Following the unveiling of the EcoCab in Toronto last week Torontoist spotted the pedi-cab being presented to councillor Howard Moscoe outside City Hall yesterday. Moscoe, chairman of the Licensing and Standards Committee, turned down the offer of a ride around Nathan Phillips Square, but got a complete tour of the $13,000 vehicle's features as a small but curious crowd gathered. EcoCabs are expected to roll out on downtown streets Thursday.......

Sort of just in time for the now-averted TTC strike, Torontonians will finally have the opportunity to further indulge in a mode of transporation that was once reserved almost exclusively for camera-laden tourists and decadent—or at least, unhurried—commuters in pretty much every major city in the world. The incentive this time, however, is that it's free. Starting May 1, sore-legged saunterers will be able to hail a pedi-cab (also acceptable are "pedal-cab," "bugbug," or......

Torontoist is one of fourteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Each Sunday, the editors of every site—from LAist to Londonist—choose their most interesting article, a list which is compiled into the network-wide feature Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse. Phillyist learned how to put on a puppet show––it's not as easy as you might think!Shanghaiist discovered that the average starting monthly pay for fresh graduates in China has risen to 1,798 Yuan (or US$251).SFist welcomed in......

The last time we looked at accessible pedestrian signals (APS), those chirping and cuckooing crossing indicators for the visually-impaired, it was with some surprise at the city's claim that it simply couldn't afford to install APS at more than a handful of intersections each year. Instead of allocating enough money to improve availability of a fairly basic service to visually-impaired residents, the city instead looked for corporate sponsors to pick up some of the......

Toronto cyclists and motorists have always shared a contentious co-existence. Sure, both sides often behave poorly toward each other, but there is one very important difference: cyclists aren't surrounded by airbags and crumple zones. Though much of the conflict stems from aggressive driving, many drivers simply aren't used to sharing the road with bikes, nor are they necessarily entirely aware of the rights of the cyclist. The new Ministry of Transportation Driver's Handbook has......

The CBC is reporting that the provincial government announced an ambitious new project today to revamp Kipling Station and turn it into a major transit hub for Etobicoke and Mississauga. The announcement came from Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield and Environment Minister Laurel Broten early this afternoon. The new station, which will be owned and operated by GO Transit, is set to have an inter-regional bus terminal and will connect Mississauga Transit and GO buses......

Sales of hybrid cars like the Prius are booming not only because drivers wish to spend less on gas and reduce their emissions, but because they want everyone to know they're driving a hybrid. Today the Ontario government proposed a plan that might add an additional layer of smugness to your vehicle: a conspicuous green license plate. If a vehicle met certain specifications of a to-be-determined rating system, the Province would issue the special......

Photo of XOF1 solar-powered car driving on a frozen Lake Simcoe. It is the first solar vehicle in the world to operate in sub-zero temperatures. This isn’t the Queen’s University Faculty of Engineering building a solar vehicle. This isn’t a multinational corporation like Honda investing the millions it can afford into alternative transportation technology. This is the power of one, in the form of Torontonian Marcelo da Luz; an individual who is building a......

Tucked into the northeast corner of Scarborough near the Zoo, Toronto's only vehicle-carrying suspension bridge straddles the Rouge River. A small handful of other suspension bridges dot the city, but carry only pedestrians and cyclists. Transportation Services was taken by surprise upon our first inquiry and couldn't immediately confirm that this was a true suspension bridge. But John Bryson, Structures and Expressways Manager for the city, verified that it is indeed a "suspension bridge......

Once upon a time, governments worked together to create ambitious and expensive projects like, say, public transit. Then came the 1990s when funding was summarily cut off. Since then, we've seen funding restored in dribs and drabs, the half-implementation of several ideas (we're looking at you, Sheppard subway!), and the odd difficult move forward (the St. Clair ROW). We've also seen the creation of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, but since no one seems......

In yet another show of contempt for the residents of Toronto, Transportation Services and "Clean and Beautiful City" staff have opted to put the models of the City’s proposed street furniture on display to the public for one day only; they will be visible in the City Hall rotunda from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, April 4. This is a project that will determine the look and feel of all of Toronto......

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick......

