Car Modern 2011

Today was a mixture of fog, rain and snow which perfectly reflects the ongoing election campaigns - partly confusing with a chance of victory. Polls continue to favour the Conservative party so people wait for a game changer or we head into another Conservative minority or maybe even a majority government this time.
Sometimes we have a vague idea that we will probably vote for a certain party and will only change our mind if they say something that makes us mad, or if the other party says something so great that it completely changes our mind about the candidate.

I don't really understand the commercial that says "A vote for the Liberals is a vote for Michael Ignatieff" because I am pretty sure that's the way it has always been. You vote for both the local representative and the leader of the party when you cast your vote. Conversely, a vote for the Conservatives is a vote for Stephen Harper. If that's the most negative advertising that's going to happen I will be impressed by how civil the election is being run.
We need everyone to jump on the streetcar, or bandwagon, and get out there and vote on election day May 2nd, 2011. You can pick one of the five main parties (Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Bloc Quebecois or the Green Party) or chose an independent or other registered political party like the Pirate Party of Canada or the Rhinoceros Party.

Remember, you can't talk about the election without talking about parties!

A Toronto Fire Department High Rise Unit blows past a TTC streetcar on Queen Street West as it goes into the Yonge Street intersection. Not too much slows down the pace of Torontonians so everyone goes about their business, including climbing into the streetcar.

Push it real good! Today was gorgeous with a beautiful sun giving us plenty of Vitamin D as spring continues to warm up the City of Toronto - ha, Barrie probably got a few inches of snow, especially with all that lake effect flurries they always seem to have - suck on that Barrie! As the snow starts to melt we are left with the all the dirty, white salt stains everywhere, it's not just on your uggs. This then is the season of the pothole (you can report Toronto potholes on this page) and construction activity that really screws up your travel plans - so please merge with no road rage.

The sheer scale of many civil projects, like bridges and buildings, tend to make many objects art installations and not merely functional creations. Toronto's own space needle, otherwise known as the CN Tower, really makes the Toronto skyline. I look for the CN Tower as I come down from the Niagara Escarpment and feel comfortable knowing where Toronto is. The Gardiner Expressway is like that. One of my favourite views is down near the Air Canada Centre (above).
It brings thousands of people into and out of the City, day in and day out - except for maintenance or accidents, and it's raised presence has annoyed many people, but as I have said before, the highway is a lot smaller than the wall of condos that Toronto has built along the shores of Lake Ontario.
Part of the Gardiner along the far eastern reaches of Lakeshore Boulevard have a series of vertical supports left in place as an X marks the spot tribute and art installation of the Gardiner. One day it will be too expensive to maintain and too expensive to replace (or put underground) and it will come down, and that time won't be that far in the future. On that day we will miss it when it worked and how it looked when it worked.
In the downtown core the east and westbound lanes are separated by a small wall of vertical green fins. When you come in from the west you approach a wall of cranes as they construct new buildings which of course include many more condos. It's time to get your down payment ready and get a condo of your own, I think interest rates on mortgages are still low, low, low!

Commuting in and out of Toronto is always a challenge as the roads are always busy but at rush hour the simple 45 minute drive becomes two and a half hours. Add in the cost of parking and many people end up using public transit. Most public transportation works only within a municipality, although some routes do mingle, so that if you travel through more than one municipality the best bet is GO Transit. Not surprisingly the trains have the same shortcomings as any other method; weather and breakdowns can happen at any time - but sometimes it seems like Friday is the day for breakdowns.
Today, yes a Friday, the Georgetown line had a major problem as the 4:15pm train from Union Station decided to break down in Malton right beside the International Centre. For an hour and a half they worked on the train but could not get it running. Finally another train came and pushed the broken down train to the Bramalea station where we got out of old unfaithful and moved into the working train.

Continuing my night time photographic excursion I end up along the Gardiner Expressway and later walked around the Exhibition grounds. The bridge reconstruction work has created large piles of excavated materials that overlook the highway. I climbed one of the little mountains - alone with no Sherpas, and set up my tripod looking towards the downtown core. The long exposure creates rivers of light flowing through the city on the divided highway which brings traffic into Toronto along the edge of Lake Ontario.

In the CNE grounds the wind turbine spins and turns the world with it's power. I hate it when it stops spinning and the world lurches to a stop. I wanted to take a shot of this structure ever since I saw a shot my brother had taken.

