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Newsstand: January 21, 2015
Welcome to yet another subarctic day in Toronto, friends. Okay, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration. Either way, here is your daily dose of news: new recommendations to improve TTC driver safety, an elderly woman who has been waiting almost 20 years for an elevator to be installed at Rosedale station, new signage for GTA highways, and two new monkeys for Yasmin Nakhuda.
The Toronto Transit Commission is proposing a 12-point Safe Service Action Plan to increase driver safety. TTC CEO Andy Byford says that the board will be asked to approve recommendations that include the use of GPS data to monitor driver speed, the potential installation of dash cams and operator fatigue detection systems, radar checks by TTC special constables, and new driver training schemes that will require recertification every three years. The ongoing safety probe was expedited following the death of 14-year-old Amaria Diljohn, who was struck by a bus on her way home from school in December. Last summer, the Toronto Star reported that TTC vehicles had been involved in 18,000 collisions since 2009, including 5,000 that investigators deemed preventable. TTC spokesperson Brad Ross says that, while this may seem high, the commission’s collision rate is among the lowest when compared with eight other major North American cites including Boston, Montreal, and New York.
An 82-year-old woman has been waiting for the TTC to install an elevator at the Rosedale subway station for two decades, and now she’s getting fed up. Jean Gemmell lives within walking distance from the station and suffers from arthritis and poor vision, which makes it difficult for her to navigate stairs. Gemmell told CBC News that she has been asking the TTC to make Rosedale station accessible by elevator for nearly 20 years, and each time she enquires about the status of the project she is rebuffed with a different, unsatisfactory story of delay. When Gemmell first asked the TTC about the possibility of making the subway station more accessible in 1990, she was told that an elevator would be installed within the next five to seven years. As of today, the TTC says that, due to lack of funding, the project will not be complete until 2024.
The electronic signage along 400-series highways in the greater Toronto area is getting a makeover. About 20 signs have already been upgraded to new full-colour versions that will eventually replace all variable message highway signage. The new signs display messages in English and French and incorporate internationally-recognizable symbols to cut down on text. The hope is that these new signs will convey road safety information to drivers quickly and efficiently.
Remember Yasmin Nakhuda, the former owner of Darwin the Ikea Monkey? Well she is reportedly the proud owner of two new Japanese macaque monkeys. Posts made to a Facebook account managed by some of Nakhuda’s supporters show a video of two monkeys named Sumo and Tibet. The two monkeys reportedly belong to Nakhuda, who relocated to the Kawartha Lakes region where there are no laws preventing people from owning primates. The Facebook post reveals that she purchased the pair of monkeys from the Northwood Zoo and Animal Sanctuary in Seagrave. Story Book Farm—who was granted ownership of Darwin two years ago after a lengthy court battle—launched a crowdfunding campaign in the fall to purchase Northwood. At the launch of the campaign, reps for Story Book Farm called Northwood the perfect place for Darwin since it offered him the chance to socialize with two other unnamed Japanese macaques. Nakhuda has declined to comment on her most recent exotic pet acquisitions.