Toronto is ridiculously stupid

[RedFred]

Originally posted by Tingkai
If you go into Toronto expecting to hate it, you will. If you refuse to look around and see what's there, it'll seem dead. If you don't like big cities, you won't like Toronto.

Or you can approach the city with an open mind and discover the small things that make life enjoyable, like:

- Listen to some blues at Jeff Healy's place;
- See a new band at the Cameron House;
- Go to any of the dozens of clubs with live music;
- Have a walnut beer at the Amsterdam, if they still make it;
- Walk around Kensington Market and eat a Jamaican beef patty;
- Go to the St. Lawrence Market and have a peameal bacon sandwich;
- Try some regional cuisine at places like Little Italy on Bathurst and College, in any of the Chinatowns like the one on Spadina, Greek food on the Danforth, Indian food on Gerard and Coxwell, East European food around Roncesville;
- Toronto has professional hockey, basketball, baseball, Canadian football, soceer so go see a game;
- During the summer, go to the Ex, watch the Caribanna parade, go sailing on the lake, or ride a bike from Wilket Creek Gardens to downtown;
- in the winter, go skating at city hall or Grenadier pond;
- Check out the live theater; Toronto isn't New York or London, but there are still a lot of interesting shows; or
- Just go for a walk and see what's up in different neighborhoods like the Annex, the beaches and places I mentioned above; and
- of course there's the usual tourist stuff.

In other words, the city is what you make of it.

Now I think I understand why there is all those suicides in Toronto.

[Ninot]

The only thing worth seeing in Toronto is the hockey hall of fame. Otherwise, any other major city i've ever been to is much more fun.

[Asher]

It's funny that I was an hour late to work this morning because of a "serious medical emergency" on the subway at Bloor station (read: jumper), and when I did get to my stop to load on the streetcar there were no streetcars for 15 minutes (at rushhour!), so there was a crowd of 3000 or so people milling around being angry.

Toronto.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Tingkai

It's no coincidence that the standard shipping containers, (the trailer part of tractor-trailers) are 40 feet long. Any long would cause problems.

Wrong. 53' is the standard length of trailers. The piggy back containers are shorter.

Do carry on with the defence however. It helps pass the time.

[MOBIUS]

And is very entertaining!

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Asher
Everyone rolls their eyes each time they mention that a "serious medical emergency" has stopped all train traffic...the TTC has a publication ban on subway suicides..

Over here, it is un accident grave de voyageur (lit: a traveller's grave accident)

[Starchild]

Originally posted by Flubber


Asher-- It is impossible to suicide prrof the outside.

I'd say its pretty hard to kill yourself at Westminister Station in London given that there's pexiglass and automatic doors that only open when lined up with a train door between you and the tracks.

How much that *costs* is entirely different.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Asher
Volvo makes a bi-articulated bus that holds 270 people.

Like I said, it's all about trade-offs.

Yes, Volvo's Brazilian operation has a bus that carries 270 people, but to do that they only provide seats for 1 out of 5 people. The remaining 4 out of 5 have to stand.

And what other trade offs? To operate this bus they need a dedicated roadway. To get on and off the bus, people have to use raised platforms.

Is this bus energy efficient? Will it work in a downtown core like Toronto?

Australia allows truck trains. It works for them, but that doesn't mean truck trains are good idea everywhere.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Asher
It's funny that I was an hour late to work this morning because of a "serious medical emergency" on the subway at Bloor station (read: jumper), and when I did get to my stop to load on the streetcar there were no streetcars for 15 minutes (at rushhour!), so there was a crowd of 3000 or so people milling around being angry.

Toronto.

3,000 people at one streetcar stop. Yeah, right.

But, yes, Toronto has traffic jams. You're living in a big city. If you want small town life, go back to tiny Calgary.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Like I said, it's all about trade-offs.

Yes, Volvo's Brazilian operation has a bus that carries 270 people, but to do that they only provide seats for 1 out of 5 people. The remaining 4 out of 5 have to stand.

!!!!

Have you ever taken the TTC streetcars or subway? I can count on my hands how many times I've gotten a seat on either.

And what other trade offs? To operate this bus they need a dedicated roadway. To get on and off the bus, people have to use raised platforms.

Much like the Spadina streetcar line, and the new streetcar lines Toronto is building...

Is this bus energy efficient? Will it work in a downtown core like Toronto?

Why wouldn't it, if you allow large streetcars..

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
3,000 people at one streetcar stop. Yeah, right.

!!!!

Have you ever been to Spadina station's streetcar stop at rush hour? Seriously?

The lineups were down to the subway platform.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Asher
The reason why they haven't adapted added plexiglass protectors at the entrance to station (the "jump point")? $6M is too much to spend to outfit all the stations with it.

So instead they spent $1.5B on new streetcars.

$1.5 billion? Where did you get that number?

The TTC is looking at spending $650 million to buy new streetcars, not $1.5 billion.

The other choice is to refurbish the existing ones at $1 million a piece to keep them running until 2020, about $200 million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070131.STREETCAR31/TPStory/National

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Asher

Have you ever taken the TTC streetcars or subway? I can count on my hands how many times I've gotten a seat on either.

You've live in Toronto how many weeks?

The streetcars have a seat-standing room ratio of about 1 to 2.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
$1.5 billion? Where did you get that number?

The TTC is looking at spending $650 million to buy new streetcars, not $1.5 billion.

The other choice is to refurbish the existing ones at $1 million a piece to keep them running until 2020, about $200 million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...Story/National

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/02/01/ttc-streetcars.html

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
You've live in Toronto how many weeks?

The streetcars have a seat-standing room ratio of about 1 to 2.

I've taken the streetcar 4 times daily for over 5 months, and it's nowhere near 1 to 2...