As recently as 2002/2003 this is what the area under the Garinder beside Fort York looked like. Before photos by Phil Muller.
And this is what it looks like today. The skating trail under the Garinder is now open.
Final Phase 1 Update
This is the final post for the Lower Don Construction Blog related to the Phase 1 improvements on the trail, which are now substantially complete with the reopening of the trail on September 23, 2017.
Thank you for following and contributing.
Here are some final updates, forward-looking comments, and ways you can continue to follow trail news and interact with us…
Rail crossing at Pottery Road
Many of you have provided valuable insights into the rail crossing by the new Pottery Road trail bridge.
- Thanks to your comments, this spring, new pavement markings will be applied to the trail leading up to the crossing as well as warning signage adjacent to the trail. The markings, saying “CAUTION [Rail symbol] CROSSING,” will alert riders to the crossing ahead.
- We are also working with Metrolinx to re-examine the P-gate arrangement at the crossing to see if further improvements can be made at…
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King Street Pilot with Dad
Used the 504 to get to a medical appointment with Dad. First time he’s been through the King Street Pilot area. He enjoyed the speedy commute.
A Gallery of Throwback Thursdays for 2017
As a Christmas gift to all my readers here, this post is a gallery of the photos I put up on Twitter (@swanboatsteve) for “throwback Thursday” this year. I know that not everyone follows me on social media, and in any event, I wanted to assemble all of the photos in one convenient place.
There is no particular rhyme or reason to this collection beyond whatever happened to be a topic appropriate for the occasion.
Also, an apology to regular readers for the lack of updates, beyond promoting comments, recently. I have been distracted and many articles and ideas are marooned “in progress”. Over the holidays there should be no new political crises to attend to, and I hope to catch up.
Best wishes for the holidays to everyone!
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2017 Top Ten Favourite Moments with Metrolinx Transit Staff
*photo courtesy Metro News*
Most transit customers just want their ride to be peaceful (don’t dare answer that phone in the Quiet Zone!), uneventful and on time. However, disruptions can happen and we know a few entertaining words from our multi-talented drivers and customer service staff can go a long way to reducing blood pressures.
For 10 years, Barrie GO customers have had the pleasure of being serenaded by singing Customer Service Ambassador (CSA) Gord, often during the holidays, bringing a smile to many. Customers love it when they suddenly hear a child’s voice announcing the next station — CSAs will often allow children to take over the microphone. And one CSA allowed a smitten, and I must say confident guy, ask his girlfriend to marry him over the air waves.
We had our share of other quotable moments in 2017.
Here are our top 10 favourites:
- On May 4
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Mayor Naheed Nenshi re-elected in Calgary! #yycvote
Wonderful to see Mayor Naheed Nenshi re-elected in Calgary. Great news for the Green Line LRT and the Southwest BRT. Some interesting parallels in the Calgary election and transit scene and in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Hope to be able to meet Nenshi one day. Also, big congrats to my friend Chris Cowperthwaite and all his amazing campaign efforts. From what I observed from here, it was a grassroots driven, digitally-savvy, and most importantly a fun and friendly campaign to be part of. That’s how it’s done.
Big crowd! Photo credit: Chris Cowperthwaite
Music at Union Station #ttc #gotransit
I just had to stand and watch these musicians at Union Station a few Mondays ago. Commuters streaming by north and northwest into the PATH system really enjoyed them. It was the perfect motivation to get the week started.
Protected: October 12, 2017 Thoughts
Next New Streetcar to Join the Fleet
Bryan Martyniuk lives in Thunder Bay and sent along pictures of 4446 from today. 4446 will be the next new streetcar to join the TTC’s fleet. It’s a little too far for me to get up to Thunder Bay to see the new streetcars or GO Transit coaches roll off the line so it’s great to have Bryan be there.
4446, a Flexity Freedom, and GO 4020, a bilevel coach. The GO coach is in primer paint and will head to North Bay for the final paint job. Photo credit Bryan Martyniuk.
Photo credit Bryan Martyniuk.
Pantographs Up On Harbourfront
Check out this post by Steve Munro on the TTC testing out the pantograph on their new streetcars. What’s the big deal Chris?
1) It’s looks cool;
2) It’ll improve reliability – the pole tends to pop off at intersections and during turns; and
3) What about the historic look of the pole? No problem – visit Halton County Radial Railway. It’s a museum. They have ice cream. It’s fun.
On Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the TTC began operation of its new Flexity streetcars with pantograph power collection on the 509 Harbourfront route. This is a short, comparatively isolated route running entirely with Flexitys where problems, if any, can be ironed out on a small piece of the network. Any off route moves including carhouse trips are done with trolley poles, and the normal changeover point between modes is at Exhibition Loop.
Here is a small set of photos of the route.
Chris James Drew 