2 Comments July 17, 2012 at 5:26 pm

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Extra, Extra: Bike Hacks, Subway Tracks, National Post Backtracks

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/jamaalism/7497104336/"}Jamaalism{/a} from the {a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/torontoist"}Torontoist Flickr Pool{/a}.

All Toronto cyclists know that at some point or other, they will need to contend with crossing streetcar tracks. Do it at the wrong angle and you can go flying. One enterprising rider has devised a DIY solution of sorts: a set of tiny wheels (basically, they look like training wheels) that let you ride in the tracks without falling over.

As you many have noticed, it is a bit warm out. And as it turns out, it isn’t just humans who can wilt in this weather—transit infrastructure doesn’t perform at its best, either. Because rail can “expand and bow” at extreme temperatures, the TTC is taking the precaution of lowering the maximum speed on subways running in open areas today.
National Post comment page editor Jonathan Kay published a rather astonishing column this afternoon, which more or less amounts to saying “we have gotten it wrong for the past 10 years.”
Uber is a fancy new service somewhere between a cab and a limo—nice black cars you can summon with a smartphone app, and which you pay based on how far you go. Slight problem: it may not be legal.
Finally, a roundup of some key links we’ve been collecting in relation to yesterday’s Danzig Street shooting:
- One Reddit user, BitchslappedByLogic, went through Twitter earlier to piece together a compelling, emotional account of last night and the reaction to it.
- Year-over-year shooting statistics from the Toronto Police Service.
- A report from the Toronto Star this past weekend on the eroding state of funding for priority neighbourhoods in Toronto.
- Our favourite blog about Scarborough, because many people are saying stupid things about what it means to be from different parts of the city today: FuckYeahScarborough.