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Extra, Extra: Wrecked Buses, Sue-Ann Levy, and Roundabouts

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Every weekday’s end, Extra, Extra collects just about everything you ought to care about or ought not miss.

Photo by {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfredng/7624820168/"}alfred ng{/a}, from the {a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/torontoist/"}Torontoist Flickr Pool{/a}.

  • Above is a photo from our Flickr pool of the TTC bus that crashed into a building on Queen Street West on Sunday, as mentioned earlier today. Looks like the bus lost the fight.

  • Here’s a video of Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy being racist, or clueless, or both. Enjoy.
  • And the National Post asks an interesting question: if other cities around the world are finding that roundabouts help alleviate traffic congestion and prevent collisions, why doesn’t Toronto have more of them?

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Comments

  • http://twitter.com/electricland Electric Landlady

    What? What is the question? I must know!

    • Anonymous

      Sorry, I left an angle bracket out of a tag. All fixed now.

  • Anonymous

    I like how Sue-Ann Levy points out that the cabbies’ shower stall is never used (something she couldn’t possibly know). Because Middle Easterners smell, because they’re dirty. Right Sue-Ann?

    • Anonymous

      I also love how she refers to the shower stalls and amenities as “luxurious”. That shower was disgusting. Panning to people praying under a bridge immediately after the comment was great as well!

  • Anonymous

    It’s too bad that she obscures an actual point with all her somewhat racist banter about nothing… publicly licensed cab + limo drivers shouldn’t be allowed to refuse a pet if it’s in a portable kennel or whatever.

    • Anonymous

      publicly licensed doesnt equate to public service. The vehicles are their own privately purchased vehicle to my understanding.

      • Anonymous

        Yes and no… there are a limited number of licenses and as with a driver’s license there are conditions that you must follow in order to hold a license… not being able to refuse something reasonable like a pet in a carrier should be a condition of having a license.

        • Anonymous

          Again I respect your comment but disagree…it’s still a private car and should therefore have the right to refuse service if they see fit. Let’s not forget that SAL could have easily called ahead to ensure there would be a car willing to accept her and her dog would be waiting. She’s a bigot in any case.

          • Anonymous

            As someone who has transported dogs that my friends own I would 100% agree with you if we were talking about a loose dog… I just don’t think there’s a reasonable argument to refuse a pet in a carrier.

          • Anonymous

            A private car yes. But under a private company that does not hold the same opinion of the driver.
            Generally in that situation, franchise owner trumps franchisee.

        • Anonymous

          As for SAL… if they want to refuse disgusting humans that’s totally cool. :D

        • Anonymous

          Brieftly looking at the training and municipal code for drivers. Drivers cannot refuse a blind person with an dog, a person of disability. But they can…

          “An owner who drives his or her cab, or a
          driver, may refuse to serve the first person
          requesting the service of his or her cab,
          provided that such owner or driver
          immediately records his or her reasons for
          such refusal on his or her taxicab operator
          log, if such person requiring the service:
          (a) Owes such owner or driver for a
          previous fare or service;
          (b) Upon being requested by such owner or
          driver, refuses to disclose his or her
          final destination before or immediately
          after entering the cab;
          (c) Asks to be driven to a remote place in
          circumstances which such owner or
          driver reasonably believes to be unsafe;
          or
          (d) Is unduly obnoxious or abusive.”

          K(3) of chapter 345 of the municipal code.

          Highlight (d) “Is unduly obnoxious or abusive.” for SAL

  • Anonymous

    My goodness the comments are filled with hate… why do simplistic topics ignite such hate? I know Sue-Ann Levy writes these bullshit coloumn that targets the least amount of thought, but the amount of hateful comments is surprising for Toronto.

    • Anonymous

      She is a hateful, spite filled wrench. Her columns are written to appeal to lowest class of people, people that wear their bigotry on their sleeves., She deserve the same vitriol she dishes out.

      • OgtheDim

        So calling her a homophobe, without proof, is OK like you did further down this page, because she’s hateful?

  • Anonymous

    SAL is incapable of proper reporting. If she were a real reporter she may have been able to make a story out of the fact the GTAA Limos have close to a monopoly on the driver business coming from the airport. Instead she went on some despicably racist rant about the background of drivers and somehow came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t allow her dog in the car because they hate white people and because of their religion instead of respecting the fact that the car is their property and they can refuse service to a dogs dirty ass if they feel like it.

