It’s the exact Neverland City transit plan that gave us one of the worst commute times in North America: You just think of a happy thought, sprinkle it with private-sector pixie dust, and before you know it, you’re sitting in traffic for another generation.
Fortunately for us, the private sector has joined others to decisively call out this fairy tale for what it is. It’s time to grow up about funding in this growing city.
Some quick thoughts about #OneCity | #TOpoli #transit
Juggling live-blogging, tweeting, and this, so nothing profound, but a couple of things:
1. I wouldn’t assume that “the mayor is back in charge of transit” just yet. Just because OneCity didn’t fly doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly got anything more than shouting “subways subways subways” until our ears bleed.
2. Whatever OneCity is or was, at least it contemplated tying transit expansion to public revenue. You want infrastructure? You gotta pay for it. If nothing else, that’s the beginning of an adult conversation. Beats the shit out of “I can’t support taxing the taxpayer.”
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The Liberals, bless their souls, have revealed nothing whatever about how they intend to carve the turkey. I don’t think they have a clue.
LORINC: Shelley Carroll’s case for patience on transit plan « Spacing Toronto
John Lorinc on the province’s, er, “prudent” approach to public transit and how to fund, plan, and build it.
Source: spacingtoronto.ca
#cARTographyTO and Astral Media: subverting the commercial colonization of public space | #TOpoli
Via The Grid and Torontoist, news of an inspired and inspiring guerrilla action over the weekend.
Dozens of sidewalk-blocking, ad-filled eyesores, laughably known as “info pillars,” were repurposed and turned into art installations, social and political statements, and focus points for satire.
It’s hard not to sympathize with cARTography Toronto. Public space and public amenities are under relentless pressure from the advocates of privatization and the purveyors of commercial messaging; with the dogma of “austerity” comes more and more pressure to find new sources of revenue, especially when we’re saddled with a municipal administration intent on choking off one of the most traditional sources.
I’m sure these goddamn things are good for someone. No doubt they’re good for Astral. And perhaps they get the advertisers’ messages in front of more eyeballs. And who knows, maybe they bring in a dollar or two in licencing fees or something. But, in the words of one of the activists:
How you see this depends, as do many things, on how you define terms and how you frame the questions. If we’re committed to making the public good paramount, then the reclamation of public space from those who seek to colonize it is something to be encouraged. And while aesthetics are admittedly subjective, it’s hard not to be disturbed by the incessant, intrusive, and garish invasions of public sightlines, the cheapening of the visual environment, and the cumulative assault on our senses. Factor in the removal of bike posts, the destruction of trees and the interference with pedestrian traffic and it’s hard to see how the community as a whole comes out ahead. Surely we’re surrounded by enough vulgarity already.
Of course, that’s only one viewpoint. If we buy into commercial orthodoxy and the gospel of privatization, then anything that brings in revenue is good, and anything that questions the underlying assumptions or interferes with the sacred operation of the market is suspect, elitist, anti-capitalist, and quite probably a threat to national security. And by that logic, it won’t be long before the corporate media are pounding that drum day and night, the activists (already a word with negative connotations for some) are demonized, and the resources of the criminal-justice system are marshalled in their pursuit.
It would be easy to reduce this to competing visions of what public space should be. And while that’s certainly part of the discussion, not all such visions are advanced with the same energy. Not everyone has the resources for lawyers, lobbyists and SLAPP suits. Not everyone has the same degree of access and influence to the decision-makers or conversation-shapers. And not everyone has the same fluency with the technocratic, class-biased language that informs so many public-policy debates.
As we work for more inclusive and democratic conversations, it’s worth keeping that in mind.
(Image via torontoist)
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Behold, Children of Toronto: The Power of the Ford! | #UnionStation #flood #TOpoli
What the still photo doesn’t show: the water is actually flowing UP the stairs.
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Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the subway.
(h/t Jamie King, via Wilf Dinnick)
@GraphicMatt dismantles @TOMayorFord on transit | #TOpoli #TTC #TeamFord
There’s no shortage of observers willing to blog, analyze, poke fun, and detail all the myriad injuries, both large and small, that Team Ford is inflicting upon the city. Irrational mean-spiritedness, making up “facts” as they go along, sandbagging rookie councillors, and an overall spirit of childish vindictiveness — everything they do contributes to the overall effect of making Toronto a smaller, meaner, dirtier and less functional place to live.
Special mention must go, however, to Matt Elliott for his dedicated, comprehensive, and thoroughly researched posts at Ford For Toronto. What’s especially admirable is that he never sinks to the kind of cheap invective you’ll find on sites like mine. He lays out the numbers and lets them speak for themselves.
Today’s post merits particular attention. In a few short paragraphs, Matt sets out just how badly Team Ford’s incomprehensible, incoherent approach to public transit sets us back. It’s an object lesson in the importance of a cautious, reasoned approach to public policy, and the cost of leaving these decisions in the hands of people who act like petulant five-year-olds.
Any wise guy can wank on about the stupidity of the “War on the Car” meme. Matt brings the facts. If you haven’t bookmarked his site, do it today.
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CRTC is peddling broadband Kool-Aid, @peternowak writes
http://wordsbynowak.com/2011/08/02/crtc-broadband-communications-internet/
In short, Canada’s upload speeds are an embarrassment. Not a good thing if you’re trying to foster innovation and creativity.
Once again, the Sex Bombs and Burgers guy shows why he’s a must-read.
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Citizen, cyclist, father, diver, cheap-laugh aficionado, sanctimonious wanker, #BadJew. Thoughts are my own.
