Oh, the entitlement!
Who would I contact if I wanted to shut down a lane of traffic on a busy afternoon?
Seriously – who do I contact?
I’m thinking about eating a sandwich in the middle of the curb lane of Jarvis Street next Thursday, and I need to ensure that I’m surrounded by orange cones, and that traffic works its way around me.
I’ve often complained that when condominiums are being built, the city allows them to commandeer an entire lane of the road for 2-3 years, thus changing traffic patterns, and making the city miserable to drive in. I know there are few alternatives, but then when we see BS like a window-washing crane in the middle of Adelaide, it just makes matters worse.
Whatever happened to dangling over the side of the building on a flimsy piece of wood while you clean windows? Isn’t that a time-tested technique?
From my office at home, I watched the Scotia Tower get its windows cleaned over the past couple weeks, with two workers risking their lives on a piece of scaffolding, washing windows floor by floor. If Scotia can do it, why can’t Shangri La? Are they special? And even worse – Scotia is 68 storeys! The windows being cleaned at Shangri-La were like five or six storeys high! Why the need to shut down a lane of traffic and bring in a crane?
I hate driving in this city. Every time you think you’ve found a quick route, a lane of traffic closes for some damn reason, and traffic slows to a halt.
I’m I nitpicking? Maybe.
Am I whining? Most definitely.
Does my complaining have a purpose? Possibly not.
But am I wrong? I don’t think so.
Ah well! At least I have my crack pipe. That’s what Toronto is really about!
CS
at 8:49 am
I’ve always wondered if the city makes the developer pay extra the close that lane of traffic while they are building.
Graham
at 9:58 am
Yes, it’s called a street occupation permit, but the permit fee is a drop in the bucket in terms of total project cost.
More info here:
http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/construction_permits/t_ey_street_occ.htm
ScottyP
at 11:54 pm
Those fees are ridiculously low. What are they, in 1972 dollars??
ScottyP
at 12:10 pm
This city doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for drivers, it doesn’t work for cyclists, it doesn’t work for those who take public transit, and it doesn’t work for pedestrians.
Any time the city launches a new “initiative”, be it the completely mismanaged St. Clair LRT, the Bloor Street boondoggle, or the ridiculous “A la carte” street carts, it falls flat on its face.
Meanwhile, developers have taken over the city, building cookie-cutter condos with little tangible benefit to the public good.
Closing down half of Adelaide so that the Shangri-la can have clean windows comes as no surprise. Again, this city doesn’t work.
jeff316
at 2:14 pm
Stay clear of Scotty’s lawn everyone.
lui
at 7:50 am
St Clair line has to be the worst idea by Miller inner circle ever and they made some bad planning for projects once they were in power.I know of three businesses that closed up because customers were fed up with the traffic and lack of parking plus the insane amount of U turns you must make just to enter the side streets.Spadina started off bad but now a lot of higher end businesses are moving in and the fact three new condos are being built north of Queen St is a great sign.Fab condos,Dragon Condos and College condos is a sign Spadina is on its way for a huge make over.Too bad St Clair its looks like it would never happen soon.
ScottyP
at 9:20 am
The Spadina LRT was done well, true. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.
jeff316
at 10:43 am
You know of a total of three businesses that closed? Wow. Of course, those businesses never closed because of changes to the community, or bad management, or changes to the market – it’s always three streetcar line. Geez people will write anything on the internet.
Your post is total bunk. The reason businesses closed is not the streetcar line. Businesses on St. Clair is three-fold
1) The old community is moving out or dying off. There’s not a huge market for 1970s Italian boyswear these days.
2) Lots of family businesses are having difficulty competing with businesses being open on Sundays.
3) The area is gentrifying and is losing its old sketchiness.
Have you noticed the new businesses on St. Clair? Have you seen the property values? The residential regeneration? The restaurants? The plethora of new condos built, and another three planned? And how fast those condos came in after the streetcar was put back in – waaaaaaaaaaaaaay faster than those Spadina condos took to come online post streetcar expansion?
