MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Toronto eyes car charging stations, the city's worst roads, saving Jarvis bike lanes, odd bylaws, suspicious plans at Billy Bishop, and a meteor sighting
If you're one of the 400 electric car owners in Ontario, you could be getting a free boost from the city pretty soon. Yesterday councillors approved $65,000 of funding for five downtown electric vehicle charging stations, all of which will operate free of charge during a one-year trial period. If the project is a success, more charging stations could appear in the coming years. The charging stations still need to go before council.
Regular users of Bayview Ave. and Sheppard Ave. E won't be surprised to hear the intersection is officially the most congested in Toronto. Using the latest information, city staff will look at new ways to ease traffic on some of the busiest stretches of road. For the full top ten (or possibly bottom ten), see here.
Can the bike lanes on Jarvis be saved? According to The Star, there's a growing number of voices at council and on the street against the costly removal measures. Earlier this week, cyclists took to Jarvis en masse in protest. In a different political climate this time last year, council voted 26-19 to add a fifth, reversible vehicle lane at the expense of the bike infrastructure.
Swimmers taking a dip in the Don "without proper bathing dress" and citizens giving alcohol to children without the parent's permission are breaking city bylaws, don't you know. OpenFile has a list of strange laws enacted by Toronto at one time or another.
Waterfront residents are suspicious of Toronto Port Authority's plan to dump material excavated during construction of the new pedestrian tunnel into the water near Billy Bishop Airport, claiming the new land could be used to extend the runway. The TPA says the material will create a barrier to keep boats a safe distance from planes. Conspiracy?
Did you see the meteor last night? Sightings of a flashing, falling object with a colorful trail were reported in the US, Ontario and Quebec last night around 9:30pm, including several in Toronto. Here's a video from a dashboard camera in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (via Reddit and Meteor Hunters).
QUICK LINKS:
- Top court to hear Toronto riding election case in July [CBC]
- Woman hit by truck while crossing street dies [CBC]
- McGuinty threatens election over 'gutted' budget [CTV]
- Four years after high-rise explosion, safety measures not in place [Globe and Mail]
- U of T graduate refuses degree in convocation protest [The Star]
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Photo: "Pedestrian Bridge" by dtstuff9 in the blogTO Flickr Pool.
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I seriously wonder if people like this complain as a hobby...
I've lived on Queens Quay, right on the lake. Sure, you can hear a few planes every now and then... along with a whole slew of other noise. It's called a CITY. If you want complete silence, move to a farm in the middle of nowhere. When you choose to live in the middle of Canada's biggest city directly across from an airport that has been there for 70+ years.
Bunch of whiners with a sense of entitlement if you ask me.
I didn't see the meteor because I don't have a dash cam on my fixie.
I live at Dufferin and Steeles , and there are days it takes 45 minutes, yes, 45 minutes trying to get from Finch to Steeles on Dufferin! Going from three lanes south of Finch to two on the north side, and then back to three lanes north of Steeles is extremely distasteful and shows a lack in proper planning. The bottleneck is completely out of control. Ask anyone who works there, lives there, or commutes through, heck I have seen TTC drivers get aggravated driving through here.
I understand the city of Toronto ends/begins at Steeles, but was the fact the north end of Dufferin receives the traffic heading to and from Allen Road not considered? It's also telling that Allen Road and Sheppard is mentioned...go figure.
What I want to know is how someone like Mammoliti can be okay with the cost of putting the Jarvis lanes in and then approve of the cost of taking them out again. Expensive flip-flopping.
Ford Nation then: "Attaboy, Rob! Sure, cutting the sandwich budget only amounts to 0.00000000000001% of the city budget, but every penny counts! Pennies add up to dollars! It's not the amount, it's the principle!"
Ford Nation now: "What's the big deal? Bags are only like 1% of landfills. Why are we wasting time debating this small number?"
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Ford Nation then: "Boy, you lefties just fall apart when someone tries to take something away. Someone closes your library? Big deal - just walk a little more to the next one. Get some perspective already -- we've all got to learn to make do with less."
Ford Nation now: "But.... but... doggie doo! Garbage bags! Germs in my food! Cats kissing dogs! Anarchy in the streets! Take away my bags and everything falls apart!"
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Ford Nation then: "I am so sick and tired of lefties who want everything for free. If you love that stupid urban farm so much, then you won't mind ponying up some cash to get into it, right? Nothing in life is free, so just suck it up."
Ford Nation now: "What? Take away my free bags? Well, you can bet your bippy I'll be doing ALL my shopping in Mississauga. Sure, I'll spend more in gas and waste more time in traffic for the sake of a piece of plastic, but it'll be worth it. Outrageous, how they expect us to pay for things we ought to get for free."
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Ford Nation then: "Shovels in the ground! Dig now and the money will follow! Tear up that waterfront! I am so sick of all these debates and reports and nothing getting done in this city!"
Ford Nation now: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't just vote on these things without consulting voters and stakeholders. When did it become a crime to put some thought into these things before we vote on them?"
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Ford Nation then: "Heh, heh. Suck it up, lefties. Rob Ford's in charge now, and that means what we say goes. God, I love watching those lefty councillors fuming when they don't get their way -- serves them right for not doing things the way I want!"
Ford Nation now: "You know, this bag ban was purely political, and I am aghast that people can be so petty and spiteful in politics. This is about the future of our city, not some serving some juvenile political vendetta."
If Ford can blunder his way into opening this issue again, it could very well be reversed a la Transit City, plastic bags, etc. This would be a huge win far greater in significance than the actual lanes themselves.
WHICH IS IT?!?
And on the note of stop lights, Toronto sucks at programming them! I have literally driven to an intersection where my side got a left-turn arrow, and there was NO ONE turning left! And the other side of the street was packed with drivers turning left, and they didn't get the signal! Believe me, if I was able to work for the city helping them manage and program stop lights, I could easily eliminate all the anomalies plaguing the city's stoplights.