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Give the King St. Pilot time to work before bombarding staff

At Monday’s Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) board meeting, many city councillors were trying to press staff for information about the King St. Pilot Study. They wanted to know when results would be coming in, when police could issue fines, and when the city should consider technological improvements to the design of the street.

At this moment, the pilot had only been running for one and a half days.

As of Sunday, Nov. 12, King St. was mostly shut down to drivers between Jarvis and Bathurst. Drivers can access that corridor, but must turn right at the following intersection. Barriers prevent cars from passing through. This is a big change, and many people who use the King St. corridor to get to work will have to either take transit or adjust their route.

Of course, there will be a time of transition. There will be people still confused about how it works, and those who have been living under a rock and have no clue what is going on. There is something for everyone to learn — drivers, cyclists, and transit users alike. Even the most informed citizen may forget during their autopilot commute to work.

All of this is to say that one and a half days is not enough to be able to make any sort of judgement on the pilot study. Those councillors asking how much faster the streetcar ran or whether or not to insert red-light cameras to catch cars going through intersections should understand the answers aren’t available yet.

Let’s give this pilot its due time — a few months later, lets revisit enforcement and efficiency. Both of these factors are incredibly important, and as TTC CEO Andy Byford said, when conducting a pilot, you want to do everything you can to ensure it is successful.

Unlocking gridlock in Toronto has never been more important. Over 60,000 people ride the King St. streetcar every day. Most of these people are met with overcrowded streetcars and car-to-care traffic. What should be a simple 15 minute ride turns out to be closer to 30 minutes.

Something needed to be done. Drivers may complain for a few weeks, as will pedestrians trying to cross intersections that didn’t have lights beforehand, but at the end of the day, this transformative pilot should have an incredibly positive impact on downtown Toronto.

But, only time will tell.

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NYC to phase out Metrocard by 2020 for contactless pay methods

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) , responsible for New York City’s transit system, announced this week that transit riders will soon be able to tap and pay for their fare with their phones.

The is the next step in transforming the transit system, according to Transit Authority chairman Joseph J Lhota.  The familiar way of travel for New Yorkers has long been the Metrocard,  a reloadable plastic card that can be swiped to pay your fare. The system was implemented in the 1990’s and was often criticized for not being reliable. It has been almost 30 years since the Metrocard replaced tokens and now, by 2020, the transit agency expects to install the ‘new pay by phone’ technology in over 500 subway turnstiles and over 600 buses.

“It’s the next step in bringing us into the 21st century, which we need to do. It’s going to be transformative,” Lhota said at the official announcement on Oct 23.

The new payment system will be run using field communication technology and short range wireless connectivity. This is the technology used by Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Similarly, you will be able to pay using these methods through Android Pay, Samsung Pay, or contactless debit and credit cards.

The implementation of this new technology is all about ensuring a smooth flow of people in and out of the transit stations. There will be no need for queues when people need to reload their Metrocard. There will, however, still be turnstiles for those who do not have a debit or credit card for payment.

The MTA is following in the footsteps of the London Transit Commission, which already uses contactless tap and ride Smart Cards and Oyster Cards. Apple Pay and other platforms are also available as acceptable payment for the bus, the tube, London Overground, river bus and other transit services under the Transport for London Authority. The same applies in Australia where the system was introduced in late 2015.

By 2023, the MTA hopes to phase out Metrocards as they did with tokens in 2003. The MTA is also hiring the same company that did the installations in London, Cubic Transportation Systems.

The contract will cost an estimated $573 million for the new fare payment system and is expected to be completed in late 2020.  As for now, temporary testing e-readers have already been spotted in the Lower Manhattan stations.

What do you think? Leave a comment below with your thoughts on this high-tech transit fare system.

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Is Toronto stuck as the child poverty capital or can it raise a village?

Toronto is one of the most liveable cities in the world, but if you live in poverty with your children, it’s quite a different story. Ranging from long daycare subsidy waitlists, high rent, extraordinary transit costs, and expensive food, raising a family can seem nearly impossible.

Child poverty is a difficult pill to swallow and Toronto has been dubbed the Canadian capital in a report called ‘Divided City’ that was released in early November 2016. The report said that Toronto has the highest rate of low-income children in an urban area at 26.8 per cent.

Two years ago in November 2015, Toronto approved its first-ever poverty reduction plan after a report was released entitled ‘The Hidden Epidemic’, which outlined the impacts of child poverty in the city. Though child poverty has decreased from 29 per cent in 2009 to 26.8 per cent, it still impacts specific neighbourhoods in Toronto. The 2016 report is the first update since ‘The Hidden Epidemic’ and shows that child poverty has decreased overall, but is now concentrated to particular areas such as Regent Park, where 58 per cent of children live in low-income households. Families struggle to pay rents, using over 30 per cent of their income on rent (the threshold to be considered low-income) and children end up missing out on important recreation activities and parents struggle to feed their kids.

