Sharing the road with streetcars

Streetcars present a unique challenge to Toronto road users, but at the same time are very simple to share the road with.  A couple of things that make them easy to be around is that they can't change lanes, they are very visible and they are only found on roads with rail lines running on them.  They only turn onto roads that also have intersecting tracks, but they do make those turns from lanes that we aren't accustomed to seeing traffic legally turn from.  In fact, if you make the same turn they do...you will be charged.

They are recognized in the Highway Traffic Act because there are specific laws regarding them and how you need to behave around them to be sharing the road with them for every one's safety.

Almost every law that applies to the driver of a motor vehicle or a cyclist applies to the operator of a streetcar and vice verse.

You can pass a streetcar that is in motion on the right side only.  Like every rule, there are exceptions...

1. If the streetcar is travelling on a one-way street, you can pass it on the left.
2. You can not pass on the right through the approach area of a pedestrian crossover.

Always look at a streetcar as a moving intersection, after all it does have stop signs on it.  When a streetcar is approaching an intersection don't try to pass it.  You can safely assume that it is going to stop. When it stops, the side doors may or may not open.  The safest practice is to stay behind the streetcar until it goes into motion again.

You can't see past it so trying to pass it at an intersection is a recipe for trouble in the case where a pedestrian is trying to catch it from the side you can't see or a car/cyclist blows a red light and creams you as you clear the front of the streetcar.

When the doors are open it is against the law to pass it or approach the doors to closely.  This applies to both motor vehicle drivers, cyclists, skateboarders, roller bladers, e-bikes, etc.

Pedestrians are not allowed onto the roadway until the streetcar has come to a full stop and the doors have opened.  Having said that...they will, so again, go back to the point of don't pass a streetcar as it nears an intersection.

For those of you that complain that streetcars enter intersections on amber lights, you should know that there is a mechanism on them that talks to the intersection.  It holds that light amber so that the streetcar can make it through which creates a better traffic flow for all of us.

The LRT lines are designed to specifically allow a free flow of traffic around the street car lanes.  No vehicles are allowed on them except streetcars and other authorized TTC vehicles.  (You will on occasion see police, fire and ambulance use them - seconds save lives).

Make sure when you are travelling parallel to LRT lines (Spadina, Queens Quay, StClair to name a few) that you pay attention to the traffic signals especially at turning points.  The streetcars have their own signals as do you....mix them up and you run the risk of being T-boned by 20 tonnes or so of metal.

Here are some safety tips from the TTC website

Here is the Highway Traffic Act

Speed Trap Capital of the World

Wow, what an amazing amount of attention Toronto got this week after it was revealed on a website that we are the Speed Trap Capital of the World!!

It was a very busy 24 hours after that news broke, but what exactly does it mean? 250 locations (give or take) on the list, crowd sourced information, not really verified and what do they class as a speed trap?

Lets kick this off by talking about traps:

• a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned

• drain consisting of a U-shaped section of drainpipe that holds liquid and so prevents a return flow of sewer gas

• something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unaware; "the exam was full of trap questions"; "it was all a snare and delusion"

• a device to hurl clay pigeons into the air for trapshooters

• place in a confining or embarrassing position; "He was trapped in a difficult situation"

• ambush: the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise

• catch in or as if in a trap; "The men trap foxes"

• informal terms for the mouth

• a light two-wheeled carriage

So I guess we can agree that there is no way what we are doing can be considered traps.

Posted speed limits, uniforms, equipment, cars, motorcycles...any decent driver that is

observant and scanning their route of travel surely has to see the police enforcement. Often times, other stopped cars can even be a clue. One prominent driving advocate even stated he has seen as many as eight officers at a location…not much of a ‘trap’.

Who is in control of the speed of a vehicle? The passenger? The other cars? The pedestrians? Nope…it’s the driver. Gas pedal for faster, brake pedal for slower. What is the incentive for the drivers to speed? Tickets, possible insurance rate hikes, demerit points, loss of license, etc. Or is the incentive to avoid tickets? By doing something crazy like, I don’t know…travelling the speed limit.

Road safety is based on three simple tenants.

• Education
• Awareness
• Enforcement

(You can add in engineering but that’s not in law enforcements hands).

Folks, we do enforcement based in one simple principal…safety. We educate and raise awareness so that we can avoid the enforcement. But, there will always be some people who choose to risk all our safety in one manner or another. We will always be there to address them appropriately.

If you combine all other crimes committed you would not come close to devastation and societal impacts that traffic related incidents have on us. You are far more likely to be in a collision than you are to be the victim of violence. Go to any community meeting, town hall meeting and you are sure to find that traffic related matters (speeding and parking in particular) top the list of concerns of the community.

