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Botticelli you keep mentioning how expensive it is for goods in Canada vs the U.S. You went to school in the U.S no? Now you say you work in government in Canada so wouldn't it be fair to say as a Public Servant you have more control in terms of influencing change with all the 'ills' you constantly cite about Canadian living or Toronto vs American cities.. Maybe im off the mark here but I find it annoying that my private sector tax dollars are going towards paying the salaries of individuals so critical of the very system they are responsible for.
I share your sentiment.
I watch public servants doing very little while earning above market salary and benefits every day. And it is close to impossible to fire anything within the government, while private sectors are subject to layoff when economy or performance is not good all the time.
Yes, I am very critical of the system although I benefit from it. Just so you know, while the majority of Ontario public servants voted liberal, I voted conservatives. TO be 100% honest with you, based on the actually work load, at least 50% of the staff at my branch should be let go (I don't mind being let go if deemed dispensable too), however we are expanding, because it is the tax payers' money, so who cares. This is the government which many Canadian believe is taking good care of its citizens and providing good services. What can I possibly do, resign? they will just hire someone else.
bigger government = bigger waste of money. It is ALWAYS true.
I am not refuting any claim saying Toronto's theatre scene is better than in NYC, nobody is that stupid to say that.
I am repudiating your comment that "In terms of attendance per capita, Toronto easily beats NYC and Chicago" because you used the wrong Toronto population (6M instead of 9M).
Even using your figures, NYC has way more than twice the population of Toronto, yet it has way less than twice the theatre attendance (12m vs. 7m). So yes, Toronto easily beats NYC in attendance per capita.
Chicago also has a larger metro population than Toronto, yet less attendance.
So my statement is true. Toronto easily beats NYC and Chicago in live theatre attendance.
It says the world but I have a hard time believing - certainly up there and def busiest in N.A.
I seen many sources say 401 is busiest in the world as well. Whether that's true or not, I wouldn't be surprised.
It's at least busiest in North America for sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
true, but that doesn't prevent someone from waiting a streetcar at Victoria st rather than join everyone else at Yonge st, 80 meters away.
Most people are lazy and they will just wait at the nearest stop. Too often the streetcar/bus stops to pick up one passenger, when the next stop is 2 minutes walking distance away.
Yes, having a stop itself slows down the transit substantially.
Yes, buses are supposed to make "frequent" stops, not at as frequent as every 200 meters. Buses in Cities 5 times denser such as Tokyo or Shanghai or Manhattan don't stop that frequently. And that make the ttc buses/streetcar experience suck.
You're right. It doesn't prevent someone from waiting at a non-major bus stop. But many times, there is just no one waiting at such stops. Have you not been on a bus that passes by a stop where there is no one waiting? It happens all the time.
If there was someone waiting at each and every bus stop the TTC has for every single bus route there would be ultimate traffic across the entire city.
Buses in mega cities like Tokyo, Shanghai or Manhattan don't stop as frequently. You're right about that too. Do you know why though? Well there are three reasons:
I am not saying Toronto is bad, it is not bad, but not nearly as great as many of you guys claim to be. If you visit King West and then Broadway in Manhattan, they are of complete different magnitude. We don't have nearly as many interesting or new shows. Not half, not every a quarter.
By the way, you can't compare metro NYC with GTA, it is not a direct comparison.
Just as the definition difference I pointed about GTA vs Chicagoland, metro NY is 13000 sq mi, while GTA (pop 6m) is only 2750 sq mi. It is the Golden Horseshoe (12000 sq mi) that is more comparable to metro New York City, and Golden Horseshoe has about 9 million people, compared with 20 million for metropolitan New York.
Whenever comparing to metro area of American cities, we should use the Golden Horseshoe area, not GTA.
Toronto is about half of New York and 10% less than Chicago.
When was I comparing Toronto's metro to New York?
And did you see the words "immediate metro...6 million" in my post? There is a difference between "metro" and "immediate metro".
And the statement about "If you visit Broadway...". Umm What does that have to do with anything? I didn't see anyone here mention anything about New York's world renown theatre scene.
I share your sentiment.
I watch public servants doing very little while earning above market salary and benefits every day. And it is close to impossible to fire anything within the government, while private sectors are subject to layoff when economy or performance is not good all the time.
Yes, I am very critical of the system although I benefit from it. Just so you know, while the majority of Ontario public servants voted liberal, I voted conservatives. TO be 100% honest with you, based on the actually work load, at least 50% of the staff at my branch should be let go (I don't mind being let go if deemed dispensable too), however we are expanding, because it is the tax payers' money, so who cares. This is the government which many Canadian believe is taking good care of its citizens and providing good services. What can I possibly do, resign? they will just hire someone else.
bigger government = bigger waste of money. It is ALWAYS true.
So you basically work within a system that does not represent your values and you live in a city and country you aren't exactly proud of - plus there are 4 months of crappy weather and 4 month of so so weather in your eyes where you live... You are singularly the most critical person of Toronto and Canada who lives in Toronto and Canada here on CD. Man you are a glutten for punishment if there ever was one. Do you burn yourself with hot candle wax for fun?
First of all, if you think Toronto and Chicago are "mediocre", why do you keep trolling this thread? If I think two cities being compared are mediocre, I don't even open the thread, let alone post in it.
Second of all, if you don't think other cities have bus routes that average around 13-14 MPH (which is what the slowest of the NYC subway lines average, as you can see from the graph), than you've never travelled outside NYC. In fact, many bus routes in other cities have HIGHER average speeds than 14 MPH.
For example, the Miway bus I take to get to my mom's house takes a scheduled 53 minutes to go about 15 miles. That's over 16 MPH. There are even TTC bus routes that average over 14 MPH. The fact that you think other cities don't have bus routes that average over 14 MPH is hilarious.