Unfortunately, with budget cuts the poverty strategy has been put on the back burner and important investments for children such as affordable housing and funding for recreation and daycare subsidies is facing debilitating cuts. The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Family Service Toronto with Ontario Campaign 2000, Colour of Poverty and Social Planning Toronto came together to create the updated report to emphasize the need for City Council to stick to their poverty reduction goals and avoid cuts as much as possible.

One of these goals needs to be affordable housing. Currently there are nearly 100,000 people on the affordable housing waitlist and helping families to obtain housing needs to be a first priority to help reduce poverty for families. If most of your money goes towards paying rent, it is nearly impossible to escape the spiral of poverty. One third of families with children under the age of 18 live in unaffordable housing. The report also highlights that a lone parent living on Ontario Works would have to pay 107 per cent of their income in order to live in inner-city Toronto. This pushes families out to areas with less transit and away from many of the jobs in the city. Affordable housing in inner-city Toronto needs to become a priority immediately.

One solution that City Council discussed in the Executive Committee is the poverty reduction goal of providing low-income TTC fare cuts. This will help transit users to better afford their commute to more available jobs and help alleviate the pressures of living a low-income lifestyle. Executive Committee passed the ‘Fair Pass Program’ that would lower the adult single fare by 33 per cent and the adult monthly pass by 21 per cent unanimously. The program, if approved by council, will be implemented in March 2018.

Though the city is working towards implementing small measures as a part of their poverty reduction program, all cuts that involve children-led programs including housing, recreation and daycare subsidy, need to be avoided. Oftentimes, it seems that children get left behind in the wake of transit-focused initiatives when it comes to the city council budget. Most importantly, affordable housing solutions need to be offered immediately, including portable housing, recognizing the need for affordable housing based on using more than 30 per cent of a parent’s income on rent and changing rent control guidelines.

Children are the city’s most important priority and putting them first is the only way to make Toronto Canada’s best city. Every child deserves to play in a safe home without pests, and learn how to swim or play tae kwon do. Families also need access to healthy food and equitable employment opportunities where their children are in safe daycares so that parents can obtain employment or go to school. Only when Toronto loses its reputation as the child poverty capital will it be a safe place for families to live. Only at that point will the city of Toronto truly be a considered a village that raises a child.

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Health & Fitness

What happened when I cycled to work

Now that the weather is warming up (with small bursts of snow-filled fury), I decided to pull my bike out of the cobwebs of storage and starting cycling to work.

The first step was to plan a safe bike route so that I would have as little interaction with vehicles on the road as possible. Luckily, I found a cyclist’s dream: a nice cruise along the waterfront trail and then north on Sherbourne to Bloor. The route is about 20 km and would take me about 40 minutes each way. Sherbourne has a well-placed bike path and it appeared to be the perfect journey.

I checked over the tires and brakes before setting off and made sure to wear spring appropriate weather gear. I wore harem pants, and a tank — what I hoped would be appropriate for work and comfortable enough for my commute. I started my ride and all seemed well. The waterfront trail was relaxing and not as packed with bikes as it always is in the summer. This route is quite flat and, besides a windy portion at Ontario Place, it is a nice ride into downtown. It also feels satisfying cruising past all of the vehicles stuck in traffic on lakeshore while taking the environmentally-friendly and healthier commute option.

All was well until I reached Sherbourne St. The bike path itself is well-engineered and cyclists can only travel one direction on either side of the road. This limits collisions with other cyclists. The lifted curb keeps motorists from entering the bike lane and cyclists are safer. I believe lifted curbs on bike lanes are a must-have and a relatively inexpensive solution to sharing the road.

Going up Sherbourne, the treats I had consumed in my winter hibernation caught up with me. I began huffing and puffing as I slowly ascended the street and my legs began to ache. Soon, I was in fiery pain and I decided to disembark at Carlton St. I walked my bike for a few blocks, shamefully hanging my head as other cyclists whizzed by as if they were going for a casual uphill stroll. I rode on to my destination after a break and was proud I had succeeded, even if it was a struggle.

On my ride back, I rode downhill as if cruising on a cloud. It was almost worth the struggle on the ascent, although my aching knees would disagree. Then the weather hit and it began to snow when I got to the waterfront. The wind nearly blew me off my bike and I slowly made it across downtown to my destination. My spring gear was not sufficient for this change in the weather.