Two of the main ways we determine locations are:

• Community generated concerns reported to us asking for our help making their neighbourhoods safer
• Crash analysis that has indicated a need for enforcement/education/awareness

One of the things this list indicates to me is how plugged in and tech savvy Toronto is. You have given that site more locations that New York, LA and Montreal residents combined. Way to go.

I can’t believe how many of those locations I’ve actually stood in ‘beaming’ the traffic. Some of them though…don’t think they were actually speed enforcement locations, bit more likely officers sitting at the side of the road doing reports and passerby’s have fed the locations as a radar spot.

So, thank you Toronto for helping us spread the word and show the world how committed the Toronto Police Service is to road safety. We have made it a priority <-(PDF) for several years now in an effort to reduce collisions, injuries and death in Toronto.

Interesting fact…Los Angeles is about 2X the size (population) of Toronto and has about 2X more sworn officers. According the Speed Trap Site, we have about 2X more locations than them.

In 2008 (last published numbers for LA) they had 234 fatalities…Toronto had 54.

So let me know are there any areas that you particularly like? Any locations you would like to add to the list? Let me know. Love to hear from you.

Bicycle Helmets...you choose

Bicycle helmets have been a very hot topic in Toronto the last few days. On Friday August 13th, a cyclist died after a fall from his bicycle almost a month earlier. He struck his head which ultimately led to his death.

I issued a news release about the death and the same day that it was released via the Toronto Police Website, the Toronto Sun published an article that urges mandatory helmet use according to an Alberta study.

So, looking at raising public awareness over the issue, I Tweeted and Facebooked (is that a word?) both the news release and the article...then the storm came.

The word 'helmet' became a trending topic on Twitter in Toronto and the conversation was heated on both sides of the issue. Some people argue that helmets should be mandatory while others say that the choice is up to the individual.

My opinion is simple...what is safest should stand. Mandatory? Not sure on that, but should you choose to wear one? Absolutely!!

You can't tell me one solid reason for not wearing one...I've heard plenty, but not ones I'd support. But, I can give you one good one. A helmet protects your brain. You know that thing inside your skull, pretty much runs your body...only get one, can't be fixed thing?

But, who am I to say...here are some other opinions.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/276/24/1968

(Thanks to @bradeinarsen for the link)

But there are lots more...

http://www.bhsi.org/index.htm#statistics

Best line I have ever heard?

"Let me first say that I didn't start swearing a helmet regularly until AFTER I WOKE UP FROM THE COMA"

See the whole article for that line:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/on-bicycle-helmets.php

So...whats your opinion? Your views, thoughts, arguments.

Do you have any research that can support helmets, no helmets. Can you make a strong point?

Let me know and have your say here...pls keep it clean!

To see some of the conversations that took place look at the following Twitter Streams

@TrafficServices

@DuncansCityRide

@BikeTree

@BikingToronto

#bikeTO

Guest Post - Why Do Cops Get To Harass People?

I have to confess right off the bat here, this is not my original thought. I wish I was talented enough to come up with this stuff on my own. I am re-posting this. It is from a good friend of mine who has a blog as well. http://www.motorcopblog.com/

Just like Motorcop, I found it funny and thought I would share it too.

You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Please remember, commenting is welcomed, just keep it clean and respectful. Even if you don't agree with what is said, be polite and factual about how you tell us you don't agree. If you agree, same thing, be clean and polite.

I don't often straight plagiarize or just post something someone else has written...but the BlogStocker sent me something I couldn't resist posting. Please to enjoy...

Recently, the Chula Vista Police Department ran an e-mail forum (a question and answer exchange) with the topic being, "Community Policing."

One of the civilian email participants posed the following question: "I would like to know how it is possible for police officers to continually harass people and get away with it?"

From the "other side" (the law enforcement side) Sgt. Bennett, obviously a cop with a sense of humor replied:

"First of all, let me tell you this...it's not easy. In Chula Vista , we average one cop for every 600 people. Only about 60% of those cops are on general duty (or what you might refer to as "patrol") where we do most of our harassing.

The rest are in non-harassing departments that do not allow them contact with the day to day innocents. And at any given moment, only one-fifth of the 60% patrollers are on duty and available for harassing people while the rest are off duty. So roughly, one cop is responsible for harassing about 5,000 residents.

When you toss in the commercial business, and tourist locations that attract people from other areas, sometimes you have a situation where a single cop is responsible for harassing 10,000 or more people a day.

