New maps are appearing in the subway, and they’re missing one thing. Yep, the Scarborough LRT, from Kennedy to McCowan. That odd blue line that was neither subway nor train has vanished.
For years, while politicians dithered and built subways everywhere except Scarborough, I warned this would happen. Anyone who ever rode that line knew the trains were rickety and the tracks were unreliable. The first sign of snow and the entire line was shut down. But nothing was done. We built a line to Vaughan, where well-heeled suburbanites drive SUVs. But we failed to build one to Scarborough, where thousands of workers relied on transit to get to their work. And now here we are, with all those people having to rely on jam-packed shutting buses that add an hour to their daily commute.
I fear the fate will be the same for the Eglinton Crosstown. It still hasn’t opened and I’ll e surprised if I ever see it. Again, while the line is snug and warm underground in downtown Toronto, east of Laird it’s back above ground. You’ll wait in a cold, windswept wasteland for your streetcar.
It would be really nice if just for once those of us who live in Scarborough got decent transit for a change. And yes, I’d pay for it. I believe we should pay by distance on the TTC. The one-fare-fits-all model doesn’t work. It isn’t fair and it isn’t sustainable as transit grows. The only reason downtowners, who may only travel a few stops, should pay the same as Scarbereians travelling downtown to work is that the downtowners have the luxury of warm stations.
I took the subway on the Bloor Danforth line about 10 pm last night. I couldn’t believe how many delivery drivers were on there with their e-bikes. On one subway car alone, I counted five. The bikes are big, so they blocked the seats and I had to stand. Fortunately, I was only travelling a couple of stops, so not a problem.
When I got off, however, several of the bikes got off as well. I was going to take the elevator, as I’ve had both a hip and a knee replacement. So it’s the easier and safer way for me. I gave up when I saw the line of e-bikers waiting for the elevator. Then a very drunk guy rolled up. I walked down the stairs, which was good exercise, but a bit of a stretch for me. A couple of weeks ago, the same thing happened. I saw several bikers waiting for the elevator, as well as a young mom with a baby in a stroller. You’d think they would have let her take the elevator first, but no. So she waited, while these guys took over the elevator. I think the TTC needs to set some rules about these e-bikers, because they’re taking over.
The 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy reminds us of that terrible day when everything changed. I was still living in England at the time. The news broke on the TV, and it was devastating. Nowadays the satellite TV trucks would have headed to Dallas and we’d get minute by minute updates.
Back in 1963, there were no satellites. TV stations in the UK had no way of getting direct news, so they ran what was essentially a test pattern, only with funereal music. They broke in from time to time with updates. We all sat by our TVs waiting for updates.
Fast forward to when I worked for the Sun. Editor Peter Worthington, a reporter at the old Toronto Telegram, was standing next to Jack Ruby when Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in an underground parking lot. As Worthington told the story to me, it was all quite by accident. He’d flown down to Dallas as soon as the tragic news broke. He knew an arrest had been made and they were making a transfer the following morning. He went to scout out the territory and find out where the cops would bring in Oswald. He took the parking lot as a short cut. When he saw the group of people gathered around he went over. And the rest was history.
His coverage of the assassination was legendary. The Tely was way ahead of the Star. I was told the story of how that happened by a person who was once a neighbour. Thelma was the hat check girl at the Cork Room, a restaurant in downtown Toronto favoured by both the executives at the Tely and the Star. (And yes, hat check girl really was a job back in the day when every well-dressed man-about-town topped off his sartorial splendour with a fedora. Or whatever.)
There were two tables of newspaper bigwigs lunching that day. One from the Tely, one from the Star.
An alert editor at the Tely called the Cork Room and asked to speak to the Managing Editor. He went back to the table, quietly told the others what had happened. They settled the bill with very little fanfare and one by one they left, as if nothing had happened. They didn’t want to all get up and rush out at the same time for fear of tipping off the Star that something was up.
They got Worthington down to Dallas that afternoon and put out an extra “Bulldog” edition with the sad news. By that time, JFK was dead.