Though my first journey to work on my bike had its tribulations and moments of difficulty, I look forward to continuing my cycling adventures. A few tips from my first day: always stretch prior to biking a long distance and bring weather protectant clothing in case of a spring blizzard. Eventually, I hope the huffing and puffing will stop and I will cycle blissfully to and from the office.

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Entertainment

5 reasons New Year’s Eve sucks

New Year’s is an exciting, life-changing annual event, meant to remind us of the people we love in our lives and the potential future that awaits us all. Right? Wrong! It’s all a sham. The reality of New Year’s Eve is an evening full of failed resolutions. There will be a crappy party, which will inevitably result in an even crappier hangover. For all of those pessimists out there, read ahead. For all the optimists, read ahead and we will convert you to our ways.

Here are the five reasons why New Year’s eve sucks:

Goals

1. The New Year resolutions

On the night of December 31, people try to forget the mistakes of the past year and press the restart button. They do this by creating a long list of unattainable goals that they will then spend the next month madly working on before giving up entirely. This is an attempt to make ourselves feel better about all the terrible things we’ve done the past year (ate a dozen donuts in one sitting, laughed at a friend’s obvious discomfort, skipped work just because we felt like sleeping in), and honestly, it isn’t going to work.

Goals such as trying to lose 50 pounds in record time; promising to donate all of your coffee money to charity; or attempting to keep the deep recesses of the closet sparkly clean is not going to happen—and it will only make you miserable. Toss the resolutions out the door ladies and gents, and with it that overwrought expectations of your desired perfection. We are great how we are today, enjoy the present and be mindful of how your actual attributes can help you plan for a great future. And eat that chocolate cake! It won’t kill you.

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2. The inability for any New Year plans to actually work out

Every year, people make amazing plans to attend some friend’s party at the uppermost northern tip of the city, with the thought that they will magically make it down to the innermost downtown core for the countdown, all while enjoying the company of several wonderful friends they see once a year. What actually ends up happening is one of the parties gets canceled and friends are late. The one commonality is that really drunk friend (or work colleague) spills red wine on our beautiful new dresses because they cannot hold their liquor.  The epic plans made each and every year are often too over-the-top and are ridden with expectations of life-changing proportions. Instead, this year, we suggest attending ONE party with ONE group of friends. Sadly, the one person who gets too drunk and spills their drink is inevitable no matter the plans made—in fact, we hope it is you!

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3. The glaring reflection of your relationship status 

The most stressful aspect of New Year’s eve for singles worldwide is the midnight kiss. The thought of everyone kissing their significant others around you — you are left with just a bottle of wine and a face full of tears. It is a nightmare. Seriously, we’ve all dreamt about it. The entire New Year’s eve affair is a concoction made by coupledom to judge singles and leaves many choking down Chinese take-out crying at home when the ball drops.

The good news is that we can fight back! When the countdown arrives, here are a few suggestions to wreak a little midnight havoc. Options include running around topless hollering “down with the patriarchy!” Another choice is to quickly sneak up on your coupling friends and give them a look of irresistible pity so you get two lovely cheek kisses. My third and favorite option is to bring another single along with you and toast to your beautiful independence. This also gives you a pal to snicker with when all of the couples start to bicker after New Year’s when too many drinks have been consumed.

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4. The commute

On New Year’s, everyone is out and about, trying to run from here to there. They will also be very, very drunk. Enough said. Hiring a taxi or an Uber will be out of the question (the wait can be up to two hours or longer!). Despite some transit systems offering free service that night, the commute will still suck. Busses and streetcars will be packed with screaming people drinking out of paper bags. You either have to embrace it with your own paper bag, or just stay home with Chinese take-out. Better yet, stay at ONE party like a normal person, and ask that friend to stay the night.

 

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5. The wardrobe

The glitz of the New Year’s wardrobe is blinding. Short expensive dresses in the middle of winter that sparkle like a disco ball, paired with nine-inch heals to match. These are a hazard ladies! On the other hand, the glitz is a great road reflector and does help to protect against vehicles hitting you. Besides enhanced highway safety, the sparkles and short dresses have got to go. It’s not worth it to purchase an expensive cocktail dress you’ll only wear once, only to have some drunk stranger spill their cheap alcohol all over it. We would opt for a fun, casual outfit that we can move and groove in. Also something a bit warmer than a skimpy outfit — we live in Canada, please dress like it.

 

Overall, I hope you  all take this advice seriously. New Year’s eve can be a great night. It really can. We are not completely pessimistic about the affair. If you remove the intense expectations, over-the-top plans, hope for an imaginary romance, and the glitzy dresses, it will be wonderful evening you will never remember. Because you will be drunk — that part we approve of. To quote the characters of Friends: “Cheers to a Lousy Christmas and A Crappy New Year!”

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