Now, your average ten-hour shift runs 36,000 seconds long. This gives a cop one second to harass a person, and then only three-fourths of a second to eat a donut AND then find a new person to harass. This is not an easy task. To be honest, most cops are not up to this challenge day in and day out. It is just too tiring. What we do is utilize some tools to help us narrow down those people which we can realistically harass.

The tools available to us are as follows:

PHONE: People will call us up and point out things that cause us to focus on a person for special harassment. "My neighbor is beating his wife" is a code phrase used often. This means we'll come out and give somebody some special harassment.

Another popular one is, "There's a guy breaking into a house." The harassment team is then put into action.

CARS: We have special cops assigned to harass people who drive. They like to harass the drivers of fast cars, cars with no insurance or no driver's licenses and the like. It's lots of fun when you pick them out of traffic for nothing more obvious than running a red light. Sometimes you get to really heap the harassment on when you find they have drugs in the car, they are drunk, or have an outstanding warrant on file.

RUNNERS: Some people take off running just at the sight of a police officer. Nothing is quite as satisfying as running after them like a beagle on the scent of a bunny. When you catch them you can harass them for hours.

STATUTES: When we don't have PHONES or CARS and have nothing better to do, there are actually books that give us ideas for reasons to harass folks. They are called "Statutes"; Criminal Codes, Motor Vehicle Codes, etc... They all spell out all sorts of things for which you can really mess with people.

After you read the statute, you can just drive around for awhile until you find someone violating one of these listed offenses and harass them. Just last week I saw a guy trying to steal a car. Well, there's this book we have that says that's not allowed. That meant I got permission to harass this guy. It is a really cool system that we have set up, and it works pretty well.

We seem to have a never-ending supply of folks to harass. And we get away with it. Why? Because for the good citizens who pay the tab, we try to keep the streets safe for them, and they pay us to "harass" some people.

Next time you are in my town, give me the old "single finger wave." That's another one of those codes. It means, "You can harass me." It's one of our favorites.

People argue to be able to drink and drive!

Why do people still insist on driving after they have been drinking? Why do drivers speed at ridiculous rates through residential neighbourhoods, or anywhere else for that matter?

I had the misfortune today of attending a fatal crash in North York this morning. A car was travelling at a high rate of speed and was T-boned in an intersection on a quiet little side street.

The debris field was huge. 2 cars absolutely destroyed. 1 person dead and 4 sent to hospital. One of the drivers was arrested for an alcohol offence related to driving. The car he was driving was the one that the deceased person was in, that was allegedly speeding and allegedly went through a stop sign.

Between Twitter and Facebook there were lots of messages condemning drinking and driving and aggressive driving. That led to some conversation about the new 21 and under law. Surprisingly in some of that conversation stream, people were willing to chastise the new law for being age discriminatory or unacceptable on some level because of a Zero BAC requirement.

WHAT??? Why in the world would people argue to be able to drink and drive. I mean that's really what it comes down to. That is what you are arguing for...to defend your desire to drink and drive. Think about it. If you argue against a zero BAC, or the newer "Warn Range" Suspensions being too restrictive, or the legal limit being too low, you are arguing in essence to be allowed to drive a 2000 pound weapon with an an intoxicant in your system!

How about supporting the notion of someone drinking while walking down the street with a loaded machine gun.

I had a number of people ask my opinion on the law and what I believe. Some asked if I believe it should be just 21 and under or all drivers. Well, you probably know me well enough by now to know what my answer was:

IF YOU DRINK, DON'T DRIVE!

2010 Scotiabank Caribana Festival Parade Information

On Saturday, July 31, 2010, the 43rd Annual Scotiabank Caribana Festival Parade will take place on Lake Shore Blvd. W. between Strachan Avenue and Colbourne Lodge Drive.The festival will require numerous road closures, restrictions which will lead to delays and congestion in the immediate area of the parade.

Road Closures:
The following Gardiner Expressway ramps will be closed at 12:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 31st, 2010:
E/B Gardiner Expressway and Jameson exit, Jameson entrance and B.C. entrance.
W/B Gardiner Expressway and Dunn Ave. exit ramp.

Lakeshore Blvd. W. will be closed to traffic at 1:30 a.m., from westbound Strachan Ave. to Parkside Dr. and eastbound from Colbourne Lodge to Strachan Ave. on Saturday, July 31st, 2010.

Caribana will set up their Market Place locations south of the Lakeshore Blvd. W. on the Thursday and Friday prior to the day of the event. Their final move in of goods and supplies will be on Saturday, morning from 1:30 a.m.. to 8:00 a.m., then all vendors will be refused entry. All access for vendors will be via Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Colborne Lodge Dr., eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. from Ellis Ave. or Windermere Ave.

