Ed Levy

Transportation Planner, Civil Engineer & author of Rapid Transit in Toronto: A Century of Plans, Projects, Politics and Paralysis

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@i_clark Sadly, just a particularly thoughtless example of one of Toronto's most unattractive and primitive urban design failings: the utterly hideous combo of poorly designed street furniture, overhead wiring and lack of coordinated signage, etc.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@shawnmicallef It's called "do as I say, not as I do". Typical, I'm afraid.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@HumeChristopher Fascinating albeit succinct resume of Steve Diamond's admirable attitude to development and urban betterment. Not surprising: my firm and I (transportation planners) worked with his esteemed father Ephraim Diamond years ago. Like father, like son!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@sjgardin I know what you mean, Stephen. We are swamped by idiotic, selfish, incompetent drivers in this area, regardless of how well (or poorly) our roads and intersections are designed.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@starsalign14 The book is available at the Spacing Store (I think they have some left), 401 Richmond West, and at the Toronto Railway Museum at Roundhouse Park (s. of CN Tower) in the old Don Station gift shop. I believe it is open on weekends through Christmas. If not, let me know.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@SwanBoatSteve Great memories, Steve. I still say the PCC was the best thing that ever happened to streetcar design. And the coupled pairs were terrific on heavily used lines. Will the new LRT units be just as easy to connect and separate?

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@shawnmicallef Hello, Shawn. I like "exacerbate" myself, since political decisions far too often do this to various aspects of life on our city!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@Beth_Levy66 Plenty -- but one smallish chronic one might be the hideous "street furniture" in this city, with poles leaning in every direction, unremoved empty ones, poorly mounted and illegible street name signs, and of course, wiring. Makes the best architecture look like c--p.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@HumeChristopher Excellent article, as usual, Chris. However, one of key problems with using transit more widely is that "last km/mile" problem to reach a transit station, thanks to continuing "sprawl zoning".

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

Good point!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@TransitScarb @JoshMatlow Stick to your guns, Josh!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

As usual, Councillor Marlowe is advocating the right alternative.Evidence in support of a costly subway extension is not and never has been there.

[ScarbTransitAction @TransitScarb]

Thank you @JoshMatlow for advocating for #Scarb transit riders who will be on buses permanently if the SRT is replaced with a subway and not a seven-stop LRT.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

Chris has it right. Hysteria reigns! There is no gun to anyone’s head. Take a deep breath and hear them out!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

Right

[Christopher Hume @HumeChristopher]

Canadian Civil Liberties Association head, Michael Bryant, tells Metro Morning Sidewalk Labs' Quayside will make us "lab rats." Why the rush to judgement? There's no deal but CCLA will sue Waterfront Toronto for privacy theft. His rashness won't help CCLA's reputation or his.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

Sign the petition: SIGN OUR PETITION: Vision TV Must Remove “Muslim Perspectives” from the Airwaves https://t.co/VTN3j1go2p

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@lindseywiebe Yes, the worst of winter lasts "only" 2 - 2 1/2 months in TO.

Regardless, it is a DISGRACE that those vile, dangerous and obstructive snow and ice mountains last that long in heavily pedestrianized YORKVILLE, YONGE/EG. ETC. Add a small tax surcharge and GET THE DAMNED JOB DONE!

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@ivortossell "Dirty foreign oil"? Gee, and all this time I thought that (the "dirty" part) was the term reserved for "our" oil sands stuff.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@Sean_Hertel Sean, you might want to have a word or two with David Crowley (who lives in Richmond Hill), and has spent his career in transit planning, with both public and private sector operatives. Growing our skeletal subway system "inside out and upside down" will not a network make.

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

Sean -- Do you really have faith in these business cases, are am I witnessing a bit of sarcasm? How about controlling high-density development in the absence of sufficient transit and other infrastructure? (Although a small group of towers does not really AREA high-density make!)

[Sean Hertel @Sean_Hertel]

@pkbwood Here's the Business Case (2013) prepared for Metrolinx: compelling then & even more so today. Yonge north of Steeles has secondary plans in place. Langstaff, alone, is planned for 32,000 people and 15,000 jobs. Phase 1 applications already in for 2 towers. https://t.co/rd75h9Ny3D

[Ed Levy @Ed_J_Levy]

@pkbwood Whatever the province's "meaning" is (they obviously aren't sure themselves), it is essential to remain wary and ask lots of questions.