Nope because you have an idea and a point to prove and you’re gonna provie it, even if it doesn’t make sense.
Nope.
Bojangles
at 11:26 am
Jeff – WRONG.
You cannot make a case that the St. Clair project was not a disaster. I also know a number of business that have suffered as a result. Attend a chamber of commerce meeting for the area before you make random, asshatted remarks such as the above.
The condos were thrown up bc of the streetcars. Right. Nothing to do with historically low rates, developer friendly council, or the fact Toronto has more cranes operating than London, NY or Chicago combined. It wasn’t the zero interest policy we have had in NA for the past few years that led to increased property values was it? Nope, was the f-ign streetcar?!
Drink some more koolaid. You dont know what you are talking about AT ALL.
jeff316
at 1:59 pm
Looks like when facts come out people get angry.
Of course I can make the case that the St. Clair project wasn’t a disaster. Most people do. It’s a well-accepted fact by people who look at things objectively – people who aren’t looking to support their own political narrative or immediate preferences. Heck, they even did a study on its economic benefits. But don’t let facts gets in the way of your preconceived notions, or your emotions.
I can’t attend a Chamber of Commerce meeting for the area because no Chamber of Commerce exists for St. Clair Avenue West, much like most areas of Toronto (Etobicoke is one of the exceptions.) The Chambers of Commerce in Toronto tend to be sector- or ethnically-based, rather than being for neighbours or sections of geography. There are, however, BIAs. I been involved with those and when you are you quickly understand which businesses, demographics, and interests are represented. It’s reflective of those who have the clout to corral support (i.e. old-timers) and those with the time to participate (i.e. not always the leading lights of the business community.)
The old guard on St. Clair is retiring, moving, and lets be honest dying, and the new yuppies don’t frequent dirty coffee shops, sketchy bars, southern European grandmother clothing stores, wedding dress shops that make you look like a Mormon bride, stores where the staff barely speak english, bakeries and butchers that carry more offal than they do chicken breast, or discount furniture stores that no-one ever sees anyone shopping at. That’s not a criticism of those stores – those are my people – but things change. But the sad thing is that, of course none of them will ever cop to failing business models or changes in demographics. Nah, none of that applies. It was always something they can’t control. Something unfair. Thank you, streetcar.
My favourite from back then was the guy whose third-tier franchise went under. No mention of the bigger chain that moved in down the street, or the guys who sat smoking on his illegal sidewalk seating all afternoon, or the vermin that kept his shop closed twice for two weeks in the last two months of operation – he went to the local free paper claiming it was the streetcar. (If that was your place – my condolences.)
Now, please don’t get me wrong, construction stank. Terrible. Super terrible. Too long. And that Hydro crap? I get why it happened, but come on! But let’s take a deep breath – it’s over now. Sometimes shitty things lead to good results.
Check the stats on land value increases – St Clair from Bathurst west through to the train tracks has outpaced the much of the city. For 2011 and 2012 the portion from Bathurst west through to Oakwood was one of the top ten areas in the city for land value increases. And you don’t think access to transit encourages condo development? Then, why is almost every single condo at a transit hub? Why are there more condos downtown than in the burbs? Why are there more condos on St. Clair than similar areas serviced by only the bus? But nah, you know what? People today spend 600 000$ to live at Oakwood and Vaughan because it’s a prestigious address – even though you can get a wider/deeper lot with front pad parking in a less sketchy area about 1,5 kilometres north for 20-30 percent of the cost, but where you’ll have to take the bus. Or McRoberts/Caledonia, formerly out in the middle of freakin nowhere, now selling for 20 percent more than similar stuff near its northern and southern counterparts, Rogers and Davenport – people are all of a sudden willing to pay up to a million all for the convenience of of the Portuguese worker’s hall and the two boxed wine stores.
