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Newsstand: May 8, 2014
Apparently Rob Ford got reprimanded for speaking to Toronto Sun journalist Joe Warmington whilst being in "rehab." We know this because he called Joe Warmington to tell him. Looks like that media ban is going pretty well so far. In the news: recommendations for a cycle lane pilot project, Metrolinx plans to leave two tunnel borers in the ground after the Eglinton LRT tunnel has been dug, and conflicting weather predictions over what the summer will be like in Toronto.
Recommendations for improving cycling lanes, including a pilot project to have separated lanes on parts of Richmond Street and Adelaide Street, will be heading to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee for consideration next week. The plans would see a combination of separated bike lanes—or cycle tracks— and regular lanes create a loop on Richmond Street, Adelaide Street, Bathurst Street, and Simcoe Street, which would result in some traffic capacity reductions, including the loss of one lane of vehicle traffic on Richmond. A contra-flow lane on Richmond Street that goes west of Bathurst Street to Niagara Street is also included as a recommendation within the staff report, as well as lanes on Peter Street, which would provide a secondary option for north-south traffic. During the pilot project, separated cycle tracks would be protected from vehicular traffic by flexible stanchions while an environmental assessment is in progress to search for a more permanent option. Cue the motorist outrage in three, two, one…
As far as underground transit expansion construction goes, the tunnel borer is arguably the most essential tool. So what happens to these behemoths after their tunnelling days are over? Two borers purchased in 2010 from Lovat Inc. for $54 million were originally to be removed by cutting a hole at Yonge Street once work on the Eglinton light rail tunnel was completed. However, recently Metrolinx changed its mind due to the substantial disruption the plan would cause, and now the provincial transit agency says the revised game plan is to simply leave them where they are for the time being. While they will eventually be removed by the company who builds the actual Eglinton Crosstown LRT, when and how that will happen is still up in the air. Metrolinx is not in a hot rush to sell the tunnel borers, because they surprisingly do not fetch all that much on the used market. It is a scenario much like the concept that a new car will lose half its value as soon as you drive it off of the lot, except way worse. A tunnel boring machine purchased in 1997—which was used to dig the Sheppard subway line—was sold in fine working condition to Russia for $2.5 million. Even worse, the Toronto Transit Commission bought four borers in 2009 for $58 million to dig the Spadina subway extension out to York Region and received a bid of $1.7 million for the purchase of all four when it opened up a request for bids in December of last year. Needless to say the sale was not approved, but it goes to show you that it is definitely a buyer’s market when it comes to tunnel borers.
Will it be a long, dry summer or a short, cold one? Rest assured that reading on will do almost nothing to give you a straight answer to that question. According to the Toronto Star, an American weather company called Accuweather.com has predicted a colder-than-usual summer in central and eastern Ontario chiefly due to a jet stream pattern that will lead to more cool spells in June and July. It is a different story if we dance our way over to CP24, where Environment Canada is predicting that a warmer-than-usual summer might be in store. Meteorology. Possibly the only profession where being a little bit right or completely wrong won’t cost you your job.