Toronto is ridiculously stupid

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Asher
Kuci, virtually everybody on this planet but you can make such an observation.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Flubber
Asher-- It is impossible to suicide prrof the outside. If someone wants to die, they will succeed

The jumpers typically jump from the inside of stations, at the entrance of the tunnels where the train has sufficient speed to be lethal. They hide behind the wall and jump infront of the train leaving it no time to stop.

Research led to a proposal to leave the first 25 feet of the station walled off with plexiglass to permit the operators to see people that are lining up at the edge to jump, but at a cost of $50,000 per station, the TTC concluded it was too expensive.

Other systems have more intelligent designs, like double doors...but not Toronto.

[Flubber]

and for the record . . . although I love Calgary I don't find the public transit to be that fabulous. The LRT works well above ground outside the downtown and is reasonably well situated .

But in the downtown it contributes greatly to the gridlock. I appreciate that going underground would have been very very very expensive but doing so would add another east=west corridor across the downtown PLUS eliminate all the traffic north-south constantly stopping for the trains,

[Asher]

Originally posted by Flubber
and for the record . . . although I love Calgary I don't find the public transit to be that fabulous. The LRT works well above ground outside the downtown and is reasonably well situated .

But in the downtown it contributes greatly to the gridlock. I appreciate that going underground would have been very very very expensive but doing so would add another east=west corridor across the downtown PLUS eliminate all the traffic north-south constantly stopping for the trains,

Calgary needs to move the LRT above or below ground, absolutely.

The thing is Toronto is a far more dense city with slower growth to keep up with -- so that puts them in comparison with larger cities, where it ends up woefully inadequate.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher

The jumpers typically jump from the inside of stations, at the entrance of the tunnels where the train has sufficient speed to be lethal. They hide behind the wall and jump infront of the train leaving it no time to stop.

Research led to a proposal to leave the first 25 feet of the station walled off with plexiglass to permit the operators to see people that are lining up at the edge to jump, but at a cost of $50,000 per station, the TTC concluded it was too expensive.

Other systems have more intelligent designs, like double doors...but not Toronto.

Assuming all that is true, you don't prevent the suicide, you just move the possible location-- Whats the point?

If they don't jump in front of a streetcar/subway, maybe they jump off a parking garage or out the 3rd level of the Dome

[Asher]

Originally posted by Flubber
Assuming all that is true, you don't prevent the suicide, you just move the possible location-- Whats the point?

Subway suicides prevent the subway from operating past a certain point. A major issue...

If they don't jump in front of a streetcar/subway, maybe they jump off a parking garage or out the 3rd level of the Dome

Because that doesn't stop subway trains from operating for 2 hours, which causes amazing amounts of chaos...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher

Calgary needs to move the LRT above or below ground, absolutely.

I only advocate this for downtown obviously. I don't think there are any major problems with it being ground level in other areas. They seem to have synchronyzed the Train with the direction of the traffic and a train even every 5 minutes is no real problem

[Asher]

What Toronto needs is a suicide booth, Futurama style. It'd be busy.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher

Subway suicides prevent the subway from operating past a certain point. A major issue...


Because that doesn't stop subway trains from operating for 2 hours, which causes amazing amounts of chaos...

OK at least thats honest-- Since suicide prevention is impossible, we want to minimize the disruption caused by the suicide

They are disruptive no matter where they occurr. A couple of years back some of my co-workers saw a guy jump from a nearby apartment building. I got there in time to see the rush of paramedics to the scene and then see them immediately turn away . Later came the coroner and the hazardous materials unit.

Oh and that wasn't publicized either, ANYWHERE. I think that all of Canadian media do not report on suicides

[Asher]

There are actually studies which say if the original point of suicide is thwarted, they are far less likely to carry through with it.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
There are actually studies which say if the original point of suicide is thwarted, they are far less likely to carry through with it.

But I'm assuming if you put up this plexiglasss, most potential suicides will know that and make their first attempt somewhere else

[Asher]

Originally posted by Flubber
But I'm assuming if you put up this plexiglasss, most potential suicides will know that and make their first attempt somewhere else

Here's hoping.

[MOBIUS]

Talking of suicides...

When I lived in Wellington in NZ, the Samaritans used to have adverts on the roofs of buses...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher

Here's hoping.

So they instead jump from a building into a busy thoroughfare and instead gridlock 6 lanes of traffic ??

Would you put barriers on top of all the buildings too?

Or should we just train snipers to kill them where they stand so as not to disrupt traffic ?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Flubber
So they instead jump from a building into a busy thoroughfare and instead gridlock 6 lanes of traffic ??

Six lanes of traffic < subway line.

FWIW, Toronto already set a precedent by constructing "suicide barriers" on bridges over major thoroughfares for this reason alone.

Or should we just train snipers to kill them where they stand so as not to disrupt traffic ?

As I said, suicide booths are the way. They could be marked with a Toronto Maple Leafs logo. Perhaps we could even recycle the bodies for organs?