It’s perfectly ok to dislike streetcars and prefer cars (I know I do!) whilst still being mature enough to admit that despite being a pain in the ass in the end the St. Clair project has been a boon to an area that was on the decline. It is silly to get mad when something you don’t like turns out to be good. It’s ok to be wrong.
But you know what…if people keep thinking St. Clair is a disaster no-one will realize that today St. Clair is a quicker east-west car route than Dupont, Davenport, Rogers or Eglinton. So I take it back, keep squawking – it keeps my commute quicker and my taxes down.
Huuk
at 2:00 pm
Jeff, are you taking the side that the St Clair street car line was a successful project that improves the area? Seriously?? You must have a personal motive to justify.
jeff316
at 2:01 pm
I’ll give Bojangles credit, at least he can use a computer. I can’t. David please delete the first two posts. Sorry!
lui
at 8:01 pm
Jeff chill out,if your saying going over budget by over %200 is a success story and currently another $40 million is needed to modify the platforms for the new streetcar is great project so be it.Property value has gone up everywhere in Toronto and not where a LRT is located.Property values goes up does property taxes so its a double edge sword jeff.Yes I quoted three stores but those are the owners I know.Yes new stores move in but are they actually saying the LRT is bringing in the customers or is the location and product is bringing in the customers.Jeff again if you want to say the LRT on St Clair is success story because of the LRT so be it but try driving on the street when their is a minor accident and its totally back up for hours.Have you seen emergency first responders trying to get pass the traffic jam in which cars can’t move because of the high edging for the LRT ?.Explain to me why the LRT is better than the old streetcar line?.
Bertie Wooster
at 1:16 am
We live about 100 meters north of St Clair between Dufferin and Oakwood. We bought in the area in late 2011 so did not experience any of the street car construction.
St Clair is great and the area is definitely gentrifying; anecdotal evidence:
1. We moved here. We are 40-somethings with graduate degrees and money, and we like places that have “character” without being sketchy, so the combination of nice houses, a dedicated street car line, 27 espresso bars within 1km of front door, and Italian delis with 6 kinds of prosciutto was a big draw. We used to live in Parkdale but that had a little too much “character” for me; and you can’t buy Serrano ham in Parkdale.
2. On weekends, the place is filled with hipster couples with kids in expensive European strollers. The lineups are out the door at the brunch places like Boom and Emma’s. Amazon, the indoor private toddler gym, moved from St Clair / Bathurst to St Clair / Lauder. If the weather is good, you have to queue up to get your kid on the swing set at Wychwood and Hillcrest.
3. On our street, every other house alternates between a young couple with kids, and someone’s 80 year old grandmother or grandfather. House prices have been shooting up and you are starting to see some of the over-reno’d houses with the really expensive kitchen backsplashes.
4. The good restaurants, where People Like Us eat, are getting closer. Right now, the closest decent places are the cluster at Christie / St Clair, but there is also the newer cluster at Bloor / Lansdowne.
Having said that, we are waiting for a lot of the downmarket businesses to die, especially closer to Oakwood. Too many paycheck loan places, not enough house-made charcuterie…
lui
at 6:57 am
Again why is the LRT better than the old streetcar line?…because it cuts the travel time by 8 minutes?.Now look at the over cost and headache for the drivers.Posters are saying the LRT brought in higher class residences?.Please the whole city is bringing in new residences and its not because of the LRT ,every neighbourhood changes as time goes by,eventually this area would accept the new more wealthier home owners its happening everywhere.To say the LRT is the magically wonder that brought these people to this area is stretching it.
johnny chase
at 9:19 am
we used to go to St.Clair west all the time for dinner… Ferro, Rushton and several places at Dufferin. Ever since that LRT went it I don’t drive on st. Clair any longer… traffic is too bad, cant make left when you want to etc.. Disaster.
ScottyP
at 10:55 pm
It used to be that you couldn’t open a newspaper without reading about a new chapter in the comical farce that was the construction and subsequent evolution of the St. Clair LRT.
