Molybdenum

It was actually ramp deployment to platforms in addition to the door threshold problem you mentioned. They have moved the joint in the middle of the ramp, making the "short" ramp to the platforms about 100mm longer to decrease the slope to platforms.To decrease the slope down to the street would require making the "long" ramp longer, which hasn't happened. To address the on-street issues, Operators will be required to assist wheelchair users up the ramp if requested.

They published ride guides with "June 2012" and "Fall 2012" dates on them.

Agreed, I've always felt that the current arrangement of red and green on these new maps is completely backwards. I ride these trains nearly every day yet each time I see the map and I see the red lights I still find myself thinking "no, you can't go there, we've already passed those stations!" while for green I think "yes, these stations are coming up next." But maybe that's just us? Does anyone think the map is more logical in its current form?

Going east on the 501 I heard that announcement at John St (or possibly McCaul, not quite sure).

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From this week's Waterfront Toronto Queen's Quay Construction Update: "All transit priority signals have been deactivated along Queens Quay with the exception of the signal at the York/Queens Quay intersection. The in-ground sensor at that intersection is not functioning so the signal must be manually reprogrammed before it can be deactivated. Waterfront Toronto is working with the City of Toronto to ensure this repair is made promptly." http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/uploads/documents/construction_notice_10___stage1_1.pdf

I don't think it will be permanent. Yesterday I noticed that they've painted a reserved bus lane diamond on the right lane of Jeanne Mance just south of de Maisonneuve outside the metro entrance. Why bother with that if the buses won't be returning?

This is the same thing that happened when the TTC introduced the 192 Airport Rocket in Toronto. It started off with crummy frequencies but soon proved to be so popular that it now runs every 9 or 10 mins for much of the day, 7 days a week.

Speaking of tramways, I noticed yesterday that they've started excavating the old streetcar track on Ste-Catherine St in the Peel/McGill college area that's been poking through the pavement for a while now. Lots of old wooden ties and track lying around in the work zone. Almost looks the same as when they do streetcar track construction in Toronto!

Actually, it's really quite simple, and in fact, it is the same setup that Montreal has, except it's $3/day instead of $5. The same fee structure has been in place since Bixi's Ottawa debut and hasn't changed since. You pay $3 to have unlimited access to the bicycles for 24 hours. Each time you take one, the first 30 minutes are free. It's only if you take it for more than 30 minutes that you have to pay additional per half hour fees. Bixi Ottawa's service hours are 7am to 10pm, and the fees I've just described apply during that time. See http://ottawa-gatineau.bixi.com/fees

I'm glad you brought this up! It's related to what I'm doing my thesis on. It's a common misconception that elevators in public transit stations are installed solely for the benefit of wheelchair users. In fact, many groups benefit from them including the elderly, parents with strollers, people with large bags/luggage, cyclists, people with injuries such as sprained ankles/broken legs, etc... The whole point is to design for universal access, meaning that everyone has the same opportunity to use the transit system as anyone else. Take a moment to think of life as a person with a disability who currently relies on the STM's paratransit service. Say you want to go shopping or out to the movies for the evening. You better have booked your trip days in advance because there's a good chance that when you call up the STM at the last minute they won't be able to accommodate you because there's no buses available. Or even if you do get your trip booked for say, 3pm. Be prepared to get there at least 5 mins early and potentially wait up to a half hour after that for your bus to show up. Since the service is shared, hope you don't mind gallivanting around for up to an hour with other paratransit users before you finally get to your destination. And say you're just going to the bank, or going to do something else where you just need to be there for a short period of time. Well, you'll have to wait to go back home, or to your next destination, for 60 minutes before you can catch your next bus. Needless to say, given the imperfect nature of paratransit dial-a-bus service, many persons with disabilities would love to be able to have the freedom to hop on the metro whenever they please. Not to mention that Paratransit is also incredibly expensive to provide. In Toronto, for example, the TTCs Wheel-Trans service requires an operating subsidy of over $30 for each and every ride taken ($60/round trip). Over the long term, that $30 per ride could buy a lot of elevators! (If anyone has STM stats for their paratransit service, I would be very interested to see what they are). Oh, and in addition to Lionel Groulx and Bonaventure, Berri, Cote Vertu, and Henri-Bourassa will also have elevators by next year.

Perhaps they do. The most likely candidate is 1000 de la Gauchetiere which is right on top of the station. Still, you would think that construction would have started there so the elevator could be ready at the same time as the metro elevators. As for Place Bonaventure, both ways in from the metro currently involve going up long escalators with no elevators in sight. The elevator to the Marriott seems to be the only one to street level at this station, but with those stairs between it and the metro it's useless for someone in a wheelchair.

Does anyone here know the specifics of the accessibility plan for the Bonaventure metro station? I see that the elevators between the platform levels and the mezzanine are well under construction, but once on the mezzanine level how is someone in a wheelchair supposed to exit the station? There doesn't appear to be another elevator to street level under construction, and as far as I can tell, none of the other buildings connected to the station have an elevator to the metro level. Any ideas?

Yes, you can use any turnstile. Instead of the usual single beep and a green light, the turnstile will beep twice and give you a yellow light with a message to show your ID. You can even use the ones at McGill by the Eaton Centre with the sign above saying regular fare users only

You'll only need 5, seeing as Heath St. to mezzanine already has an elevator and one for the south side of St. Clair is unnecessary. In reality, it's doubtful that elevators will be built for the Heath St. entrance, just like most other automatic entrances, so only 3 will be required.