The Dufferin & Bathurst bus priority lanes are the only way to break the transit death spiral in Toronto. They must happen & the mayor needs to make sure they’re a raging success. Mission critical as future fixes rely on their success. My column this week. Pls read n share. - ThreadSky

shawnmicallef.bsky.social • 11 days ago

The Dufferin & Bathurst bus priority lanes are the only way to break the transit death spiral in Toronto. They must happen & the mayor needs to make sure they’re a raging success. Mission critical as future fixes rely on their success. My column this week. Pls read n share.

Comments

shawnmicallef.bsky.social•8 days ago

Just two non-subway surface transit lines in TO carry more people daily than many, if not most, entire North American transit systems. Yet giving these people, who save Toronto's ass by not being in a car, are near impossible to give better service to. It's objectively a self destructive phenom.

derekkraan.bsky.social•8 days ago

Mind blowing actually how few passengers systems like the Baltimore Subway have. 18k passengers per day!

sirilyan.com•8 days ago

Sure, but what if those two parking spots directly in front of Summerhill Market are the only thing keeping that beleaguered small enterprise from going bankrupt? You would destroy the economy just so those 20 people a day can still shop at the market *but might have a short walk*!

trainsgenderfoamer.bsky.social•6 days ago

Fuck Summerhill Market if they are blocking Toronto's Transit future then they deserve to go under

bflmouse.bsky.social•11 days ago

I would like to read it, but I can’t. The Star hides everything behind a paywall.

shawnmicallef.bsky.social•11 days ago

It costs money to do this work. Should I work for free? Do you work for free? What is your job?

barrylavallee.bsky.social•11 days ago

Are paid subscriptions ad-free, print copy and digital?

shawnmicallef.bsky.social•11 days ago

No because subscription alone has never paid the full cost of the work, now or historically.

barrylavallee.bsky.social•11 days ago

That's unfortunate. What really kills digital subscriptions, for me, is the colluding advertising ecosystem that tracks and profiles individuals across a wide berth of the Internet. I wouldn't mind ads so much if they were run static and in-house. The Google Adsense monopoly is evil.

shawnmicallef.bsky.social•11 days ago

In the 13 years i've written this column i've been paid the same - no raise - so actually I'm paid less. I do it because I believe in the cause. Fielding complaints about paywalls and other questions about ad are difficult to respond to without getting upset so I'm tapping out here. Good day.

studiousgal.bsky.social•11 days ago

Agree. I buy the Star about 2x a week at store, & also enjoy reading it at the Toronto Public Library (Library pays to subscribe,...I presume?) No journalist should have to work for free.

kayehm.bsky.social•11 days ago

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/books-video-music/downloads-ebooks/digital-newspapers.jsp

seanyyz.bsky.social•11 days ago

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/how-this-transit-plan-could-finally-make-sufferin-dufferin-a-thing-of-the-past/article_e4bb3719-8476-4704-952c-2318be165631.html?gift=1&gift_token=498c0e2b-718a-4567-be59-f7367690773a

petercoffman.bsky.social•11 days ago

They're not "hiding" it any more than a grocery store "hides" milk and eggs behind a checkout counter.

We either pay people to provide things we need & want, or they have no choice but to stop providing them and do something else for a living instead.

futurematt.bsky.social•10 days ago

You can read the star for free with your library card on PressReader through https://TPL.ca Look for digital newspapers.

john-grillo.bsky.social•10 days ago

People (drivers) are delusional thinking that living in a city nothing will change and it will always be the same. It’s laughable when they say they are not against transit and say cars/drivers should have priority. But spineless politicians in this city and province will bend to their will. #TOpoli

mahlersfifth.bsky.social•11 days ago

More buses and priority lanes. Wasn't this Olivia's platform when she ran against Tory and Doug?

lloyddavis.ca•11 days ago

As was a pledge to build 200 km in four years. To paraphrase a Bob Dylan song, it’s like she used to care, but times have changed.

kludgegrrl.bsky.social•11 days ago

Surreal how the Annex FB group has been overwhelmed with posts of outrage about how RapidTO on Bathurst will DESTROY life as we know it -- it's quite depressing really. And virtually impossible to engage in any kind of fact-based discussion

dobsonic.bsky.social•11 days ago

Even a bus lane from the CNE to Bloor would be such a change!

lzamparo.bsky.social•8 days ago

If ever there were a justified use of strong mayor powers, here it is.

dbhidi.bsky.social•11 days ago

Oh man, that'll meet some resistance. Dufferin, especially north of Dupont, is one of those streets where drivers seem to feel entitled to drive like total maniacs. Try walking across Dufferin at Geary at you'll find out quick.

jsquaredink.bsky.social•9 days ago

Meanwhile in NYC more BRT aka Select Bus Routes continue to expand because it moves people! https://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/about.shtml

rzaichkowski.bsky.social•11 days ago

Thanks, Shawn! What infuriates me the most about this opposition to #RapidTO on Dufferin and Bathurst is how awfully similar it is to the opposition #BikeTO advocates had faced for years. It seems every bit of space taken away from drivers gets them up in arms regardless of evidence. #TTC #TOpoli

mikebednarski.bsky.social•11 days ago

But if restaurant owners who oppose #RapidTO or #BikeTO need street space for outdoor patios, they will gladly seek them. #topoli

benmccanny.bsky.social•11 days ago

It's also rehashing the same tired "business in jeopardy" arguments as the King street project. Do we need to rehash this on every corridor? King is doing great, as is the Annex, the Danforth, midtown Yonge

rzaichkowski.bsky.social•11 days ago

Unfortunately so. The car-brains are hell bent on resisting everything that takes away the slightest amount of space from them.

cbailey6.bsky.social•11 days ago

I'm sure that the Premier will be out at any moment to let those people know that they can just park their cars on the nearby parallel secondary streets.

michaelhoffman.bsky.social•10 days ago

Lolololol

trainsgenderfoamer.bsky.social•10 days ago

LMAO XD

rzaichkowski.bsky.social•11 days ago

If anything, the Premier would be more likely to pull a version of Bill 212 banning transit lanes which remove regular traffic lanes.

mlongfield.bsky.social•11 days ago

(There's been a clever appropriation of the language and engagement strategies urbanist movements have successfully deployed over the past decade. Nobody dares to be directly against, say, bike lanes or better transit anymore as they launch campaigns against those very things.)

fatraccoon.bsky.social•8 days ago

We all know that rush-hour parking restrictions fail because 4-way flashers seem to grant parking immunity at any hour. A lane that MUST be clear is easier to enforce than one that's got car traffic in it.

fatraccoon.bsky.social•11 days ago

Please pave the curb lane so it doesn't break my teeth.

aderaro.bsky.social•10 days ago

💯

mboadway.bsky.social•11 days ago

That's our Dufferin stop. If they banned parked and standing cars on Dufferin it would be a whole lot quicker and could be done in a day.

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