I really hate to sound like the Grinch, but I can’t help noticing the vast number of people who have plunged into Christmas before December is even here. I understand that after the pandemic, we all need to bring some light into the long, dark nights of winter. But couldn’t we at least wait a couple of weeks? For me, Christmas starts with Advent. I realize few people celebrate Christmas as a religious season any more. But Advent gives you four weeks as a run up to the big day. That said, I admit, I started prepping my Christmas puddings. I may even make a Christmas cake this week. Memo to me. Drop by the LCBO to pick up some brandy.
I find it odd how everyone is celebrating the “return” of cursive writing. When I was growing up, we learned cursive writing in elementary school. When we went on to grammar school, however, we were taught to write in the “Marion Richardson,” style. It’s a style that looks a little cramped, but has no loops or embellishments. It was considered a more mature way of writing. It’s much neater and more precise. Cursive writing was always considered rather childish. I won’t be celebrating the “return” of cursive. I type most things anyway.
A few years ago, a group of concerned homeowners from the building where I live requested to speak to the Planning and Housing Committee at City Hall. This committee was chaired by Ana Bailao. We had concerns about a new development in our community and the impact it would have on our building.
We had spent some time studying the proposal and how it would affect traffic, the geology and hydrology of the area and the impact on social services and schools. Ours is a part of the city that is underserved and has many social needs. There are also underground creeks that are of concern in any construction.
About half a dozen of us were given a time slot of 9.30. We were supposed to be the first group to depute. We arrived at the committee room bright and early. Imagine our dismay when we were unceremoniously dumped from that position in favour of a group of noisy activists who certain councillors clearly wanted to be front and centre while there were TV cameras on hand.
We were then forced to sit through speaker after speaker with various demands. One of them complained because their landlord wouldn’t change a light fixture. We are all seniors who manage our own light fixtures or pay to have someone do it for us. We weren’t asking for anyone to do anything for us. We weren’t asking for anyone to spend any tax dollars on our behalf. We simply wanted to explain to the committee some of our carefully considered concerns about the development.
We were pushed back and pushed back and pushed back by Bailao. We did not get to speak until after lunch. We finally got out of there at around 3.30 p.m., having arrived to speak at 9.30. At one point, Bailao asked why it was that people from Scarborough rarely go to City Hall committees. Well, when you are treated as an inconvenience and made to wait five hours to speak, that certainly acts as a deterrent. I had a list of concerns, yet after waiting five hours to speak, I was cut off after five minutes.
So thanks, but no thanks, Ana. I won’t be voting for you. Based on my experience, I’d tell anyone living in Scarborough not to vote for you as well.
A recent poll shows Canadians are unenthusiastic about the monarchy and really aren’t interested in the Coronation of King Charles III, which will happen May 6. There’s nothing new there. We all knew there would be a falling of interest when Queen Elizabeth died.
What is a mystery to me is the absolute lack of understanding many commentators have about the Commonwealth and about the monarchy. They seem to conflate the two, which is unfortunate and shows a shocking lack of understanding of just what the two institutions represent.
The monarchy is an instrument of state. Like it or not, it’s an intrinsic part of our government as the monarch is our head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government. It’s a system that’s served this country well since its founding and provides a level of government that’s above the partisanship of politics. As an institution, it is also above petty identity politics that you often see in republics. We see it more and more in that great republic to the south of us. Do we really want to hand over all power to one person? That’s the strength of a constitutional monarchy. As a person, the monarch has no power. As one part of a government, it provides balance and continuity. Governments come and governments go. And in the UK, they’ve seen three prime ministers in the past 12 months. But the monarchy is the enduring symbol that the state is still intact and powerful. One commentary on the monarchy – and I don’t remember who said it and I don’t remember the exact quote – is that the monarchy is not important for the power it takes on for itself. It’s important for the power it denies those who would usurp the power of state. Again, at a time when people dispute the outcomes of democratic elections, that is a very key point.
While I can understand why people confuse the Commonwealth with the monarchy, they are really two very separate entities. The Commonwealth was mostly the creation of Queen Elizabeth II and she let it be known that it was her most precious legacy. It is made up of 54 independent countries, Any country can apply to be a member of the Commonwealth and many of the members are republics. The king is only head of state of about 15 countries – called the Commonwealth realm.