Several major GTA transit projects have been sitting in limbo awaiting federal funding for so long that if you weren't directly involved you might have forgotten they were ever announced. Now everybody can all breathe a sigh of relief: an election is in the wind and Stephen Harper is going on a spending spree. The biggest giftee is the $2 billion project that will extend the Spadina Subway up to York University and beyond into......

It's not Toronto news, but everyone's talking about it: Anna Nicole Smith is dead. We were fascinated with her train wreck of a life while she was in it, and doubly so now that she's gone. Was it drugs, or cholesterol? Did she have a will? Who gets the money? When will my subscription to People Magazine start if I sign up today? Yesterday's budget committee meeting announced that 51% of Toronto's capital budget for......

Thousands of college and university students rally across Canada for lower tuition fees and greater education funding. FUN FACT:This is approximately the 17th or so national day of rallies for lower tuition fees and greater education that I have seen, and interestingly, tuition fees have never actually gone down during that time, but instead gone up steadily! A Toronto man who slapped and allowed his elderly mother to lie in filth and squalor for......

Drivers planning a trip along the QEW or the 401 or any of a number of other highways in Southern Ontario should have a look at the Ministry of Transportation’s COMPASS traffic cameras. Updated every 5 to 8 minutes, the cameras can help commuters and casual car users choose alternative routes and ease congestion. Of course, people could always share cars, carpool or take a bus to ease congestion, but that would be a......

Ok everyone, vote wisely. Your new city council will actually have the powers to do things without turning to the province, thanks to the new City of Toronto Act. Oh, and they'll be in power for the next four years too. More proof that we live in wonderful times, the Ministry of Transportation unveils the new fancy fare cards which will be faster and more convenient than those shiny little tokens. Now we just have......

Watching the battle between the city and the Toronto Port Authority is like being stuck in a bad horror flick. Just when you think the stake has been driven into the necrotic heart of the Island Airport expansion plans, the undead issue rises from the grave to terrorize citizens yet again. The stranglehold that the TPA holds over the City is entirely unconscionable. A federally-controlled agency, the TPA isn't forced to be accountable to Toronto......

Maybe they're just tired of Howard Moscoe but the TTC committee unanimously voted to approve the Bombardier deal. The $499 million deal still has to go through council where we're sure there'll be an acrominous but ultimately futile debate. Pressure from Ottawa got an Iranian Canadian former U of T prof freed from an Iranian prison. The man had been accused of espionage and kept in solitary confinement. Ok drivers, get it while its cheap.......

A shooting near Front and Jarvis yesterday left a 20-year old man clinging to life. Some 16 shots were fired and witnesses claimed they saw three men run off. The shooting and a search by police afterwards locked down two nearby elementary schools. The CBC is reporting that one of the terror suspects currently in custody had been given weapons training by the Canadian military as a reservist. The TTC is holding ">an emergency meeting......

Union Station is getting a $100 million facelift. Commuters will not just be getting wider platforms but a whole new one when engineers and construction workers finish moving a sewer by 2008. In other transit news, ridership is up all over the country but especially in the GTA. GTA ridership increased by 4% despite rising prices and crumbling infrastructure. Council restricts garage sales to two a year. The reform was designed to take out those......

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the......

A TTC janitor might just be subject of one ot those TTC employee ads after spotting a four-year old boy that was snatched and Amber-Alerted. A 34-year old woman was also arrested. The Post reports on what happened to the Redpath Sugar sign on the waterfront. Bob Rae and Carolyn Bennett are both now officially in the Liberal Leadership race. A car ran into a streetcar on Queen and River injuring three people. Spacing Wire......

Contrary to popular belief Torontoist actually likes a good animal story. So we're really happy to see not one but two of 'em this morning. A protective pair of Canada Geese has taken up residency outside Sherway Gardens mall in Etobicoke. The male and female are protecting a nest of eggs and will hiss and attack shoppers who get too close. Every six months or so there's a really great raccoon story in this city......

The unfinished ferry line that is supposed to take Torontonians to Rochester and vice versa will remain unfinished until next spring, Rochester Mayor William Johnson Jr. announced today. The ferry's operating company, Canadian American Transportation Systems, shut down the Spirit of Ontario (or, as Torontonians know it, the Breeze) after problems at the U.S.-Canada border and mounting debt. Questions as to when exactly the ferry would re-open, or who even wants to go to Rochester......