MyTTC does what theirTTC can’t

Transit users in Toronto have been lamenting for years over the lack of a coherent trip planner on the TTCs God awful website.  A recent beta release of the TTCs new and improved website only hinted at a trip planner in the works, and even that reference appears to have been removed (oh, and FYI, TTC website guys, the new site looks better than the old site - which is akin to saying dirt tastes great compared to feces.)

So, what is a poor, confused transit rider to do?  Why, go to MyTTC and get your route mapped for you there.  MyTTC was developed by a couple of transitphiles who were, like most transit riders, tired of waiting around for the TTC to get their act together.  So, after hours spent organizing the mess of transit data into something coherent, the developers produced a little gem of a trip planner.

As the developers note, this is a work in progress and they stress that they need users to help them make it better.  When I mapped a route yesterday from my house to one of my favorite bars I noticed that it had you walking a little further and taking a bus you didn’t really need to take when leaving my place.  So, like a good user I sent some feedback and lo and behold, Kieran, one of the developers, had gotten back to me last night and said that they were still adjusting the weight given to walking and that it might be a bit high.  Now that’s service.

So, for those of you in the GTA, use MyTTC, provide feedback, support great homegrown work!

Much delayed Toronto subway extension a go

It appears that the federal government has finally gotten their house in order and is getting much needed funding to the Province of Ontario after 2 years of stalling by the Harper government. The feds are chipping in their $697-million share of the $2-billion dollar Spadina subway extension, according to the Toronto Star.

Any subway extension is good news in my book (even the poorly conceived and pointless Sheppard line, but barely), but this stretch is especially important to Toronto. Take a look at the proposed extension below (for the full view, check out my subway map here):

Image courtesy of Spadina Subway Extension Project

From the “Dumbshit” File

Just a little absurdity to lighten your day. It seems some residents of Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood are up in arms because a city work crew began tearing up grass yesterday at a local park to build…

Here are some options to choose from. Which are the protesters upset over?

A) A nuclear waste storage facility

B) Cap’n ‘Splosion’s Terrorist Training Camp

C) A Wal Mart

D) Krazy Bob’s Handgun n’ Rocket Launcher Emporium

E) A swing set

So, clearly, A - D are worth raising a stink over, but if you guessed E you’d be correct!

A handful of residents organized a flash protest when a city crew peeled back some grass to begin installing a swing set at the park. A SWING SET. According to local residents Robert Arnold and Peter Manek, swing sets equal crime magnets:

The swings would take up the last bit of open green space, said Arnold and Manek, who argued it would offer criminals an excuse to hang around the area and engage in drug deals.

Yes, I can see it now:

Thug 1: “Hey, can you give me a push on this swing before I go sling my crack?”

Thug 2: “Okay, but be careful, I don’t want you going too high!”

What do you do with something like this but mock? Anyway, check out the full story here.

Goodbye, Gardiner?

On Friday the Toronto Star led with a report that Mayor David Miller has finally gotten behind a plan to start tearing down the god awful Gardiner expressway along the Toronto waterfront. While the proposed plan doesn’t remove the entire expressway, it is a promising start.

The proposed plan (which is light on details) suggests tearing down the 2.5 kms of the Gardiner, from the Don Valley Parkway to Jarvis street. The stretch is highlighted below (click for larger image).

Toronto Jimfoolery

So, like….I took some pictures of the de facto capital of Canada. This is a follow up to my pictures of People I’m still not sure what to make of the city. Don’t get me wrong, its a good city (sit Ubu sit). I’m having a hard time comparing it to any of the cities I’ve been to. I can say though, with a very high level of confidence that its better than Edmonton.

Well anyway, here’s the link to my flickr photo set, and as usual here’s a few snippets:

From somewhere on Toronto Island

Wispy, like my hair.

Toronto Tomfoolery

So some posts might not have far reaching appeal to mass audiences. This one pretty much has an appeal to about 7 people, 3 cats and 2 Snoopys and 1 Dirigible.

I know in a previous post I mentioned that I was moving away from Picasa towards Flickr. I think I’m partially doing that. For random silly pictures I think I’m going to keep going with Picasa since so many of my friends have a google account and commenting and following is still decent in Picasa. But as mentioned before, the resolution algorithms on Picasa blows, so “real” photos will be handled by flickr.

Anyway, If you want to see some general tomfoolery, shenanigans and skylarkings by some of Ben Co.’s greatest minds and followers, click here. Generally speaking most pictures involve beer, standing looking stupid, sitting looking stupid or posing stupidly.

A small taste:

Me and my BFF Racecar Snoopy

Cross-Canada Shenanigans - YEG to YYZ

As some of you know, Ben Co. HQ is relocating to Toronto, ON. Now, I’ve written all sorts of fun things about Edmonton, AB over the past year and a half that we’ve been there, but it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

What does this mean?  Why, another cross-country road trip.  Yep, nothing but me, my wife, our cat, and kilometer upon kilometer of prairie.  So, to share my pain fun, we’re gonna be blogging all across Canada.  Keep your eye out, as we’ll update when wireless access permits!

See you in 3,419 kilometers!

Toronto Transit Maps

I’ve had some time recently to putter around with my various Toronto-related Google maps.  I enjoy Gmaps for a number of reasons, but chiefly because making my own maps allows me to remember cool places to visit that I read about or stumble across.

With my recent move to Toronto, I very quickly learned that the Toronto Transit Commission’s website maps are woefully inadequate.  As a newbie trying to find your way around, your options are either a fast loading map of the subway that gives you little context, or a behemoth PDF of the whole transit system which takes forever to load and re-load each time you move around on it.

But what if I want to know which stop is closest to the bar or restaurant I’m going to?  Outta luck.