    • Anonymous

      It’s one thing to refuse a dog that you want to sit on your lap… why should they be able to refuse a pet in a carrier?

      • Anonymous

        Not saying a dog in a carrier would be all that terrible but outside of the seeing eye dog example, it is still a private car and therefore fully their right to refuse service. In my mind it’s the same as a bar refusing service. I do respect your point of view, I just don’t think it’s a big deal. There are hundreds of other limos that will take your money.

  • Echostation3T8

    Sue-Ann Levy’s own Twitter profile says she’s ‘openly gay’. Curious how someone who likely champions equality has no real grasp of the true meaning of equality.

    • Anonymous

      So true, and she is homophobic, go figure

      • OgtheDim

        Source please….I’ve yet to see her do or say anything homophobic.

        • Anonymous

          She supports Rob Ford, the biggest homophobe in Toronto Canada the world?

          • Anonymous

            Ford’s homophobia is benign compared to what you’ll find south of the border and in other radical fundamentalist countries.

          • Echostation3T8

            And Sue-Anne Levy’s racism is benign compared to what you’ll find in Nazi Germany or at a Klu Klux Klan rally.. that doesn’t make it right. Racism is racism.

          • Anonymous

            Reading comprehension failures detected. Rob Ford is not “the biggest homophobe in the world”. “Benign compared to” does not mean “benign” or any synonym of acceptable.

  • http://www.facebook.com/paullloydjohnson Paul Lloyd Johnson

    Wow, maybe she should walk, her ass needs it.

  • Anonymous

    The city did not issue the coffee shop a building permit before demolition could start to put in a drive-through.
    :)

  • Anonymous

    The collision was on Peter St, although the building does front onto Queen.

  • Anonymous

    Not to defend SAL, but cabbies in Toronto are the worst.

    I’ve been refused a ride so far for the following:

    Dog (cited religious reasons)
    Not going my way (wtf does that even mean?), this has happened over a dozen times to me
    Having an LCBO bag (cited religious reasons)

    According to a call I had with Beck, drivers are not allowed to refuse a fare under almost any circumstances (sans, safety), including the 3 listed above (these were the examples I gave). I was told that if a driver refused a fare or claimed to not have interac payment, to call the company right away and that they would straighten it out (preferably from inside the taxi)

    • Anonymous

      I think the dog thing is more cultural than religious, I know several devout Muslims who have dogs as pets, but they’re considered unclean for religious purposes but unless the cabbie is praying in the back seat of his cab it shouldn’t be an issue at all, based on what a Muslim friend has told me at least when I asked him about it. I have only heard of this issue from the point of view of anti-Muslim bigots who were bragging about calling up taxi companies saying they need a taxi to take their dog somewhere since they figure that way they won’t get a Muslim taxi driver. When a driver shows up and they have no dig they just say they changed their mind about taking it. The Muslim friend I asked about this couldn’t imagine any religious reason for refusing to carry a dog in a taxi, especially since cleaning themselves before praying is mandatory anyways.

      Taxi drivers make very little money as is, many try to stay within a certain area where they can make more money, leaving that area for an area with fewer fares means they lose money on the ride back to that area. For that reason when I take a taxi to an area that’s in a remote area or across municipal boundaries where they cannot pick up a return fare legally I’ll give them a little larger tip.

      The LCBO bag thing sounds more like prejudice and assholery on the part of the driver. Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol, though I know quite a few that do so along with smoking pot and cigarettes. But there is no religious reason at all why a Muslim cannot be in the same car that alcohol is being transported in. At least I’ve been to bars after work with Muslim friends who do not drink and they’ve had no problem at all sitting at a table with people drinking. Perhaps the driver is prejudiced against people carrying alcohol figuring they’re all drunks who will cause problems for them, just a guess, I cannot imagine why they’d turn down a fare for something like that unless they’re prejudiced or assholes.

      I’ve had taxis drive past me without picking me up but only ever had one try to kick me out after I got in, I refused, we argued for a bit then he took me where I was going and he got no tip. I wouldn’t have got into a physical fight over it, but I wasn’t going to back down either, I’m sure it helps I’m a large white man, I couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag but you can’t tell that by looking at me.

      • Anonymous

        I am aware of Islam enough to know that all these so-called “reasons” were b/s.

        It’s no different than any other religious group hiding behind their beliefs to avoid something they have a personal problem with.

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