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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

4 comments

  1. It doesn’t surprise me that Bombardier won the replacement contract for the downtown streetcars but I hope that there is more competition for the Transit City lines.

    The TC lines, being new build, should not include the tight curves and steep gradients which characterise the downtown lines and therefore more “off the shelf” streetcars should be able to be put forward, especially since these lines are likely to be similar to those in the 905 and Hamilton.

    This could then mean a manufacturer like Siemens or Alstom setting up a line somewhere like Windsor or Oshawa to supply not only Toronto but projects in Montreal, Ottawa and elsewhere. With sufficient investment in light rail transit there could be enough work for Bombardier to fill their boots on taxpayers dimes while sharing the field with another Canadian line.

  2. I can’t say I’m too upset about Bombardier getting the contract. I do hope that the final product speaks more clearly to Toronto’s streetcar heritage than the models on display last year at the Ex. At the time, I wrote opined that something as simple as a centre headlight (a fixture on our cars since before the Peter Witt’s) could go a long way to preserving the identity and history of our great streetcar system.

    If anyone’s curious…the full post is here: http://joshuahind.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/new-streetcars-heavy-on-looks-light-on-heritage/

  3. I think we need a few small custom elements on our streetcars to distinguish them from other cities. As Josh said, it wouldn’t have to be that major. Hopefully there will very little white in their paint schemes like the current CLRVs.

  4. In fairness, the models at the Ex weren’t mockups, they were merely off-the-shelf cars to give the general idea.

    Meanwhile, the TTC are zealous guardians of our heritage so nothing to fear eh? (*cough* Museum *cough* typeface and signage *cough* Pape Station *cough cough cough*)