Even the TTC bus I recently took every morning from Victoria Park subway station to my work took about 30 minutes to travel about 6.5 miles - an average of about 13 MPH. Roughly the same as NYC's slowest slowest subway lines.
You need to get out and travel if you don't think other cities have bus routes that can average 13-14 MPH.
On the link I gave, there are 11 NYC subway lines that average under 16 MPH. And yes, 16 MPH is barely faster than some bus routes in other cities. In fact, there are some bus routes that average faster than that. The average bus speed in cities outside NYC is about 11-12 MPH. That's barely slower (only a few MPH) than many of NYC's subway lines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TowerMan2
Why are you trying so hard to troll? You've already said both cities are mediocre. So just don't post here anymore.
Never in my life have I seen someone "try so hard" when it comes to two cities they think are mediocre.
And how is pointing out that many other cities have bus speeds barely lower than NYC's snail-like subway (probably the slowest in the entire world) "trying to hard"? That's not trying hard. That's stating a fact. It must really bother you that other cities have some bus routes that average higher speeds than some of the NYC subway lines. If it didn't bother you, you wouldn't have even responded to that statement.
Now run along and catch your subway train. You've got a long, slow ride ahead.
Because I love fish in a barrel?
Also, if you want to talk about NYC subways, then did you actually check the times for them? G train is supposed be the worst among the regular, non-shuttle, lines and it's 11.7 miles in 31 minutes. Does that math work out for you?
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 08-03-2014 at 06:10 PM..
No. It's because you're a troll. If I find both cities mediocre, I don't even open the thread. Why can't you do the same? Besides, you live in Brooklyn. You have no place calling Toronto or Chicago mediocre, troll.
Quote:
Also, if you want to talk about NYC subways, then did you actually check the times for them? G train is supposed be the worst among the regular, non-shuttle, lines and it's 11.7 miles in 31 minutes. Does that math work out for you?
Did you actually check the link I posted? The G Train averages 13.5 MPH. Here is the link again, since apparently you were incapable of reading it the first time:
It's a little hard to read with the small print, but it's 13.5 MPH. I'm sure even you are capable of reading that. If you think they're lying, take it up with the website that posted it.
Now run along and troll elsewhere. I know you've nothing better to do in that crack-infested sewer you live in, but at least try.
So you basically work within a system that does not represent your values and you live in a city and country you aren't exactly proud of - plus there are 4 months of crappy weather and 4 month of so so weather in your eyes where you live... You are singularly the most critical person of Toronto and Canada who lives in Toronto and Canada here on CD. Man you are a glutten for punishment if there ever was one. Do you burn yourself with hot candle wax for fun?
fusion2, I love your consistent boosting of Toronto, despite our difference. I think you truly love this city and I respect that.
The matter of fact is, I don't consider Toronto a bad city to live in at all. You often find me criticize it only in the context of big games (such as comparing to NYC, LA, Chicago etc) or Toronto homers praising it to the sky filled with bias. My opinion is that there are very few American cities I would actually consider leaving Toronto for all things considered, and Chicago could be one of them (but not NYC or San Fran which people seem to rave about so much on this forum) - vibrant downtown, plenty of retail, beautiful waterfront, amazing architecture, excellent transit, great food, affordable housing price, solid job market (meaning plenty of finance related jobs), less snowy than Toronto. What's not to like? The crime and poverty are problems but that doesn't really affect my COL on a daily basis so it is really less of a concern as long as I know what areas to avoid.
fusion2, I love your consistent boosting of Toronto, despite our difference. I think you truly love this city and I respect that.
The matter of fact is, I don't consider Toronto a bad city to live in at all. You often find me criticize it only in the context of big games (such as comparing to NYC, LA, Chicago etc) or Toronto homers praising it to the sky filled with bias. My opinion is that there are very few American cities I would actually consider leaving Toronto for all things considered, and Chicago could be one of them (but not NYC or San Fran which people seem to rave about so much on this forum) - vibrant downtown, plenty of retail, beautiful waterfront, amazing architecture, excellent transit, great food, affordable housing price, solid job market (meaning plenty of finance related jobs), less snowy than Toronto. What's not to like? The crime and poverty are problems but that doesn't really affect my COL on a daily basis so it is really less of a concern as long as I know what areas to avoid.
Actually I post about Toronto not so much because im a booster but because I know more about it than any other city - not sure why that would constitute me as a booster Botticelli ?? Think about that.
Chicago is a great city minus its pockets of violence... I also never said Toronto was better than Chicago - not once.. There are elements in each that are better than the other but overall I think the cities are on an equal footing in the overall pecking order. Many including those from Toronto actually tend to dismiss what is appealing about it from a visitors standpoint because they have just gotten used to it. Chicago probably is a bit higher in the global stage but Toronto is a city on the move! You may not appreciate the development with some validy obviously but on the whole T.O just seems to me the city with the momentum.. If the last few decades are any sign than I think you will find in the next decade or two that T.O will move past Chicagoand I think that is a fair assumption!
Btw you have periodic boosterism posts yourself so nice to see some balance from you...
Now if you want to see some serious boosterism from me - if I was from Madrid and Istanbul watch out lol.. Im pretty aware of Toronto's strengths and weaknesses Botticelli belive me.
No. It's because you're a troll. If I find both cities mediocre, I don't even open the thread. Why can't you do the same? Besides, you live in Brooklyn. You have no place calling Toronto or Chicago mediocre, troll.
If we're talking urban amenities, Brooklyn absolutely destroys Chicago and Toronto. Brooklyn is about as good as it gets, anywhere, if you really like urban neighborhoods.
But per Toronto and Chicago, one has to go with Chicago. Yes, there's the violence and crap neighborhoods, but overall a significantly more important city, with just more of almost everything.
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