But over the past year or so, the Star, NOW Magazine, the Globe, Toronist etc. have been tripping over themselves to “debunk” the negative spin that the media themselves helped create, singing the praises of the gentrification the project has helped engender while giving Mihevc every opportunity to pat himself on the back for a job eventually well done.
The answer, like most things, is probably somewhere in the middle: Traffic is bad but probably not as bad as people claim anecdotally — and likely not much worse than that the rest of the city, which is universally awful; the recent failure of over 200 businesses in the area can be attributed somewhat to their multi-year operation in the aesthetic and logistical equivalent of a war zone (without parking), but as jeff316 argued many of those places were likely on their last legs anyway; the stylish new restaurants serving $13 bennys probably feature the same overly runny eggs and harried service as similar brunch spots further south, but boy do they give yuppies more comfort than a dirty coffee shop. It’s an area that’s undergoing considerable gentrification, but then so are many other areas of Toronto… though the comparative rise in property values is impressive. But I still say that all the forced u-turns suck.
My point, if there is one, is that you can’t just look at the results and forget the process, just because said process is “over”. Some say that those who refuse to forgive and forget the madness are living in the past; I say that remembering the inexcusable mismanagement that the St. Clair LRT represented (and continues to represent — the construction fun hasn’t stopped yet) can help us prevent the same mistakes from being made in the future.
I know, fat chance. Let’s just cut down on the rhetoric on both sides, and treat the St. Clair experiment as the learning experience that it should be — both positive and negative. But this city is not a place where mistakes are cause for such lofty concepts as introspection, self-improvement, or accountability. I guess at least you can get a decent latte on St. Clair now, so there’s that.
AsianSensation
at 2:55 pm
David, could you throw a frappaccino up high enough to hit one of those sparkling clean windows?
Do it enough times and I’m sure they’ll get the hint..
Seriously though, there should be a by-law restricting such activities to off-peak hours or on weekends. Our traffic is already hellish enough!
FRBYWA
at 7:42 am
I’d say that half of our traffic woes are self-inflicted- i.e. reasons having nothing to do with the number of cars on the road.
AsianSensations
at 8:36 am
There’s several other reasons for city traffic problems:
1. Inefficient public transit – London and New York are perfect examples of how to do it right!
2. Continuous infrastructure repairs – Kingston Rd., Gardner, Dufferin, etc.
3. Special Events Closing Streets & Highways – Portugal fest, Italian fest, Woofstock, etc.
johnny chase
at 9:45 am
You are bang on. Congestion is mostly due to loss of car lanes as a result of: construction, filming, deliveries and the overabundance of handicap licenses that allow cars to park whereever & whenever they please without any consequence.
This investment in transit won’t make a dent in congestion unless they deal with the above.
jeff316
at 10:57 am
The investment in transit will make a dent on a localized scale, in spots where it takes local residents off the roads for mundane trips – particularly in areas where that congestion is due to traffic volume on streets withotu enough lanes to handle that volume. Some of the old inner-inner commuter burbs are just overrun by cars that their streets don’t have the lanes, width and capacity to handle because they were build back when most residents took transit. Eglinton from Black Creek to Bayview is a good example.
The question then becomes whether that dent becomes large enough to then encourage non-local drivers to take those routes for crosstown trips. If so, they’re back at square one.
johnny chase
at 9:16 am
Jeff – you can take 10% of the cars off the road, but if a lane is blocked for filming, deliveries or construction it won’t make a difference.
AndrewB
at 9:24 pm
Also the fact that many people insist on driving downtown to work from the suburbs when economically and time savings-wise, it’s better to take the GO.
annoyedallthetime
at 1:47 am
Holy crap?! do you people really have this much time on your hands to write novolettas?? I hope for David’s sake one of you punters buys a house!
Canuck7
at 9:31 am
I’m glad they do have time to write novellas or novelettes (not sure what a noveletta is). I’m reading the archives and find the varying opinions, reasons and experiences illuminating. And interesting.