City
Morning Brew: The TTC's Bad Week, HST to be Election Issue, Baby Gorilla Named, G20 Coming to Toronto?, Kessel Worth the Price?
Photo: "downtown 063" by Roger's Eye, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
It would seem that a private Enbridge contractor cut away a bit too much of the Jackes Avenue bridge, right over TTC tracks, forcing the recently-beleaguered transit agency to shut down rush hour Yonge line service between Bloor and Eglinton. The TTC came on strong to pass the buck and even the Mayor tried to keep the blame away from Giambrone & Co. That service resumed around 8:30pm last night might appease some riders, but it doesn't change that this just ain't the TTC's week.
Don't expect any public hearings on the proposed HST. Premier McGuinty made it clear yesterday that he considers the 2011 provincial election to be the chance for constituents to weigh in on the weighty tax. Not sure if that's the Premier being silly, strategic or just laying down the gauntlet.
Police nabbed a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old accomplice in Malton yesterday, on charges for the murder of George Kalogerakis. Now three more suspects are sought after a shooting - fatal for Alex Rundle - in Etobicoke last evening. Maybe I was blinded by the summer sun, but after what seemed like a lot of early 2009 shootings violent crime seemed to get better... until the last few weeks.
Dads are used to having input into their son's names, but choosing the name by choosing a pile of fruit may be less conventional. Unless you're a lowland gorilla named Charles, who did exactly that to select Nassir - a Middle Eastern name meaning protector - for the Toronto Zoo's newest baby gorilla. Come to think of it, having everybody else narrow the list down and me just choosing something to eat might have made picking my own son's name a bit easier.
Torontonians may get to play "Spot Your World Leaders" next year; the G20 summit tentatively scheduled for Muskoka may get moved out of cottage country in favour of more lodging and security in the big city. Kind of ironic since most people head to Muskoka for the open space and peacefulness.
Damien Cox finds the silver lining of the shroud surrounding the Leafs: Phil Kessel may just be worth what the Leafs paid for him. Which, considering the team's performance thus far, may well be one of the highest draft picks next year. Is that really enough to appease Leaf fans?
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Until recently I lived in the Yonge/Eg area and had to deal with three complete shutdowns of that line in a year and a half. My experience was that the TTC's response painfully slow and woefully inadequate. Walking up the whole way was by far the best option.
While in this case the TTC wasn't to blame for the shutdown, they are responsible for how they dealt with it.
The best way to deal with nights like last night is use the parts of the subway that are still working, in this case the Spadina Line and take a bus back east when you get closer to your destination. St. Clair West, Eglinton West, Glencarin, Lawrence West, Wilson and Downsview all have buses going back east to the Yonge Line that would let you bypass the mess. The Yonge Line is shaped like a U, so use the parts that are still working. I'll never understand why people wait hours at Yonge & Bloor when the Spadina Line is still working fine.
The buses on St Clair, Eglinton, Glencarin, etc, etc end up acting as those 433 buses, but it's still nowhere near enough.
Last night there was an absolutely massive lineup for the northbound bus at <b>Victoria Park</b>. There was easily a couple hundred people waiting, at one of the furthest east stops in the system.
The TTC might not have control over dealing with moving the vast numbers of people, but they do have control over other aspects, and they fail miserably when it comes to those.
There is absolutely no organization at shuttle stops, very little organization at subway stations themselves and they don't make nearly enough annoucements over PAs and on the subways themselves and just about never on connecting buses.
I've even been allowed onto closed subway platforms (I wasn't the only one, there were dozens of people waiting) by collectors and didn't know for several minutes that my waiting was futile because they weren't making announcements regularly enough. And in the off chance that a subway driver decides to make an announcement, they often mumble their way through it on speakers that are sometimes not even working.
McGuinty, 'voters can pass judgment on the issue in the 2011 provincial election.'
I'm afraid that's not good enough. I don't like his attitude and I don't like the constant tax the populace to make up for the dull minds and back slapping good 'ole boy network that is politics.
I want to discuss alternatives and some pencil sharpening in Ontario Government. A pay reduction of 5% is a good start - you know, in these hard economic times, the political 'leaders' should lead by example, not by excess and nickel and diming us to death.
Speaking of nickel's, Miller, you dick and your 5¢ tax on bags. What a joke. Green me arse. Thanks for the lip service. They Can make bags with more starch that degrade faster. Laaaazy way out, once again.
Regarding the G20 in Muskoka or not.... I say hold it in Iqaluit. Want security? You'll need what, 5 OPP officers [with tasers to murder any non English speaking 'protesters' in secure zones, I may add] . It'll give the politicians a taste of what real life and hardship means and besides, the communities there could use some governmental largesse.
If I'm a tad snarky, some of these things get my goat, gnomeimean?
I assign no blame to them. I don't expect them to be able to keep about 1000 drivers on duty waiting in empty buses for times like this. If they had those resources they would be used. Shit happens. The U shaped nature of the subway at least allows you to get north on the west part of the line. Buses will never replace the subway. Not enough road to fit them all, even with all car traffic diverted. It's actually pretty amazing they got it fixed (or jury rigged) that fast. From the slab size descriptions it was large enough to squash 12,000 baby kittens.