Sunday, March 11, 2012

Best and Worst of the Week

What a long week! I traveled to Toronto for a whopping 48 hours and met some great plannery people. So here it goes, Transit City edition:

Best: Bumber to bumber streetcars (drool). Never realized how great it is to have a back window!


Worst: Overhead wires. Yikes, there is a lot of clutter. Finger crossed that Saint Paul can swing some of those wireless trolleys.


Best: Cool subway font used in every station. The tiles are also pretty amazing. Of course, I am not the first person to notice this - I am just one of many fans.


Worst: Skinny platforms. Makin' our LRT platforms look pretty luxurious. Amazing what a little ADA can do (I missed ADA often while in Canada.)


Best: Commonwealth candy. Picked up a Mr. Big and a Coffee Crisp - hubby's favorites.


Worst: The King Seat. Not sure why the back of every bus has this special throne, but this would cause a lot of trouble on the 16. There are already power struggles in the back of the bus, people. Terrible idea!


Best: A foot pedal on a public trash can. Yes! Why don't we have these?


Worst: Wayfinding fail. A wayfinding panel that says that maps will be added soon. Not helpful!


Best: Bike fairy love. Found on the seat of a Bixi (bikeshare) bike in Dundas Square.



4 comments:

  1. Canada has an equivalent of the ADA -- well, Ontario does, anyway, the Ontarioans with Disabilities Act IIRC -- but they passed it more recently. Almost everything you see in Toronto predates that act, though I think the rebuild of the St. Clair streetcar line is newer.

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    1. Ah - that is good to know! I've heard a lot of comparisons between St. Clair and Central Corridor (for better or worse...)

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  2. What is a wireless streetcar? I've never heard/seen one, but I think St Paul MUST get them. If they are wireless, how are they (safely) powered?

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    1. Check it out: http://primovecity.bombardier.com/en/shared/downloads/Wireless_Takes_Charge.pdf

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