So Canada could remain in the Commonwealth even if Charles were no longer head of state. And it would probably be a good idea if we did. Apart from the UN and NATO, what other global organizations are we aligned with? What other organization do we belong to as a nation that has at its mission the peaceful promotion of global understanding? We could use more of that these days. The Commonwealth has used its soft power in the past to fight apartheid in South Africa. It is still a powerful force and encompasses 2.6 billion people. The larger and wealthier countries uphold and support the smaller ones. The Commonwealth Games and countless other events help showcase young people from Commonwealth countries.
So please, folk. Read up on what you’re talking about if you’re going to comment on the monarchy and the Commonwealth. Get your history straight and your facts right.
Whenever I travel on the TTC, I’m reminded of an interview I did with the late David Onley. He was a long-time advocate for accessibility, but what he pointed out was that accessibility wasn’t just for people with disabilities. When you put an elevator in to a subway station, you make travel easier for young moms with babies in strollers. You make it easier for people who are carrying groceries. You make it easier for older people who may not be disabled, but who nevertheless have mobility issues and can’t get around as easily as they once did.
Now that I’m a little older and a lot more arthritic, I appreciate what David was saying back then.
Getting on and off subways is difficult. Many exits have no escalator and elevators. How many times have I groaned when I realized either the escalator or the elevator is out of service. There are too many stairs. Too many people are in too much of a rush and they huff and puff behind you as you struggle up or down stairs.
I covered transit issues for 30 years, both at Queen’s Park and at Toronto’s City Hall. I also use transit frequently. Any time I wrote about the need for new subway lines, I was met with scorn from all the clever know-it-alls who told me in their very pompous way that above-ground light rail was the way to go.
In a city like Toronto, I argued, light rail will be paralyzed any time there’s a major snowstorm. Turns out, I’m right. Take a look at what’s happening in Ottawa, where its brand new light rail system is a big, fat, expensive mess. What genius decided that Ottawa, one of the coldest, snowiest capital cities in the world, should have above ground light rail and not a subway?
In my part of town, I look at the Eglinton Crosslink, which should have been finished years ago. I retired in 2016 and it was behind schedule then. It’s still not running. Out in Scarborough, the lines are there and so are the stations. They’ve turned Eglinton, once upon a time the best east-west route, into an obstacle course. And there is still no hope on the horizon for a transit vehicle to actually make the trip across town. And you just know that as soon as it snows, the line in Scarborough will freeze to a halt.
The downtown portion of the line was built underground. Oh, lucky downtowners, snug in their warm and comfortable stations. In Scarborough, we’re left with freezing, windswept stations on a line with no trains. And now they’re complaining because Scarborough is finally getting a three-stop subway line. We’re losing the Scarborough LRT, and good riddance to that. It was so unreliable, the TTC used to shut it down ahead of storms because they knew it wouldn’t withstand the wintry blasts.
And you wonder why people in Scarborough don’t take transit.
It was only a matter of time before something as horrific as what happened at High Park subway station happened. One woman was stabbed to death and another was injured in a stabbing incident. A suspect, apparently unrelated to the victim, was arrested.
I travel on the subway fairly frequently, usually when I go downtown. Over the past year or so, I have felt increasingly unsafe. On almost every train I’ve been on lately, there’s been someone who appears to be living there. They are usually sleeping across three or four seats. I’ve seen disruptive passengers and people with open cans of booze.
It’s bad enough when you’re an older person, such as myself, with mobility issues. It is disconcerting when you are travelling with small children. I picked up my young grandson from school the other day by subway, and I was worried. Not only did I have to worry about myself. I was, more importantly, looking after a small child who is unaware of what’s going on around him. You just feel so utterly vulnerable.
It’s to the point now where I will choose a route that avoids the subway to get to my destination. If there’s a bus/streetcar combo that will get me home, then that’s what I do. That way, there’s a TTC operator on board.
I think it’s time for more and better policing on the subway.
Christina Blizzard 