All vendors must have a Caribana permit adhered to their front windshield in good condition or entry will be refused. (One permit per vehicle - absolutely NO exceptions)

Parade bands/ floats/trucks will access the formation area via Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave., then travel west to Newfoundland Rd. to enter the Exhibition Grounds Formation Area. The cut off time for entry into the formation area is 1000 hrs however, any late arrivals will be permitted into a staging area on the north side of Lakeshore Blvd W. from Strachan Ave to Newfoundland. The late arrivals will be permitted northbound on Newfoundland Ave at three separate times for 15 minute intervals each (10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m.). Entry will not be permitted at any other point. Support vehicles will exit prior to 10:00 hrs from Newfoundland Rd. and Lakeshore Blvd. W., then eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. to Strachan Ave.

Tour Buses: are to be directed to the Loading Docks on the east side of the Direct Energy Centre at Canada Blvd. south of Manitoba Dr.

Disabled Parking: will be at the Direct Energy Centre. Enter via Manitoba Dr. and Strachan Ave. then south on Canada Blvd. to the entrance ramp of the Direct Energy Centre.

V.I.P.’s and Media parking will be in the direct Energy Centre: underground parking garage west side.

Volunteers are to use the Dufferin St. access to gain entry to Parking Lot “4” on Saskatchewan Rd north of Princes’ Blvd.

All vehicle access to Ontario Place will be through Remembrance Dr. at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Vehicles exiting Ontario Place will do so only at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Ontario Place Blvd. and will travel eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. only.

RESTRICTED ACCESS POINTS

In order to assist the safe movement of traffic and to provide for as little disruption as possible to residents, the following streets will have a restricted access, for vehicles:

Dufferin St. south of King St. W.
Dowling Ave. south of King St. W.
Stadium Rd. south of Lakeshore Blvd. W.
Queens Quay W. west of Bathurst St.
Springhurst Ave. west of Jameson Ave.
Springhurst Ave. east of Jameson Ave.

Other streets, although not restricted to vehicles, will be strictly enforced for parking infractions. These streets are in the area south of King St. W., east of Colborne Lodge and west of Bathurst St.

VEHICLE PASSES

There are several vehicle passes for Caribana participants, volunteers and V.I.P.s. There are also vehicle or personal identification cards used by employees of Exhibition Place and Ontario Place. All of these passes are valid for the given location or event specified in the specific traffic details. Caribana has assigned marshals to the entrance to the formation area at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave.

The final move in for Vendors will be between 01:30 a.m., and 8:00 a.m., on Saturday morning. All vendors must enter the Market Place from the west end of the closure on Lakeshore Blvd. W. from Colborne Lodge Dr. only. All vendors approaching the closure southbound on Parkside Dr. will be directed west to Colborne Lodge Dr. to enter the closure. The Vendor Holding Area will be east of Parkside Dr. to the area near the Palais Royale.

Drivers entering Lakeshore Blvd. W. are to be advised to drive slowly and watch for pedestrians and obey directions of Caribana Marshals.

BATHURST ST. CLOSURE

Vehicle access west of Bathurst St. on Fleet St. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. may be closed after the parking lots at Ontario Place and Exhibition Place Gore Lots are full. This closure will be in effect as required.

TOWING POLICY

All vehicles including tour buses, parked illegally on Lakeshore Blvd. W. (including the grassed area), Bathurst St., Fleet St., King St. W., Queen St. W., Roncesvalles Ave., Dufferin St. and The Queensway will be tagged and towed.

Vehicles parked illegally in the Parkdale and Stadium Rd. areas will be tagged and towed.

The Parking Enforcement Unit will be mainly responsible for towing issues.

T.T.C.

TTC: The T.T.C. will be putting 25 buses on the Parkside Dr. route starting at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 31, 2010. This will be an express route to the Keele St. Station from the Palais Royale area on Lakeshore Blvd. W. Bus lanes will be marked by the placement of cones on Lakeshore Blvd. W. by the T.T.C.

The Jameson Ave. bus route will have approximately 12 buses in service and will not stop at Springhurst Ave. when southbound. The drop off and pick up area will be a temporary T.T.C. bus stop on the south side of the westbound lanes of Lakeshore Blvd. W., between Dunn Ave. and Jameson Ave., for the express buses to the Bloor St. W. subway line. To maintain this bus route Springhurst Blvd. must be kept clear of parked vehicles between Jameson Ave. and Dunn Ave.

The Dufferin St. bus line will have approximately 65 - 70 buses assigned to handle the heavy crowds. It will not enter Exhibition Place Grounds.

