Wave goodbye to
By MIKE STROBEL,
Last Updated: September 15, 2010 5:18pm
Transit
Or it sure looks burnt, unless Joe “Pants” Pantalone wins the mayor’s chair. And that’s as likely as a 501 streetcar when you really need one.
Soon-to-be-ex mayor David Miller salivates over which plum job to pluck.
Ex-TTC boss Adam Giambrone is in hormone therapy, or something.
And Councillor Howard “The Mouth” Moscoe tested the wind, and quit.
All three men hate cars, which is not conducive to a fair and civilized traffic network. Good mass transit is one thing. Deliberately driving drivers nuts is another.
We can’t all carpool, you know. Some of us don’t have enough friends.
Mayoralty frontrunner Rob Ford is no fan of
Ford prefers subways. So do I. So does any reasonable adult, including candidates Sarah Thomson, Rocco Rossi and George Smitherman. All but the increasingly comical Mr. Pantalone, who is under the impression he is running against Mike Harris.
Even Premier Dalton McGuinty now leaves wriggle room, a big deal since the province is to pony up $8 billion.
“There’s a healthy debate that’s taking place, various candidates are putting forward different kinds of proposals, I think that’s a good thing and gives voters an opportunity to consider the different possibilities,” the premier said Tuesday. He insists
So now’s the time to rethink
1. Embrace the car. It’s like prostitution and Hazel McCallion. It ain’t going away.
And Henry Ford’s ol’ smoky machine gets greener every year. One day, engines will be carbon neutral.
Besides, most of us must get around on four wheels.
So restore bicycle follies like
And let folks drive in those silly new GO bus lanes on the
Take a hard look at Rossi’s proposal to extend the Allen downtown underground. I mean, what kind of expressway hits a brick wall, so to speak, at Eglinton.
While we’re being blasphemous, an extra expressway or two wouldn’t hurt. Say, along the huge hydro right-of-way from northeast Scarborough to the
And sync our traffic lights, for crying out loud. They’re shameful, insulting, and you have to speed like crazy to catch the next green.
2. The better way is more subways. They’re faster, and harmonize with road traffic. All world-class cities have lots of them.
Better late than never. Let’s take that
Expand as we can afford it and, as Thomson suggests, fill in gaps with new buses.
3. We like bikes — in their place. Cyclists think drivers are animals. Not so. We cherish cyclists and want to keep them safe — far away from nasty cars and trucks. With love, let’s honeycomb downtown with bike lanes, but using quiet side streets.
Forget the suburbs — not even Lance Armstrong would commute from there.
4. Streetcars desired — downtown only. Pantalone and other
5. Train, bus, bike or car, this city needs a traffic czar. Actually, I think we already have one. But the pols have so emasculated the position he can’t change a bus tire without asking. Transit/traffic is this town’s top issue. A traffic czar would co-ordinate everything from new subways to road construction to charity runs on the DVP.
Hell, I’d make the mayor report to him.
Mike Strobel’s column runs Wednesday to Friday, and Sunday. mike.strobel@sunmedia.ca or 416-947-2265.
Reprinted by permission of Mike Strobel