If you find yourself in front of Dundas West subway station this
week, be careful where you step. On Monday afternoon, pedestrians
crossing Dundas Street to a nearby mall were liable to find a police
officer at the other side, ready to issue them a ticket for not
using the nearby traffic lights. Toronto Police have chosen this
week for Operation “Ped-Safe”, a city-wide education and enforcement
campaign directed at drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The sidewalks
and roadway in front of Dundas West station are extremely busy, used
by thousands of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists every day -- not
to mention the buses and streetcars that stream into and out of the
station. People have been been crossing here for ages, so convincing
pedestrians to change their habits will take more than a week of
enforcement. If you’re walking in the area, save yourself the hassle
of a 50 dollar ticket and head down to the traffic light.
50 years ago
today, Toronto must have been electrified with anticipation as the
city awaited the opening of its new subway between Union and
Eglinton stations. Before March 30, 1954, Yonge Street was a
congested streetcar route, and after years of construction and
disruption, the underground trains were almost ready to accept
passengers.
Most Metro
readers weren’t around to remember those days, but Paul Kacor was.
He writes, “I lived in an apartment on the west side of Yonge St.,
just north of Wellesley Street. During the construction of the
subway, the day came when the pile drivers moved in -- next to my
apartment. I was working at General Motors in Scarborough on the
night shift, so coming home just before 8 a.m., I surely was ready
for bed.
“Like
clockwork, every morning at 8, the pile driver began to do its
thing. Once in bed and ready for sleep, my bed would jump each time
the pile driver struck its pile (every four seconds). At first I
found it hard to get to sleep. After several days of this, I guess I
got used to it. It would rock me to sleep. I don't really remember
how long this went on for.
“But I later
found, after the pile driver moved up the line, that I was unable to
get to sleep because I missed the soothing bounce of my bed. I've
never forgotten this, to this day.”
Toronto seems an
entirely different city then -- its culture, its people -- and its
commutes. If you have more stories of this era, please email me at
transit@eddrass.com or send
a fax to 416-322-7016.
Spring is on its
way, but if you are in need of a little inspiration now, read this
note sent last week by Stephanie Serba of Ajax: “I had a definite
failure of the grey matter today and I was rescued by a wonderful
young lady. I was unable to purchase my GO ticket today from Ajax to
Union, and thus go to work. While on my cell phone with my
boyfriend, trying to work out some way of getting me the cash, a
woman about my age (mid-thirties) walked up to me and said she would
buy my $11 return ticket. Although I told her that I was in the
midst of working something out, she insisted -- saying that she
would want someone to do the same for her.
“I told her
thank you, and fumbled for my business card. I said ‘Wait, let me
give you my card so I can pay you back.’ She refused. She just told
me again, it was okay, and that she would want someone to do the
same for her. So, thank you to the woman at the Ajax GO, around 7:55
a.m. Friday March 12. I will do the same for someone else one day,
and pay your kindness forward.”
Send e-mail to
transit@eddrass.com. Include
address and phone number.