We Saw a Chicken …

Tag: ttc

  • Crosstown is finally open and I am 😐

    It’s years late and many millions over budget, but — at last — the TTC Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown is open today! I am slightly happy for them, as finally they’ll have to stop making excuses about why it’s closed.

    I rode a little bit of it today (it was free) and this little bit of dust graffiti sums up how I feel

    dust inscription on Kennedy station's window says: it's finally open! ?
    dust inscription on Kennedy station’s window says: it’s finally open! 😐

    I rode the surface section from Kennedy to Aga Khan Park this afternoon, and my overall impression was: wow, this is really slow.

    Map of Eglinton Avenue East, showing Crosstown stations from Aga Khan Park & Museum to Ionview
    Map of Eglinton Avenue East, showing Crosstown stations from Aga Khan Park & Museum to Ionview

    I was only able to track the train from Ionview, as my phone GPS is useless underground.

    Westbound

    I got on a westbound train a little after 15:30

    Station Distance / km Arrive Depart Time Speed / km/h
    Ionview 15:37:20
    Birchmount 0.552 15:39:05 15:39:40 1′ 45″ 18.9
    Golden Mile 1.244 15:42:37 15:42:39 2′ 57″ 25.3
    Hakimi Lebovic 0.455 15:44:29 15:44:30 1′ 50″ 14.9
    Pharmacy 0.592 15:47:55 15:48:30 3′ 25″ 10.4
    O’Connor 0.584 15:50:00 15:51:55 1′ 30″ 23.3
    Sloane 1.225 15:53:25 15:54:03 1′ 30″ 49.0
    Wynford 1.600 15:56:45 15:57:17 2′ 42″ 35.5
    Aga Khan Park & Museum 0.718 15:58:25 1′ 08″ 38.0
    Total 6.969 21′ 05″ 19.8

    Despite getting up to almost 50 km/h between O’Connor and Sloane, we still didn’t exceed an average of 20 km/h over the whole 7 km trip. So many stops for lights. Traffic on Eglinton was moving faster than us.

    Eastbound

    Two Alstom TTC/Metrolinx Crosstown light rail trains sit at the rather snowy Aga Khan Park station
    Two Alstom TTC/Metrolinx Crosstown light rail trains sit at the rather snowy Aga Khan Park station

    I had to wait for 10 minutes at Aga Khan Park station for the return train. It was just a little brisk out. When it finally arrived, it was so busy that I ended up smushed against a door for most of the ride.

    Station Distance / km Arrive Depart Time Speed / km/h
    Aga Khan Park & Museum 16:08:55
    Wynford 0.718 16:10:10 16:11:00 1′ 15″ 34.4
    Sloane 1.600 16:14:00 16:14:45 3′ 00″ 32.0
    O’Connor 1.225 16:17:35 16:19:15 2′ 50″ 25.9
    Pharmacy 0.584 16:20:35 16:21:15 1′ 20″ 26.3
    Hakimi Lebovic 0.592 16:23:10 16:23:30 1′ 55″ 18.5
    Golden Mile 0.455 16:25:52 16:25:54 2′ 22″ 11.5
    Birchmount 1.244 16:29:50 16:30:25 3′ 56″ 19.0
    Ionview 0.552 16:31:35 1′ 10″ 28.4
    Total 6.969 22′ 40″ 18.4

    Even slower coming back.

    It’s okay, TTC/Metrolinx: we’ve got used to waiting.

  • We finally got the nice trains on line 2 #ttc

    We finally got the nice trains on line 2 #ttc

    We finally got the nice trains on line 2 #ttc

    Instagram filter used: Lo-fi

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  • What a good idea … #ttc

    What a good idea … #ttc

    Instagram filter used: Lo-fi

    Photo taken at: Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave

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  • more ttc kalimba at Pape station

    kalimba at Pape, 15 Dec 2011, 18:16

    I think his name is Achilla Orru, and I’ve heard him twice before.

