The Windsor Sun
I’m just waiting for the photoshopped images of Ignatieff and Chairman Mao in bed together to start popping up on their front pages.
Windsor’s sole daily newspaper is at it again in praising Rob Ford ideologies in denouncing the concept of streetcars in the city that started this mode of transportation 100 years ago.
In todays editorial, the Star’s editorial staff has once again invoked the logic of Toronto’s “(a)nti-bike, (a)nti-transit, (a)nti-green“ mayor in vilifying this form of public transit that is making an incredible world-wide comeback (the International Association of Public Transportation estimates that the length of light-rail track around the world will increase 40 percent by 2020) by misleading the public in stating “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is talking about getting rid of his city’s streetcars” because of his recent pandering to his suburban electoral base by offering them an illogical, expensive and unsubstantiated subway.
He’s not. He just hates getting stuck behind them on his daily commute back to the suburbs. So he wants to put that one particular train underground so it stays out of his way.
But they love this guy! You’ll remember their December 20 editorial piece when they knelt before the “Ford Nation” altar in praising his devotion to the private automobile: “in a welcome comment, (Ford) has declared that the “war on the car” is over in his city.”
Is it any wonder Windsor cyclists have been having such a difficult time winning the public over and seeing a comprehensive network of bicycle paths get council’s promised funding when “Fordisms” are the aspired-to discourse in our daily newspaper?
Readers should spend a little time watching some video clips of the man that the Windsor Star is touting as having the vision that we should aspire to.
Then, maybe we can get Chris Vanderdoelen to start pandering to something other than his partisan conservative stakeholder’s ideologies.
BAH! Who am I kidding…
Tags: Rob Ford, Streetcars, The War On Cars, The Windsor Star
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A profoundly lame, knee jerk editorial piece to be sure…the streetcar idea is one of the few floating around that actually has some merit.
From what I know, Ford is not proposing to rip up any existing routes, but stop any further expansion at this point. The idea that there will be surplus equipment available to buy up cheap is wrong.
The recent St. Clair Right of Way project was a symptom of what many in Toronto think is wrong with the expansion plans. It was supposed to be a 18 month, 48 million dollar project has morphed into 5 years, 106 million and there is still 300 metres left to complete. Businesses along the route have been destroyed.
I think the idea has merit and is worth study. At this point, Councillor Maghnieh floated a trial ballon and reaction is coming in. That should provide a starting point for moving forward.
“Ford is not proposing to rip up any existing routes, but stop any further expansion at this point. The idea that there will be surplus equipment available to buy up cheap is wrong.”
That’s what I understand as well. Unfortunately, I think Coun. Magneigh has mislead the public slightly in respect to the cost of an endeavor like this. We’re not getting any “free” streetcars from TO anytime soon as he stated on /A\News.
http://hamiltonlightrail.com/article/variability_in_light_rail_costs_per_kilometre/index.html
Coun. Maghnieh’s “Free” streetcar statement was made on CBC news, actually. Sorry for both the misspelling of the Councillor’s name and the media station accreditation.
I know business owners on St. Clair West in Toronto. They are very pleased with the street car right-of-way. At first they weren’t but they have come around. The area continues to gentrify which pleases business owners to no end.
I’m betting of Ford to run the GTA into the ground and that is what I want him to do! Ford’s attention span is only from one donut to the next one. As I am also betting on Donald Trump to become the next US president.
I also want rising gas prices, so that commuters can have more precious time in their cars and on congested roads, all the while listening to Ford’s speeches and edicts on how good they’ve got it and it’s going to get better! I want cyclers to able to carry fire arms, so that they have a fair chance of going after drivers.
Getting free surplus streetcars from Toronto, is like the Harper government buying F-35’s without engines!
To be honest, the streetcar is a great idea, but not now, and not under the current conditions. I’m no expert, but I think maybe planning for a streetcar line now with a target date of 10-15 years or so may be a good idea because it may spark interest for growth in population and commercial density along the proposed routes. If and When the population grows to some required amount by the 10 years, then consider adding this form of transit.. but only if the ridership would sustain it.
Besides, maybe electrified buses (no tracks) would be a better start, since there is minimal cost of infrastructure (just overhead wires needed), and ridership can be proven before investing in expensive streetcars.
Even when Windsor had streetcars in the past, I don’t think they popped up overnight. They started with horse-pulled trolleys, then electrified trolleys. We shouldn’t jump into such a large project so blindly.
It would be wiser to set the city up for influx of population by making it cheaper, and providing more amenities than the burbs can offer. Incentives involving restoration of older homes in the core, or even rebuilding of less-than-attractive homes on the core periphery would do more for positive growth than a streetcar would at this stage. But the future promise of a streetcar system is a piece of the pie to spark this future growth, i think.