{"id":5577,"date":"2009-07-20T08:08:02","date_gmt":"2009-07-20T12:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=5577"},"modified":"2009-07-20T12:32:58","modified_gmt":"2009-07-20T16:32:58","slug":"do-not-pass-go-silly-pedestrian-barriers-to-transit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2009\/07\/20\/do-not-pass-go-silly-pedestrian-barriers-to-transit\/","title":{"rendered":"Do not pass GO: Silly pedestrian barriers to transit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’m not sure what it is about GO Transit<\/a>. I want to think that it is an essential part of our public transit system. In many respects, it is: by providing a well-used commuter service, it has certainly reduced the need for highway expansion, which was its original intent (to address the need to widen the QEW<\/a>). Yet despite some promising signs<\/a>, GO has remained a auto-centric transit service. Instead of building new and larger highways, GO instead builds new and larger parking lots.<\/p>\n

This car-centric approach is understandable to a degree. Some of its stations are in places where local public transit is limited tor non-existent, like Georgetown. Some stations, like Bramalea<\/a>, Meadowvale<\/a>, or Pickering<\/a> aren’t going to easily transform into vibrant, transit-oriented communities. The only way to get some people from driving downtown is to build commuter stations with convenient parking in which to leave the car instead.<\/p>\n

But GO’s auto-centric focus makes one wonder if the consultants, designers and engineers are oblivious to the needs of pedestrians. Maple, for example, is a station in a residential area.<\/a> Yet it is completely fenced off from the subdivisions across the tracks. Perhaps there is the worry about pedestrians crossing the tracks illegally and dangerously, but at least a proper path down to Major Mackenzie would make some sense.<\/p>\n

But the best example of this that I have seen is at Langstaff GO Station<\/a>. Last year, a pedestrian bridge was finally built, connecting the GO trains (and the 407 corridor buses) with the York Region Transit\/Viva and GO airport express buses on the other side of the busy CN Bala Subdivisions. The bridge is impressive, with elevators and stairwells on both sides, and provides an useful and important link.<\/p>\n

But what I don’t understand is all the necessary fences. One fence divides the walkway from the railway. Fine, as the Bala Subdivision is not only a GO route, but also CN’s busy freight corridor to the north and Western Canada. But there’s also a fence blocking the path to the bridge to the adjacent big box plaza, specifically a Home Depot and a Tim Horton’s.<\/p>\n

\"\"Do not pass GO.<\/em>
\nNeither your average GO Station nor your average power centre is very pedestrian friendly. Even so, why would there be the expense and effort to barricade the two apart? The driveway that is beside the fence is not at all busy, and otherwise, one could, at least, grab a coffee or a cauking gun on their way home on Viva. As you can see in the first picture above, a very well-worn, wide, dirt path exists between the two, and wouldn’t deter commuters to use the lot as a park-and-ride, especially as the fence does not block access at all to the GO station from the lot. In the length of the fence, one could build a very shallow ramp that would at least negate the need for an elevator and power-assisted automatic doors at the bridge entrance.<\/p>\n

However, on the Viva\/YRT side, pedestrians must cross active bus driveways to reach the GO and YRT\/Viva buses. An at-grade hazard we are to accept, but of course, pedestrians can not be trusted with trains, with their bells, lights and whistles. You’d even think even a simple pedestrian grade crossing, with bells and lights and gates, would have been cheaper and just as safe than the bridge? At least people in wheelchairs wouldn’t face elevator outages, all too<\/a> common<\/a> in our transit systems.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

CN freight train from Langstaff\/Richmond Hill Centre bridge<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Richmond Hill Centre Terminal from bridge<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m not sure what it is about GO Transit. I want to think that it is an essential part of our public transit system. In many respects, it is: by providing a well-used commuter service, it has certainly reduced the need for highway expansion, which was its original intent (to address the need to widenContinue reading “Do not pass GO: Silly pedestrian barriers to transit”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,8,6],"tags":[457,12751,2896,3505,3200,12754,12755,12753,3310,6642,12752,57,775,6740],"class_list":["post-5577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infrastructure","category-transit","category-walking","tag-canada","tag-car-centric-approach","tag-georgetown","tag-go-station","tag-home-depot","tag-langstaff-go-station","tag-langstaffrichmond-hill-centre","tag-langstaffrichmond-hill-centre-bridge-richmond-hill-centre-terminal","tag-mackenzie","tag-major","tag-north-canada","tag-the-905","tag-transit-systems","tag-western-canada"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo not pass GO: Silly pedestrian barriers to transit - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2009\/07\/20\/do-not-pass-go-silly-pedestrian-barriers-to-transit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do not pass GO: Silly pedestrian barriers to transit - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’m not sure what it is about GO Transit. 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