[Midtown Urbanist]

Showing that video to drivers in the GTA would be a sure-fire way to guarantee they vote for Ford-like politicians for the next 100 years.

 

[nfitz]

That's called making your problem my problem. The mindset is "I can't get something I want or feel I need without inconveniencing others, so screw them, I want what I want and am going to get it." My problem is now everyone else's.

What has this got to do with Greg's proposal to restrict courier deliveries to night time?

 

[salsa]

Is Zurich a "world class city"? Maybe John Tory should look at Zurich on how to do things right with traffic.

[video=youtube_share;6EUg6PMhomo]http://youtu.be/6EUg6PMhomo[/video]

Zurich doesn't build subways, therefore it's not a world class city.

 

[picard102]

Is Zurich a "world class city"?

Depends on your definition of world class I guess.

 

[the lemur]

Zurich doesn't build subways, therefore it's not a world class city.

And Lausanne has a subway, but a population of only 136,000 ...

 

[Admiral Beez]

No left turns without dedicated turn lanes, roundabouts, no on street parking on streetcar routes unless road is wide enough for a lane for streetcar and cars, in additional to the street parking. Sychronised traffic lights to improve traffic flow. No commercial vehicles on the DVP from 7am to 9am, and 4pm and 7pm. Rush hour recognized to 7pm, with no on street parking until 7pm. Commercial trucks parked blocking lanes immediately clamped with second offense fine worth 50% of vehicle's value.

Thanks for straightening me out on commercial trucks. I think the remainder above can stand fair scrutiny.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I agreed with the rest.

Except the idea of a second offence being punishable with a fine equal to 50% of the vehicle's value. That seems onerous and disproportionate to the transgression.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Except the idea of a second offence being punishable with a fine equal to 50% of the vehicle's value. That seems onerous and disproportionate to the transgression.

Perhaps, but my goal is not revenue collection, which IMO is the undeclared objective of more reasonable fines that delivery firms simply pay and include in their cost of doing business. Instead my objective is to absolutely stop the transgression dead, never to occur, with ideally never a fine ever collected. Make it so evident that you will face a massive penalty that only a poor fool would park his truck there.

A $500 fine, such as that proposed in 2011 is not going to be sufficient to stop the courier trucks. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...osed_for_road_hogs_who_park_in_curb_lane.html

Not that I often look to communist dictatorships for guidance, but this Chinese university will confiscate any vehicle illegally parked. http://www.concordiashanghai.org/do...-SCOOTER_REGULATION_IN_SHANGHAI_PROCEDURE.pdf

 

[Tewder]

The arguments in this thread are good examples of the divisive, polarizing and regressive effects of inadequate transit. Everybody's so willing to point the figure at somebody else, making them the problem/enemy, whether its 905 commuters or commercial drivers or spoiled downtown elitists or so on (and spare me the tirades about why any of these is worse than another, don't care). Not only are they merely band-aid solutions they lead to continued political gridlock and we are left spinning our wheels. For how long will we do this, for how many more reactionary political regimes?

No, what this city/region needs now is cohesion of vision and power. It needs to get behind one solution, and fast: transit. This is where the discussion needs to sit. Done. Next.

 

[Videodrome]

Don Peat ‏@reporterdonpeat 56s56 seconds ago
Mayor-elect John Tory speaking to students at City Hall today that are taking part in Take Your Kids to Work Day #TOpoli

That sure is better than Rob speaking to kids!

 

[Greg Banks]

Interesting group of Councillors as a backdrop to the Pennachetti announement today...four of Tory's expected backers...Colle, Filion, Kelly, DMW... from the left Carroll...a placeholder Councillor Leon and what was Cho doing there...
Oh, and was that Fletcher in the background left...

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

ICYMI, and you have no idea what Greg is referring to:

John Tory convinces city manager Joe Pennachetti to delay retirement

 

[W. K. Lis]

The story from The Star, at this link:

John Tory convinces city manager Joe Pennachetti to delay retirement

City manager Joe Pennachetti has accepted mayor-elect John Tory’s request to delay his retirement until the end of April, after Tory’s first budget.


Toronto city manager Joe Pennachetti has accepted mayor-elect John Tory’s request to delay his retirement until the end of April, after Tory’s first budget.

Pennachetti, the city’s top civil servant for the past six years, had planned to retire at the end of November. Tory, the first person in decades to be elected mayor of Toronto without first serving on city council, called Pennachetti a “strong, trusted leader.â€

“I felt that from the standpoint of a new council, but in particular a new mayor, and a new mayor who, to be candid, was new to city hall, that we would all best be served if he would give some consideration to staying here at the city hall and continuing to lead the public service†through the budget cycle, Tory said at a city hall news conference with Pennachetti on Thursday.

“Every additional day we can get, in terms of public service, from Joe Pennachetti, will be a day that will be good for the City of Toronto,†Tory said.

Council must approve the extension at its first meeting, but that is a mere formality. Pennachetti, a soft-spoken accountant, is respected by councillors of all stripes.

He said the city is entering “a critical four or five months†of intergovernmental discussions. The Tory-led government, he said, can make significant progress on transit and housing in conjunction with Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

He said he had previously been “pretty firm†about his decision to leave, even when councillors urged him to reconsider. But he made the decision while serving under Mayor Rob Ford.

“It was a long four years,†he said.

Tory campaigned on a promise of annual property tax increases no greater than the rate of inflation. Early in the year, before Tory entered the race, Pennachetti advised council to seek increases higher than that, saying “inflationary rates aren’t going to maintain services into the future.â€

Pennachetti, often inscrutable, was coy when reminded of his words Thursday, suggesting there is a possibility of avoiding cuts even with a low tax hike. The “definition of inflation,†he said, is flexible.

The news conference was attended by an eclectic group of conservative, centrist and progressive councillors. Shelley Carroll, a progressive, said Tory’s aides have told her they are planning to appoint a “broad-based†executive committee.

Ford’s executive was composed entirely of right-leaning suburban councillors for most of the term. Carroll called Tory’s approach “an utter and complete 180.â€

“It’s so refreshing,†Carroll said.

Shows and demonstrates that John Tory knows how to play well with others.

 

[SunriseChampion]

"'It's so refreshing,' Carroll said."

I'll say!

 

[freshcutgrass]

The very reason the DVP and Gardiner were built was to commuters to get from the 'burbs to downtown. The only problem is that the idea become so popular that demand is exceeding supply. If you're plan is to prohibit demand, then you might as well get rid of the supply, and demolish the DVP and Gardiner. Good luck with that.

The solution is not to get rid of the supply, but to simply dial in the road toll amount until you get the desired traffic flow.

But that's just for expressways in and out of the city. For city streets, you need to prioritize. If 50% of the users of the road (individual cars) are using 99% of the road space, while the other 50% (transit, bikes, pedestrians) are using 1% of the road space....which one needs to be paying dearly for their highly inefficient use of a limited public resource?