Those guys with motorcycles have it made with biker chicks that like to raise their tops and who like to wear leather chaps in the warm summer sun. Yes, those guys are bad ass and their bikes are even badder, or madder, whatever is more appropriate. These bikes have scary skulls and spokes in the tires that will cut off your hands if you should happen to stick them in the wheels while they are driving down the road.
The next Port Dover Friday the 13th motorcycle rally will be Friday, May 13, 2011 so get those bikes shined up and the MILFs ready to roll.

It's not the naked bike ride but bikes are indeed back in town for the 2011 Toronto International Bicycle Show at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. The snow will soon be gone so it's a good time to buy those bikes and get out on the many bike trails around the City of Toronto.

The show runs until Sunday night so get the spandex out and get down to the CNE grounds.

It already is if you need it to get around. The provincial government continues with it's work on the bill that will declare the TTC an essential service which would not allow it's workforce to strike or do any form of work stoppage. Debate on the bill which was requested by the City of Toronto, was ended today at the Ontario Legislature. A final vote will be held in March for Bill 150 titled "Toronto Transit Commission Labour Resolution Act, 2011."

Recently I have been getting lost in the terminals of Toronto's Pearson Airport. One time I got so lost I ended back in the days of the dinosaurs. A big raptor was trying to get a small fry. I wasn't deluded, the dinosaurs were on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum which provided skeleton casts of Jurassic beasts Allosaurus (the big one) and Othnielia (the small herbivore known as lunch meat).

First of all let's just note that the temperature is above freezing and will stay that way for a few days - I think that little rodent Wiarton Willie was bang on for his 2011 prediction of an early spring. Secondly let's think of the streets of Toronto as the snow starts to melt and happiness returns to the residents of the city, long hidden below ground in the PATH system. Mostly the roads are for cars, buses and taxis - where people forget that they tend to get run over and Toronto averages around 30 fatalities a year - with the highest per capita pedestrian collision rate of any other Canadian city.
The highest number of incidents occur when vehicles turn left at an intersection and hit someone walking with the right of way - during rush hours. Makes sense, when you try to turn in the city pedestrians know they have the right of way and tend not to think of vehicles, the driver on the other hand is trying not to get into an accident with another car and misses people in the walkway. Now more of our intersections are getting the Beatles Abbey Road treatment with the large stripes so that the contrast helps drivers see the pedestrians.

NO stopping, standing or parking! Toronto parking rules can be quite confusing, especially when it comes to making turns. Sometimes you have to keep traffic moving so the City has restrictions on some streets during certain times.

The green Urban Clearway signs are really retro, they seem like they came out of the nuclear cold war times. Fallout would have to travel in the direction of the green arrow, no deviations or alternatives, ending at Lake Ontario.

The temperatures are starting to hit a shocking -25 degrees Celsius (forecast for overnight on Sunday the 23rd) during the cold winter nights in Toronto (the average high temperature at this time of year is -2). Steam rises from the TD Canada Trust Tower in the early morning, above photo. Damn, that is pretty chilly - I am tempted to wear my Snuggie around the city. To check the Toronto weather forecast check the appropriately named website Weather Network.
Instead of walking in the cold, wet streets getting salt on your clothes, instead walk through the PATH underground system, take a Beck Taxi (416-751-5555 always there because we're everywhere - long line of taxis along snow covered street, above) or join the crowds on public transit with the TTC (streetcar on Queen Street East, below).

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw the six humongous Molson Coors beer vats parked on the side of the road. With the weather being cold (it is winter and all) I thought I might see a blue mountain on the side of the large cans saying that the beer was the right temperature. When I didn't find the blue mountain I looked for the mug handles, figuring these babies were made for Octoberfest and some buxom beer maid carrying all six mugs in her hands - no go with the handles either. For some reason they have no beer in the containers. Noooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Made in Germany each large fermenting unit holds almost 1 million bottles of beer (now that's a keg). The trip to the Toronto Brewery is a logistical nightmare and to reduce transportation and traffic issues the convoy travels at night, parking during the day along the side of the road. They have a twitter account documenting the movement and his latest tweet ends with "Cheers"! Mmm, beer.
I wasted a bunch of time waiting for this vat to move but after a few hours I found out that it is staying where it  is beside the Steam Whistle Brewery.

They came, they roared, they conquered - plus there were some beautiful girls. The motorcycles filled a lot of halls at the Toronto International Centre for the 2011 North American International Motorcycle Supershow during January 7-9.