Us Canadians love to talk about the weather, which means Sunday’s massive snowfall was a boon for local media. Reporters from every outlet were sent out to cover the storm. Stuck in Orillia Sunday night, I watched the evening news, which showed car accidents, good Samaritans helping push cars stuck on the side of the road, people digging their cars out of snowbanks and other car-related problems suffered because of the snow.
Of course it makes sense that the plight of drivers gets so much attention — cars are how most people get around in this province. But, as the saying goes, “everyone is a pedestrian,” so how come mobility issues for those on foot are rarely addressed? Where’s the feature on the TTC’s reaction to the storm? (Did I miss it?) How about something about how motorists parked on TTC streetcar tracks, bringing service to a halt until riders got off to push the car off to the side of the road (see comment 28 here). I’d be interested in learning more about how seniors (who tend to have a harder time traversing snowy sidewalks) fared or how the storm affected those with baby strollers or wheelchairs.
The Toronto Star’s Fixer was on the case today:
“While driving Sunday night, we noticed people standing atop a snowbank at least one metre high, waiting for the Lawrence Ave. bus.
“When it arrived, commuters clambered back down to the sidewalk, walked to the corner to circle the snowbank and then back along the road to get on to the bus they'd been waiting for.”
…
“Peter Noehammer, director of transportation services in the east district, said clearing snowbanks at stops and pedestrian crosswalks is a high priority because many riders don't have the agility to climb over them, and it's not safe for people to stand on top of them.
“But with a city-wide fleet of about 300 sidewalk plows to clear 7,600 kilometres of sidewalks, it's no small job.
"‘When we've had this much snow, our time frame is usually about three days to totally clean up’ around transit stops, said Noehammer, adding that in many places, the snow must be scooped up and trucked away because there isn't room to simply push it aside.”
“Marilyn Bolton, a spokesperson for the TTC, said it has a total of 10,047 surface transit stops across Toronto, which underscores the enormity of the task.
“It may require patience and nimble footwork on the part of transit riders today.”
Is it fair that transit riders are told to be patient while well-choreographed snow-removal crews do everything they can to make car travel as hassle-free as possible? “This type of bullshit rationalization by city staff would never be tolerated if they were talking about highways,” argued a friend of mine. “Could you imagine someone from Transportation saying that the DVP would be passable in three days and until then we just have to make do?”