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Author
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Topic: nobody takes the bus anyway
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rural - Francesca
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 14858
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posted 20 October 2008 12:21 PM
Article quote:
Truth isn't just stranger than fiction; it's a lot nastier.Take the case of Sandra and Wayne Cassidy, an Ajax couple who have spent months trying to alter the route of a bus that goes past their lakefront home. The bus, they argued, is noisy, smelly and dangerous. Come to think of it, it's a threat to their mental, emotional and physical health. Oh, and let's not forget, it's also a neighbourhood destroyer, a subdivision killer and bad for property values. It also goes past the Cassidys' house every 30 minutes during rush hour. Whose idea was it to unleash such destruction on this quiet, peaceful community? Who says these people need public transit? Or want it? Isn't that why they moved to the suburbs in the first place? According to Cassidys – and they should know – nobody takes the bus anyway.
From: the backyard | Registered: Dec 2007
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triciamarie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12970
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posted 21 October 2008 08:01 AM
quote:
Originally posted by bigcitygal:
From my old apartment I could hear the screech of the 506 streetcar as it rounded the bend at Spadina.
I was one short block away from that streetcar down the line in Long Branch in south Etobicoke. I loved hearing and feeling the rumble as it went by. Different noises affect different people, though, and I'm not surprised that the bus bothers these Ajax lakefront-dwellers. And in fact, city buses do tend to be pretty squeaky, especially if there's no other real traffic background noise. I myself try to avoid living directly on a bus route for that exact reason. And I do take the bus almost everywhere. These people are trying to take advantage of their obvious privilege (those places aren't cheap) to get the route changed, with this obnoxious display of elitist attitude -- which is of course, what provides the infotainment "news" value. Instead, why not focus on stopping the noise at the source? The squeaking happens because drivers rush through their routes and stand on the brakes. Is there enough time for them to get through the routes without having to rush -- or are they forgoing their washroom and lunch breaks, if they don't try to save time like this? If the route times were adjusted, maybe the problem would abate or disappear. In most jurisdictions there is never enough money for maintenance or new equipment either. So ultimately, a big part of this problem may be the understaffed and underfunded transit system. Putting it in that context could be a way to respond to people who don't take the bus and who would be more likely to sympathize with the subjects of this story. [ 21 October 2008: Message edited by: triciamarie ]
From: gwelf | Registered: Jul 2006
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bigcitygal
Volunteer Moderator
Babbler # 8938
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posted 21 October 2008 08:30 PM
triciamarie, I think you mean the 501 streetcar. Also an all-nighter. I was once on the 501, nearing the Humber loop, when a doofus driver in a car tried to make a left turn in front of it. We didn't feel the impact, only a forward surge when the driver hit the brakes very hard, and I heard a quiet-sounding crunching noise. Nobody was hurt, I don't even think there was a dent in the streetcar, but the side and back of the car was all smashed up. I love streetcars so much, they're indestructible! [ 21 October 2008: Message edited by: bigcitygal ]
From: It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent - Q | Registered: Apr 2005
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lagatta
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2534
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posted 22 October 2008 05:15 PM
Since the métro here was extended to Laval, the orange line (sort of more "north-south", though actually it is a huge loop) is always full going into the city centre and the STM has had to lay on extra métro cars from Henri-Bourassa. And now they are laying on special bus routes to get the commuters to the métro. Think behaviour is changing, even in bedroom suburbs. I have friends in Laval, who bought a house there because one partner worked and studied (law degree) in Montréal and the other was working at the old GM plant in Ste-Thérèse. The métro extension has at least halved their car use. This combined with the explosion of gasoline prices. And more and more people in Ajax will be taking the bus, until they wise up and build a tram or light train along the lake, like the Kusttram in Flanders. It has a fascinating recent history as a war plant centre, then a school for returning veterans. And tragically, most of the worst sprawl occurred in the 1980s, by which time people should have known better. Imagine how lovely a harmonious town by the lake, with a city centre, more multi-storey buildings, and beautiful parks by the lake could have been?
From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002
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Tommy_Paine
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 214
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posted 22 October 2008 05:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by G. Pie:
I read the article but it wasn't clear to me whether the bus route was already there when they bought this house. If it was, I have absolutely no sympathy for them. Reminds me of a wonderful dog kennel in a rural area just out of town. Developers bought the adjacent land, carved it up, built condo/townhouses on it, and now the residential owners are trying to shut the kennel down (dogs barking too loudly). Kennel guy's been there for decades. It's a real shame.
That kind of thing happens all the time. In one of many examples from London, after a patch of land by Pond Mills was developed, the residents complained of noise made by the train. The tracks have been there since 1885.
Whether the bus route was there or not, it's just one of those things.
From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001
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