Over the holidays, a particularly nasty ice storm wreaked havoc in my hometown of Toronto (and much of the surrounding area for that matter). The storm was so bad it left hundreds of thousands of people without power over Christmas. The problem was then compounded by several wicked cold snaps that saw the mercury plunge into...
Like many people of my generation, I put myself through two university degrees working in restaurants and bars. The last spot I ever worked at was a high-end Irish Pub in Toronto’s financial district. Thankfully, the pub was located exactly 25 minutes’ walk from my apartment. I knew, because I’d meticulously timed it, measured it...
Since Christmas is now less than 2 weeks away, it’s only appropriate if we have some yuletide content on this blog. And thanks to the video sent in by one of our readers, we found some holiday spirit in one of the most unexpected places in the world: Toronto’s subway. —
I recently read an article in Canada’s Globe and Mail that made me smile. The article, entitled Air-rail link to boost travel – and ‘wow’ factor, discusses how my hometown of Toronto “has been waiting for decades for a direct link between the airport and downtown” and how “at last . . . it’s finally taking...
MOVE is a multi-media, multi-facetted exhibition that explores the past, present, and future of urban transportation in Toronto, and around the world. The expo is the result of a collaboration between Evergreen and the Institute without Boundaries (IwB). The actual exhibition is located in the Kilns Building at the Brick Works — the former brick...
If you happen to live in Toronto, Canada, you’ve probably heard on the news or from friends/family that the CNE or “The Ex” opened its doors last Friday. For those not from Toronto, The Ex is an annual fair that runs during the last weeks of August until Canadian Labour Day Monday. It’s the country’s...
Dear Toronto: You might have heard today on CBC’s Metro Morning an interview with myself, Steven Dale, the Founder of The Gondola Project and Founding Principal at Creative Urban Projects. Typically, such press causes The Gondola Project to experience a rather large surge in traffic from whatever given geographic region is discussing the idea. As such: Welcome...
How does the trend of increased ridership match up against the local gas prices in Toronto? Stuck between budget cuts and politics no one can ignore the increase in both fuel costs and public transit ridership. So the question is, how many riders will it take to shift attention over to public transit funding, infrastructure...
An article in yesterday’s Toronto Star caught my eye. Apparently the Toronto Transit Commission is preparing to charge its riders 15¢ for every sms they receive from the system’s next-vehicle text system. Says The Star: TTC staff want to charge customers 15 cents to use the next-streetcar text message system when the service expands to...
As any Torontonian knows, Toronto’s transit plans are seriously in flux. After what seems like an eternity of planning a network of Light Rail lines, new mayor Rob Ford has decided to unilaterally nix that idea and build a new subway under the auspice that the “war on the car is over.” Yet amidst all...