's obvious Toronto needs to re-think it's public transportation system. Subways, especially in Canada's climate, are the way to go(*w/assistance of LRT's and eco-bus specific lanes)
Probably the difference is that they run it frequently enough here that snow doesn't pile up on the tracks. They can do that because, as Justin points out, it is the main system here, and also because they run it without drivers. It's amazing: it was designed as driverless system, but they insist on using drivers on the Scarborough RT. Why?