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Newsstand: February 17, 2015
Six Canadians are still in the running to join the Mars One project. If selected, they could get a one-way trip to Mars to try and establish the first off-planet colony of humans. This sounds pretty amazing, until you remember that MIT studied the project's feasibility and learned that the life expectancy could be as short as 68 days. In the news: major flooding at an apartment building near Yonge and Eglinton, longer rush-hour wait times as the new streetcars are put in service, and the (possible) end of Bay and Bloor's scramble crossing.
An apartment building near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue sustained extensive damage in several units after pipes burst above the 18th floor on Monday afternoon. Residents called the scene disastrous, reporting that water caused portions of units’ ceilings to fall down and fire alarms to sound. Flooding continued all the way down to the lobby of the building, which was saturated in two to three inches of water. While most of the damage from the flooding appears to be on the west side of the building, residents were left without running water until late Monday evening as the source of the flooding was fixed. Building management has not yet informed residents how long a full cleanup will take.
According to the Toronto Transit Commission, public transit riders can be sure that the new fleet of Bombardier streetcars will increase service reliability. They will also increase wait times by two minutes on average during rush hour service. The TTC plans to increase the gap between streetcars on most of its routes during rush hour once the new fleet is rolled into service by the end of the decade, banking on the fact that these delays will be offset by the fact that the new cars are larger and can accommodate more riders. City Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) says that it is not worth the trade-off. Perks plans to fight for the purchase of 60 additional streetcars at a cost of $366 million in order to make sure that the TTC does not have to increase wait times. Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul’s) also thinks that longer gaps between cars are problematic, but mainly during off-peak hours, which will not be affected by the proposed change in service. Mihevc says that that it would be ill-advised to commit to the purchase of more streetcars, given Bombardier’s late delivery of vehicles currently on order. The City has until the 60th streetcar is delivered to extend the company’s contract, and far only three have been delivered.
The scramble crossing at Bay and Bloor streets may soon become a thing of the past. According to a staff report that is due to be presented to the Public Works committee next week, the crossing—which allows pedestrians to cross diagonally—has “modest positive benefits for pedestrians while negative impacts to vehicular traffic have been significant.” The report says that delays for vehicles at the intersection have tripled since the scramble crossing was implemented, and both sideswipe and rear-end collisions have increased. City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) is not averse to getting rid of the scramble crossing based on feedback from businesses and residents, and she would look at bringing it back in the future if changes to population density require it.