  • it’s a transit routing algorithm!

    — from MyTTC.

  • time hasn’t been kind to them

    Found these on top of the fridge during a cleanup.

    I remember thinking they looked pretty cool at the time.

  • harshing on the TTC at Osgoode

  • TTC Trip Planner

    The TTC Trip Planner seems to be live, after some digging by the Spacing folks.

    It works with a bunch of small browsers I’ve thrown at it – w3m, mobile Safari, Blackberry – so I know I can use it from a handheld. Yay!

    Only minor annoyance is that for subway journeys, it only shows the direction of travel in the summary (“YONGE-UNIVERSITY-SPADINA TOWARDS DOWNSVIEW” – and yes, in all-caps) and you have to click through to the details to find out which station you need to get off at.

    It does seem to get deeply confused at Kennedy Station; I live just south of Kennedy, and it expects me to take the 43 Kennedy north to the junction to Eglinton, then walk south. Everyone here uses Transway Crescent …

    Update: how could I have missed the prettier and much less capslockier MyTTC?

    Update 2: The official TTC site appears to have moved here http://www3.ttc.ca/Trip_planner/index.jsp?useplanner=true. Let’s see if it still works with mobile devices.

  • like 8-bit on a green screen

    Saw a forces type wearing CADPAT on the subway. He looked like old-school 8-bit, so I thought I could improve on the design:

    mario camouflage

  • The return of Arthur

    Pretty much since the new year, I let me hair just go. This was mostly because I’d lost the coordinates for Arthur, the Scottish barber who first dealt with my hair in 2006, and I’d been following him from location to location. I have weird hair, and Arthur knew just what to do to make it behave.

    A couple of weeks back, I was wandering idly along the Danforth, and after looking into a barber’s window, cursed the fact that I’d lost touch with Arthur. I walked a little further and — as if by magic — met Arthur. It seems he’s moved to the neighbourhood, so now we’re back in touch. The haircut I got on the weekend is awesome.

    Arthur now does house calls (preferably near TTC stops), and is looking for some new clients. He’s been doing this for longer than you’ve (likely) been alive. I hesitate to post his phone number, so please contact me and I’ll pass on the details.

  • ttc kalimba again

    I love this busker’s sound.
    ttc_kalimba-081215-083745

  • i wish i had my camera with me

    The semi-skilled busker with the snoozing-in-the-guitar-case spaniel was performing at Osgoode tonight.

  • mystery profile

    On a windowsill towards the rear of TTC streetcar #4106, there is a paint chip in exactly the profile of Afrika Bambaataa circa ‘Planet Rock’. You may begin to worship …

  • wheeee!

    Dawes Super Galaxy at Main St Station

    I got the Super Galaxy back from Cogs yesterday. They’ve done a great job of fitting slightly raised bars and thumbshifters, and repacking all the ancient bearings. It rides like a dream; I was only planning to ride from Gerrard back to Broadview TTC, but I zoomed all the way along Gerrard to Main St station. And this was me having hardly been on a bike since last year.

    I think the rear derailleur may be on its way out, ‘cos it still makes clonky noises in lowest gear. But it’s looking great, and running great, and best of all, Cogs did the work for a very reasonable price. I am happy.

  • first groundhog of 2007

    Seen at Warden TTC — spring’s here!

  • new tokens

    ttc tokens, old and new

    I rather like the new TTC tokens. Their swirly pattern makes them look asymmetric, but it’s a trick of the light.

    Wish I had one of the pre-1975 “SUBWAY” tokens, but alas …

  • beautiful bike

    Sorry there’s no picture, but there’s a beautiful Pedersen parked outside Chester TTC. It’s the original tallbike.

  • when chitin isn’t enough

    An interesting beetle, crushed by the wheel of a TTC bus.

  • snow fair

    We get a little snow, and the TTC goes borked again. Gahh!

  • TTC: Platform Video Screen Survey

    Take the TTC: Platform Video Screen Survey. Those video screens suck.