The Bathurst St. streetcars will drop off passengers on the north side of Fleet St. Streetcars and buses leaving Exhibition Place will not stop at Strachan Ave.

T.T.C. service to and from the east end of the event will be through the Manitoba Dr. and Strachan Ave. area of Exhibition Place.

TTC will stop at Fort York Blvd., and Fleet St., to enable any passengers attending Ontario Place to exit at this location.

The Princes’ Gates will remain closed on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 commencing at 12:01 am.

General Parking is provided by Exhibition Place inside the grounds in the underground lot at the Direct Energy Centre, and Lot #6. Lot #4 is the Volunteer Parking Lot. There is also parking available in the Gore Lot (n/side Lakeshore Blvd. W. east of Strachan Ave).

ONTARIO PLACE

Access to Ontario Place will be possible along Remembrance Dr. from Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Ontario Place parking lots will be open during this event. Exit from Ontario Place will be at Ontario Place Blvd. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. to travel eastbound only.

All Ontario Place employees have their own identification provided by Ontario Place. Should a road closure take place at Bathurst St., people from Ontario Place (with valid vehicle passes) and Yacht Club members will be allowed through the closure point.

VENDORS

The vendor check area for the parklands (FMC Vendors) will be located eastbound Lakeshore Blvd. W. between Colborne Lodge Dr., and Parkside Dr. Caribana officials, Security, and Police personnel will be present.

C.N.E. Vendors will be allowed to enter Exhibition Place Grounds at all times provided they have the proper Exhibition Place Vendor passes/identification.

LOST CHILDREN

Lost children will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth Building Exhibit Hall on the north side of Princes Blvd. west of Ontario Dr. The location will be signed as such.

At 10:00 p.m., any remaining children will be transported to No. 14 Division which is located at 150 Harrison Street, Toronto (416)808-1400

The Gardiner Expressway is a restricted access highway which will be patrolled to ensure that vehicles are not parked adjacent to the parade route and pedestrians do not enter the highway area. Drivers who chose to stop or drive in a manner that puts other road users at risk will be subject to strict enforcement.Due to the large number of visitors and continuous events that occur with the festival, intermittent road closures may occur throughout the downtown core, without notice, in the evenings and nights of Friday, July 31 to Sunday August 2 in the interest of public safety.Historically, Yonge Street and the Entertainment District access has been restricted in the evenings and overnight.It is recommended that you make yourself aware of alternative routes before heading into the downtown or entertainment district areas to avoid delays.

Can YOU stop impaired driving?

According to StatsCan Impaired driving offences have risen for a third consecutive year across Canada. There was a 3% rise from 2008 to 2009. As far as I'm concerned, that is ridiculous.

Governments across the country at both the federal and provincial levels have been making great strides to combat these offences with sanctions, tougher sentences, greater awareness and new laws, but the offence keeps happening!

By and large, the vast majority of us seem to get the fact that it is socially unacceptable to drive impaired. But it seems that many are still doing it. Death, injury, financial ruin, job loss, are things that are very real consequences from such an irrational decision to drive while impaired.

So what's the answer? How do we stop this offence from occurring? The police have their ideas, courts theirs and governments their own...but what about you? What do you think is the answer to curbing this stat from continuing it's upward climb? Here is your chance to voice your thoughts.

Let me give you some numbers to think about: 2009
Total Arrests in Canada for Impaired: 88,630
Total Arrests in Toronto: 2253
Per 100,000 in Canada: 263
Per 100,000 in Toronto: 90

As you can see, Toronto is doing very well compared to the rest of Canada, but very well just doesn't cut it when we are talking about life changing implications such as permanent disability and death because of a preventable, selfish criminal act.

And let's be realistic...2253 people that were caught while driving impaired. How many slipped through that we have no idea about? How many think that they will get away with having 'one for the road'?

What do you think should happen to those people that endanger all our lives. What could be an effective deterrent to stop the people that are willing to sacrifice the lives of our children, our spouses, our parents, our friends?

Its obvious that the threat of a criminal record, licence suspension, death and injury don't stop some of the population...so what will?

I would love to hear what you think. Get creative, be genius...who knows maybe your collective thoughts will send a clear message to our law makers, our courts and most importantly to those people who just don't get it.

Here are a couple of suggestions that I've heard in the past to get the ball rolling;Life time driving ban.
Special licence plates.
De-criminalize low alcohol limits and provide huge fines with long suspensions.

So do me a favour. Please take some time, and let me know what YOU think. Tell me YOUR ideas. Between this blog, Twitter, Facebook and anything else I can think of, I know there is a gem out there that has not been given enough consideration and you could be the person or group responsible for reducing collisions, injuries and death, not just here...but everywhere!