Streetcars or... or... or... subways??

Just a follow-up to my earlier post on the new streetcars Toronto is seeking.

When I attended the info session at Yonge and Dundas, I crossed paths with a gentleman who was just giving it to one of the volunteers - his argument basically boiled down to: "it's all fine and dandy to make the streetcars wheelchairs accessible - what about making the street wheelchair accessible?" If we are truly going to emulate the euro model as Minneapolis did, we'd be looking at converting major streets into ROWs - I don't see the merchants of Little Italy allowing this for the 506, for example. What makes the Minneapolis line work is that among other things they took entire blocks in the downtown and converted them to ROW combined with pedestrian ways. Now, I'm all for it, but I don't see how that would fly on some of our major routes.

This same gentleman was also passionately arguing against streetcars in the downtown, period. He asked the billion dollar question, "Why aren't we building subways instead?" Naturally, I piped up that no one exactly has $20 billion floating around, and his response was basically, find the money. Now, I know this has been beaten to death here, but he had what sounded like intriguing ideas about funding that I am simply too ignorant of the basic laws of economics to refute, so I thought I would try and recall them here as best as possible and see what you might have to say.

His main example cited the city of San Francisco in the Depression, wanting to build one of the bridges that crosses the Bay (it wasn't clear to me which one). No one had the money for this, but the city secured an interest-free loan from the State - possibly the Federal level too, this was after all a conversation in a crowded mockup of an LRT - that they were able to pay off by 1960. I'm sure there are all sorts of reasons why this wouldn't work here - but could it? The other thought he had was that the City could sell bonds to raise the capital funding. Again, it strikes me as improbable, but I'm not in a position to say.

The reason that I felt it worth sharing this at all (and didn't chalk it up to the ramblings of some nutter) was that the gentleman in question identified himself as the owner of a well-known restaurant downtown that has been there for years. So, fine, he knows a little about money. He also said that he has a disabled son, which is why he's more passionate than some on the issue of accessible streetcars. I suggested to him that he's the one with the ideas, he should be contacting City Hall with them, but he didn't seem to think it was worth trying. So what I'm wondering is, whether we're talking about subways or streetcars, do his funding ideas hold any water? With the recent threatened budget cuts, it would seem that thinking outside the box is overdue anyway.

Our new streetcar

The TTC has started its public consultation process regarding new streetcars and light-rail vehicles for its fleet. The current fleet - those on the left in this photo - is nearing the end of its anticipated lifetime. Plus, there is the hoped-for Transit City plan, which would result in the vast expansion of high (or higher) speed rapid transit throughout the city of Toronto. We may possibly be looking at two different types of vehicles - more traditional-style streetcars for the downtown fleet, and euro-style light-rail for the new suburban right-of-way routes. I'm kind of excited about this, as it is the first time in years I can recall a genuine interest on the part of the province and the city to properly invest in intelligent expansion of transit here. (And no, the Sheppard subway does not count - basically that was the result of a tickle fight between Mike Harris and Mel_Lastman that continues to suck money.)

This is where you and I come in. We get a say, of sorts, in what sort of vehicles the TTC gets. First of all - if this interests you - you should read up on the history and pros and cons, at both Steve Munro's website, as well as on Spacing. For a handy guide to other systems around the world that use light rail and streetcars, check out The Toronto LRT Information Page and its blog. Then, have a look at the site the TTC has set up to gauge public demand and interest: mynewstreetcar.ca. There are virtual tour slide shows to see, plus a survey to fill out, of what you would like to see in new transit vehicles, and what does not work that we have now.

Personally, I have a short list of my own requirements:

• vehicles should be low-floor to allow for full access to wheelchairs and strollers
• ideally the same vehicles used for downtown routes and other right-of-way or tunnel routes uptown to allow for interchangeability
• air-conditioning a must
• placement of maps and route information on board
• seats a little further apart - my 6'5" legs get bent out of shape in the ones we have now
• wider aisles required anyway for wheelchairs, but extend that area for more standing access

Aesthetically, I would like to see something that reflects the heritage of the older vehicles, like the PCC car on the right in the above photo - most of the others that the TTC is looking at are uber-modern, European looking things. This coming Thursday from 12 to 8 pm, at Yonge/Dundas Square downtown, the TTC is holding an information session including, among other things, a short version of the cars used in Minneapolis to see in person. I'm going to try and make it after work to have a peek, and have a say.

Getting Freaky on the TTC

Having lived in Toronto for most of my life, and spending most of it on the TTC (I still don't have a driver's license at my age, and at this rate doubt that I ever will) I rather thought that by this time, I had seen everything. I mean, from the mundane weirdnesses (mumbling psychopaths, guys playing with themselves, the girl who flashed her cooch at me, old men cutting their toenails - seriously, what's wrong with some people - even this guy by some standards blends in with the scenery) but the other day, I found that citizens in my city had reached a wonderful new low. I'm getting on the subway around 6:30 pm on my way to the pub from work, and at Royal York station, there's a section of platform that's wider near where the escalators are. Because it's wider there, there's some large columns to support the ceiling, that also create blind spots. A couple of months ago, I happened upon a guy openly writing on the wall with a marker - I didn't say anything to him, but decided that if I saw him again, I'd say something, because, again, what's wrong with some people. So this day last week, I'm walking down the platform, and I see something out of the corner of my eye, so I turn, and there's a guy pressed up against one of these columns. I'm about to turn towards him, when I realize he's not alone. In between him and the wall there's a woman, and they're totally banging each other. (Once more with feeling: what's wrong with some people?!?) I suppose I should give them some credit, as they were being relatively subtle about it - he was holding his jacket out around her waist, so you couldn't see the "point of entry", as it were, and he, being the more visible one, was standing still, while she was rocking back and forth. But, holy crap, she was getting nailed on the subway platform in rush hour. The most obvious thing to say would have been "Get a room", but shock won out and I simply got on my train. They happened to be fairly averagely unattractive people, but the thing was, they looked somewhat, averagely normal, also. As in, they didn't appear to be a couple of crackheads oblivious to their surroundings, nor did they seem to be the freaky sex-in-public type (mind you, I'm not sure I'd recognize that type in a lineup anyway). They just seemed like everyday, bland mundane people, who will now disappear into the earlier category of weirdos on the subway that you ignore. I shudder to think of what will come next.