[Northern Light]

It's odd how he disappeared for many months and now has just started posting the same repetitive stuff again right where he left off as if he'd never been gone.

He may have been on a 'UT vacation'.

 

[PinkLucy]

The truck apron is asphalt. The Dutch would use cobblestones or brick. However, the automobile lobby wanted a smoother and FASTER drive around the corner, so the city appeased the motorist, not the pedestrians.

Same reason for replacing cobblestones between streetcar tracks with a smoother surface. So the motorists could get a lane to drive fast on. It's always the motorist getting priority in Toronto. Ditto with driveway ramps on monolithic sidewalks leading to driveways, so the motorists could enter and egress the driveway at a fast speed, but resulting in a tripping hazard for elderly pedestrians.

Please cite your sources for these claims. If there are no sources, please delete your post. It isn't helpful to spread made-up claims.

 

[nfitz]

I had thought it was odd that the white line didn't see to precisely line up with the low spot. If the white lines were moved a bit, and the asphalt at the corner changed to grass, would this still be a problem?

 

[evandyk]

To be fair, most of City Council is the automobile lobby.

 

[turbanplanner]

To be fair, most of City Council is the automobile lobby.

That's a bold claim IMO. Any proof?

I believe they got rid of the cobblestone due to plowing issues as well as causing issues for bikes, if you're making a left turn you're forced onto a bump road

Plus TBH we can't even maintain stone pavers on sidewalks

 

[evandyk]

That's a bold claim IMO. Any proof?

I walk, bike, drive and take transit in Toronto. Cars are king, both in terms of space and funding. Everyone else gets the scraps that are left over.

 

[UntitledCyclist]

I walk, bike, drive and take transit in Toronto. Cars are king, both in terms of space and funding. Everyone else gets the scraps that are left over.

You're not wrong but that is the result of the past 100 years or so since the car became the default form of transportation and dominated city design and public spaces in North America. This isn't on the backs of current council members. Of course they could do more: congestion pricing, road diets, more bike lanes everywhere, but most Torontonians, (around 65 % of adults) maybe surprisingly, still own cars. There are votes and political power vested in the wealthier home and car-owning residents. They are vocal and they matter to councillors because they value their jobs. This is all fairly simplified, but while there are certainly councillors and staff who are very much pro-bike and want to reduce cars' predominance, it's an uphill battle against history and a lot of votes.

 

[generalcanada]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834566447600975926

MAYBE????

 

[afransen]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834566447600975926

MAYBE????

Makes one wonder if they should keep the bus lanes if they are 2x the speed of the Spadina streetcar. Outrageous.

 

[Northern Light]

Makes one wonder if they should keep the bus lanes if they are 2x the speed of the Spadina streetcar. Outrageous.

Clarification required.

That's not what that post was saying.

It was saying the travel time of the bus has been cut in 1/2 since the bus lane was added. The bus travel time far exceeded (was triple) the streetcar travel time.

So its now been reduced to 1.5x the streetcar travel time.

 

[afransen]

Also kind of amazing to think it isn't the obvious default thing to make bus only lanes whenever streetcar tracks are being serviced, especially on roads with 4 general purpose lanes.

 

[turbanplanner]

You're not wrong but that is the result of the past 100 years or so since the car became the default form of transportation and dominated city design and public spaces in North America. This isn't on the backs of current council members. Of course they could do more: congestion pricing, road diets, more bike lanes everywhere, but most Torontonians, (around 65 % of adults) maybe surprisingly, still own cars. There are votes and political power vested in the wealthier home and car-owning residents. They are vocal and they matter to councillors because they value their jobs. This is all fairly simplified, but while there are certainly councillors and staff who are very much pro-bike and want to reduce cars' predominance, it's an uphill battle against history and a lot of votes.

Also kind of amazing to think it isn't the obvious default thing to make bus only lanes whenever streetcar tracks are being serviced, especially on roads with 4 general purpose lanes.

As I often say everything is a balance! I think it was a good idea in this case but normally shutdowns aren't as disruptive or if they are it isn't for very long. There was a huge cost in terms of losing parking revenue, as well as the price to paint/create the lanes.

Also even in Japan which is incredibly pro transit and you legitimately don't *need* a car for 95% of trips (same is not true here) car ownership rates are still very similar.

 

[MisterF]

Italy has similar car ownership as Canada too, IIRC. That just goes to show that even though car ownership is brought up a lot in these kinds of discussions, it's a pretty poor metric for determining car dependence, transit or cycling usage, or walkability. In a healthy city people who own cars don't use them for every trip. They get around in other ways too.

 

[nfitz]

Italy has similar car ownership as Canada too, IIRC. That just goes to show that even though car ownership is brought up a lot in these kinds of discussions, it's a pretty poor metric for determining car dependence, transit or cycling usage, or walkability. In a healthy city people who own cars don't use them for every trip. They get around in other ways too.

If Italy is like the parts of Europe I've been in, the same percentage of cars, will take up a lot less space!

There's a (perhaps questionable) list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_motor_vehicles_per_capita - it say that after the microstates, the highest car ownership is the USA, with Canada next. I'm surprised that Italy and France are so much higher than the UK and Ireland.

 

[Undead]

Bikeshare docks on Don Mills at Godstone Road and Peanut Plaza: