Anglais

Crowded buses, long commutes — why transit is top of mind for Toronto voters

Published

6 années ago

septembre 26, 2018

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By Ben SpurrTransportation Reporter

Tues., Sept. 25, 2018

As the Oct. 22 municipal election draws nearer, we take a look at some of the most pressing challenges facing Toronto, what voters think, and how mayoral candidates propose to tackle them.

The Issue: Public transit hasn’t kept up with population growth, and residents face a daily challenge on overcrowded bus lines and an inadequate subway network that some believe is too expensive to ride.

Riley Peterson, 19, lives near Keele St. and Eglinton Ave. W. She wants to go back to school at the University of Toronto Scarborough, but is deterred by the prospect of a four-hour round-trip daily commute. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star)

Riley Peterson wants to go back to school, and has her sights set on the city studies program at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

There’s only one thing stopping her: she’s not sure she could endure what she predicts would be a four-hour round-trip commute on the TTC every day.

Peterson, 19, lives near Keele St. and Eglinton Ave. in York South—Weston, and U of T Scarborough, the only school that offers the program she wants, is on the other side of town.

Peterson already commutes about 90 minutes to a job downtown at a progressive think tank, often waking up before 6 a.m. to take a bus, subway and then streetcar, a daily journey she calls “exhausting.”

She says local TTC service isn’t much better. “I have a terrible experience with the Jane bus,” she said, describing regular wait times of up to 20 minutes. “The 89 Weston bus is always crowded, and I wait a long time for that, too.”

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is set to open in 2021, and a stop that’s part of Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan could be built at St. Clair—Old Weston by 2025.

But Peterson, who has volunteered for local council candidate Chiara Padovani, said even those improvements will only go so far to help transit riders in her community, which has a median income of $53,292, more than $12,000 below the city as a whole.

She says the city needs a multi-pronged approach to improving transit. “It would be increased bus service, lower TTC fares, and build rapid transit in the suburbs,” she said.

Peterson isn’t alone in thinking transit could be improved. A new poll of 944 Toronto residents conducted by Forum Research found 70 per cent of respondents have concerns about public transit.

About one-third, or 31 per cent, said not enough subway lines is the biggest problem, while roughly the same portion cited overcrowding as the main issue. Thirteen per cent said unreliable service was their biggest concern, while one in 10 cited the high cost of fares.

Three mayoral candidates — Jennifer Keesmaat, Sarah Climenhaga, and Saron Gebresellassi — will outline their plans to address those concerns Wednesday evening at a transit-focused debate at U of T Scarborough.

Mayor Tory will skip the event to attend a campaign fundraiser at the Lambton Golf and Country Club in Etobicoke. His campaign says organizers were aware he had a conflict weeks ago but didn’t reschedule. The organizers dispute that account.

When it comes to building new lines, Tory and Keesmaat, considered the two main challengers in the Oct. 22 vote, don’t plan to deviate significantly from the city’s council-endorsed transit plan.

Both Tory and Keesmaat, who is Toronto’s former chief planner, support building a network of light-rail transit on the waterfront, and extending the Eglinton LRT west to Pearson airport, and east to U of T Scarborough.

Both back the relief line, the proposed $6.8-billion subway that would link the eastern end of Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) to downtown, although Keesmaat has accused Tory of allowing the project to stall, a charge the mayor denies.

Tory wants to go ahead with building six new “SmartTrack” stations on GO lines within Toronto, at a cost of up to $1.46 billion. Keesmaat has slammed Tory’s SmartTrack plan as a “mirage,” but would still build four of the six stops. She also proposes to build an LRT on Jane St.

Neither oppose the controversial Scarborough subway extension, although Keesmaat says she would withdraw $910 million in city funding for the project if Premier Doug Ford follows through on his plan to add two stops to the line. The extra stops could add more than $1 billion to the cost.

Keesmaat would reallocate the city’s contribution to build the Eglinton East LRT, a move Tory says would jeopardize the subway.

Cameron MacLeod, executive director of non-partisan transit advocacy group CodeRedTO, said it’s a good thing there’s so much overlap between Keesmaat’s and Tory’s platforms because it makes it more likely the proposed lines will get built.

“The fact that the two major candidates are each working from a fairly similar set of goals, and a fairly similar set of priorities, that’s positive in terms of creating more pressure towards (completing) those projects,” he said.

Anna Kramer, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s department of planning and geography, says what’s missing from the pair’s platforms are firm targets for improving transit service.

“The political focus is often on capital funding for rail projects, and not on the operational budgets to improve service levels,” she said.

Kramer said she’d like to see more emphasis on less expensive, but still effective, measures to alleviate problems such as “bunching” on busy bus routes. She suggests the candidates should take up ideas such as introducing all-door boarding on crowded bus lines, and creating dedicated bus lanes.

Keesmaat has promised “enhanced bus service where appropriate” but offered few specifics.

Tory has also not set any improved service targets, but has cited his administration’s investment in the TTC; the city subsidy to the transit agency grew from $430 million in 2014 to $578 million in 2018. However, only a portion of the increase went toward improving service.

Tory has also emphasized policies his administration has enacted to make transit more affordable, like the introduction of the rule that lets kids younger than 13 ride free, the new two-hour timed transfer policy, and the Fair Pass discount for low-income riders.

Those initiatives have reduced the cost of transit for some, but regular TTC fares have increased in three of Tory’s four years as mayor. Since 2014, the price of a token has increased by 11 per cent, and the price of a Metropass has jumped 9 per cent.

Gebresellassi’s transit platform centres on an ambitious promise to “set Toronto on a path towards” making transit free for everyone, a policy that would likely require the city to increase its net TTC spending by over $1.2 billion.

Climenhaga has promised to freeze TTC fares for four years, and also to look into making transit free “to all who wish to ride.”

The Forum poll was conducted by interactive voice response telephone survey between Sept. 20 and 24. It’s considered accurate to plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.