by David RosFor many rush hour commuters along the 36 Finch West bus route, the daily commute begins and ends by wondering how many buses will pass by before there will be enough room to board?However, despite being in operation along the 7 Bathurst, 29 Dufferin and 53 Steeles East routes, the TTC's new larger buses, which attempt to solve this issue will not fully operate along the 36 route until November.The new articulated buses which are wheelchair accessible, seat 46 passengers, and allow for an additional 31 to stand comfortably were originally scheduled begin operating along the route this spring. However, the TTC planning committee changed the schedule in early 2014, by deploying the articulated buses on the 53 Steeles East route ahead of the 36 Finch West.Milly Bernal, a TTC spokesperson said the schedule of deployment had been changed partially due to a lack of available garage space.“Our garages are basically at capacity right now, so it's essentially finding room for the buses in a garage where it is convenient for the route,” Bernal said.Bernal said that riders could expect to see the first articulated buses beginning to operate along the Finch West route beginning in late September, and they will be deployed gradually until all the buses that had been allocated to the route will be operational by late November.According to the TTC's 2012 ridership survey, the route accommodates roughly 44,000 riders a week, making it one of the busiest in the city.An average TTC bus can only hold 51 passengers both seated and standing, which is not nearly enough to cope with the volume of riders during peak periods. This creates the need to have multiple buses back to back in order to ensure that some passengers are not left stranded at the bus stop.However, placing multiple buses on the route creates a major strain, not just for TTC riders, but also for automobile traffic, as additional TTC vehicles stopping to pick up passengers slows down an already congested route.Bernal said that the increased capacity of the articulated buses will mean that will be less TTC vehicles on the road, which could help to ease overall congestion, but might have a small impact on wait times.“The space between buses will be a little bit longer,” she said. “So actually, it is true that you may be waiting a little bit longer for a bus, but what's happened is that you'll see less bunching.”
Why I decided to run for TDSB Trustee in York West
by Matias de DovitiisI registered to run for the Toronto District School Board in York West, because this is my home. It is where I live and work and it is where I want to make a difference.Over a decade of community building has taught me the value of hard work and the importance of giving back. Running for Trustee is an important personal commitment to my community and it is a challenge that I hope to turn into opportunities for many of our students.As a first generation Canadian, raised by a working single parent, I share many of the experiences of many in our city. A good quality education is the only thing that allowed me to find a path to personal accomplishment. I think we owe it to the next generation to give them the same opportunities and that is why I am now a trustee candidate.In York West we need to do better for our students. They are not getting the same quality education that other students are getting and I want to change that. We have greater needs, but fewer resources to abate those needs. These structural inequities need to be challenged. The waste in the system needs to be reinvested in the classroom.To my mind, education and the access to quality education is the thing that has helped to build this country. In Toronto, we have over 150 years of history providing public education. We have a public education system that is older than almost every other place on Earth. This makes Toronto one of the leaders in the world. This helped to make this country a place of greater equality and a better place to live. Now the system is being eroded by mismanagement at the same time that its resources are reduced.We need change to give young people better chances in life.We need to go give our students a sound education that teaches them the skills and work ethic that will lead to personal success, but we also need them to participate and take pride in the community.This is why I have spent much of my free time organizing after school programs, bursaries, scholarships, tree plantings, mentoring programs and supporting a myriad of projects and activities that foment access to education and civic engagement by our youth. We need to open more doors for them.I have carried out this type of work for years. Now I want to do it at the school board to make more of a difference. It is important work. I hope to be up to the task.www.matiasdedovitiis.ca
Finch West resurfacing will create relief for drivers
by Anthony PerruzzaFinch Ave. W., between Dufferin St., and Highway 400 is crumbling and needs to be fixed.This winter, city contractors repaired twice the amount of potholes, creating double the repair bill over the previous year.Discussion regarding much needed road repairs were sidelined by the transit discussion along Finch Ave. W., but the situation could not continue.Residents are tired of slaloming potholes on our neighbourhood's busiest streets and that is why I took action this summer to deal with this problem.Beginning this August and ending in early December, Finch Ave. W., will be resurfaced from Dufferin St., to Highway 400.Coordinating this work with the construction of the new Keele-Finch subway station can potentially become tricky for motorists, which is why I developed a plan with our city staff to ensure that most of the road construction along Finch Ave. W., will occur during nights and weekends when the road will have the least amount of traffic.It is important that when we pay for a job, we get great value for our money.When we hire contractors, we want to make sure their work lasts, and for road repair, this means pouring the right asphalt.Certain additives such as used motor oil can make the asphalt brittle and prone to cracking.The City of Kingston introduced new asphalt testing measures in 2009 to reduce the occurrence of premature road damage.With this in mind, I moved a successful motion at Toronto City Council that instructs the city of Toronto to review its current testing procedures and current research to ensure that our streets are strong and long-lasting.-Anthony Perruzza is the city councillor for Ward 8 York West