Fast but not scary fast.
Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local artist Jerry Waese.
STREET SCENE: Afternoon Streetcar
By Jerry Waese
Read more articles by Jerry Waese
Canadian Urbanism Uncovered
3 comments
I was once on a crowded streetcar in the late afternoon, and the driver came over the PA and asked the grumbly crowd, “Do you want to get there safe, or do you want to get there fast?”
There was silence for a moment, then a unanimous “Fast!”
The driver said, “That’s what I thought. Now find a seat or hang on to a pole.”
I love that story!
Indeed, being in a speeding ALRV on Queen St. you realize your fate is at least partly in the hands of an idiot cabdriver seeing a fare across the street and doing a U-turn without checking.
I’m pretty sure that buses could not operate along Queen St. as fast as streetcars can–no steering worries with the streetcars: either they have clearance, or they don’t.
An empty ALRV is some 40,000kg; add a hundred and fifty passengers and we’re talking something like 50,000kg. Stay out of the way or be crushed!