Results tagged “bradross”

Since November 23 the TTC has been running an experiment at Bloor-Yonge station. The goal: to try to increase the subway line's capacity during the morning rush hour (7 to 10 a.m.) by decreasing train dwell times (the amount of time a train sits in the station). During peak hours, passengers transferring from the Bloor line to the Yonge-University-Spadina line tend to cluster at north end of the station’s southbound platform, forming a bottleneck that delays trains. To spread the load, the TTC has erected temporary barriers between the platform and the southbound staircases that link the lines, placed workers in key positions to shift riders to the south end of the platform, and stationed staff at the train doors to direct traffic and ensure that people board in an orderly fashion. We visited Bloor-Yonge station on Thursday and were pleasantly surprised by the system’s efficiency: the setup was simple, the TTC workers were helpful, and overall, the station didn’t feel as congested.

Aha! we thought, when news of the TTC's long-anticipated project to put art on our beloved Metropasses landed in our inbox: they get it! By issuing a public call for submissions of interest, the TTC was demonstrating not only a sensitivity to the small aesthetic details that can brighten our day, but giving Torontonians the opportunity to actively engage with the transit system on which they are most often merely passive riders. Maybe, we even dared think, Valentine Makhouleen's nifty designs might actually be put to use.

["TO in 6 Words" is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—Torontonians describing their city, in brief. Put together by Spotlight Toronto's Suresh Doss and Torontoist's own Jaime Woo, the video (above) features locals such as David Miller and Jamie Kennedy first introducing themselves, then naming their favourite part of the city, and then doing their best to sum up a city both too complex and too multiple to ever be summed up. Torontoist is very happy to debut the video here; Jaime's description of the project and its genesis follows below.—DAVID TOPPING]

It's been a little over two years since Adam Giambrone became Chair of the TTC, and a little less than one since Brad Ross joined him to become the organization's Director of Communications. Now, it's hard to imagine the TTC without them: Giambrone has ushered in improvement after improvement, as well as shepherded Transit City, a plan so ambitious it hardly seems Torontonian; and Ross has kept the public, the media, Twitter users, and Torontoist commenters all in the loop.

     

When TTC spokesperson (and esteemed Torontoist commenter) Brad Ross contacted YouTube superstars Syrus and Randal, they figured they were about to be hit with a cease and desist for their parody music video "I Get On (the TTC)." Turns out he just wanted to invite the pair to today's public TTC meeting at City Hall to honour them and give them free January metropasses.

The public service announcement on the left is courtesy of the TTC. The public service announcement on the right is courtesy of the MTA. On Friday morning, Accordion Guy Joey deVilla juxtaposed the two on his blog, along with the question "who plagiarized whom?"