Update:

After she  tried to open the GO Train door, Francine Leriche was arrested, handcuffed and subsequently issued a ticket

Passengers inside the Union GO Station

see source

Francine Leriche, a Mississauga mother of two, said she was rushing home for a family gathering on Tuesday at 6 p.m., when the incident occurred.

Francine Leriche, poses in front of Union Station, where she says she was forcibly detained and ticketed by a transit officer for holding the door to a train that people were trying to board.
LUCAS OLENIUK / TORONTO STAR

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins confirmed the arrest and ticketing took place. “Sometimes people do things that put everybody else at risk, and we have to take action,” she said.

Update:

The construction will lead to lengthy inevitable delays in the daily commute on Avenue Road

see source

A series of major road repairs are coming to Toronto streets, including a $6-million reconstruction project along Avenue Road.

According to a statement issued earlier this year, the city will spend more than $155 million on road and bridge repairs in 2013. This includes a major reconstruction project on Avenue Road from Bloor Street West to Lawrence Avenue West due to start Monday and likely continue until mid-September.

10 km/h Speed Limit – motorists will be forced to utlize their patience when traffic slows down and additional time is required for the commute, due to the lengthy construction.

The city says it will try and keep one lane open in both directions along Avenue Road at all times to accommodate traffic.

“What we’re doing is coming back in … to do the final permanent repairs so the road is nice and smooth,” Jacqueline White from the city’s Transportation Services said. “Please be patient. It will be better when it’s done.”

Local storeowner Jo-Ann Delvecchio, who has already watched the road undergo several phases of repairs, is not looking forward to seeing it dug up again.

“We’re upset because it stops the flow of traffic here and parking,” she said.

People in the area approached by CTV Toronto had mixed views on the project.

“There’s really no good time to do it,” one pedestrian said.

Another said she didn’t mind the construction, explaining: “This is the price you pay for progress.”

In total, the city expects to complete 100 kilometres of road resurfacing work in 2013.

Here is a map of some major roads you’ll want to avoid as they undergo repairs this summer.

Click on a specific project to see details about the kind of work planned there.

View 2013 Top Toronto Road Projects in a larger map

Update:

More spaces will be added to the park and ride lot at Château-Pierrefonds Ave. and Pierrefonds Blvd. for users of the STM’s 470 and 485 express buses.  Photograph by: John Mahoney , Gazette Files

see source

MONTREAL – Quebec announced a new reserved bus lane on Côte St-Luc Rd. but it’s unclear where it will go and when it will open.

The lane is one element of a $13.3-million plan announced Friday by Quebec Transport Minister Sylvain Gaudreault to reduce the impact of road work by encouraging drivers to use transit or to carpool.

Gaudreault said most of the new measures will be completed this year.

But the Société de transport de Montréal could provide few details about the Côte St-Luc Rd. bus lane, except to say it will be west of the Décarie Expressway.

The length of the lane has not been determined, said STM spokesperson Amélie Régis.

The STM’s long-term plan is for a lane that would run 8.2 kilometres, between Westminster Ave. and the Décarie Expressway.

“However, discussions are still ongoing with the municipalities involved,” Régis said.

She could not say whether the new lane will be put in place this year.

Four STM buses travel on Côte St-Luc — the 66, 102, 103 and 420.

In addition to the new lane on Côte-St-Luc, Quebec announced it will extend a reserved lane on the shoulder of Highway 440 in Laval.

It will be an extension to a lane already in place on the 440 between Montée St-François and Highway 25. The new 1.5-kilometre stretch will be between Montée St-François and Pie-IX Blvd.

This lane will be created in 2013, said Claudia Martin, a spokesperson for the AMT, which will be responsible for the Laval lane.

The Société de transport de Laval’s 901 bus uses Highway 440 to shuttle passengers between eastern Laval and the Cartier métro station.

In addition to the lanes, Quebec announced it will create 840 new parking spots for commuters.

They will be added to Agence métropolitaine de transport train stations in Blainville and St-Jérôme, to various bus terminals and to a carpooler parking lot in Mirabel, near Highway 15.

Among the areas to get parking is Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough.

The 70-car park-and-ride lot — at Château-Pierrefonds Ave. and Pierrefonds Blvd. — is for users of the STM’s 470 and 485 express buses.

Quebec touted the lot as a new measure, but the STM said it is already operational.

Update:

Parking has skyrocketed from a single $1 to $15 at Disney. If a full family wants to experience Disney, a pot of gold would certainly help to pay all of the hefty prices.

see source

Parking, strollers and wheelchairs

Price changes for parking at the theme parks will also go into effect June 2. Theme-park parking goes up $1 per day to $15 per day ($16 for camper or trailer).

The State of Florida     “The Land of Sunshine”

Prices for renting strollers, wheelchairs and ECVs remain the same. Single strollers will now rent for $15 per day or $13 per day for length-of-stay, while double strollers go to $31 and $27 respectively. Wheelchairs may be rented for $12 per day or $10 per day for length of stay, and ECVs will rent for $50 per day plus a refundable $20 deposit at the theme parks.

On June 1, Disney announced its annual price increases for theme-park tickets, passes and other charges for Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

The new prices introduce a new pricing tier that distinguishes Magic Kingdom park admission from that of Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The price changes, which were released on the Disney Parks Blog, go into effect Sunday.

One-Day Base tickets and Magic Your Way tickets

A one-day Base park ticket (no Park Hopper) for entry into Magic Kingdom will cost $95 for adults (ages 10 and up) and $89 for children (ages 3 – 9). The other three parks will cost $90 for adults and $84 for children. These prices reflect an increase from $89 for adults and $83 for children.

Note: Prices listed for these tickets and other do not include tax. Children under the age of three years do not require a ticket.

Prices on multi-day tickets, what Walt Disney World calls Magic Your Way (MYW) tickets, also increase. MYW tickets are priced so that the more days that are purchased the lower the daily cost. With the new price increase, a two-day Base ticket will cost $184 for adults ($92 per day) and $172 for children ($86 per day). A 10-day Base ticket will cost $339 for adults ($33.90 per day) and $332 for children ($32 per day).

Adding the Park Hopper option or a Water Parks and More option to one Base ticket adds $59, an increase from $28.50. Adding both the Park Hopper and Water Parks and More options add $84, up from $57.

Magic Your Way Base Ticket Prices

Adults (Ages 10 and up)

• Two-Day Adult: $184
• Three-Day Adult: $262
• Four-Day Adult: $279
• Five-Day Adult: $289
• Six-Day Adult: $299
• Seven-Day Adult: $309
• Eight-Day Adult: $319
• Nine-Day Adult: $329
• 10-Day Adult: $339

Children (Ages 3 – 9)

• Two-Day Child: $172
• Three-Day Child: $244
• Four-Day Child: $260
• Five-Day Child: $270
• Six-Day Adult: $280
• Seven-Day Child: $290
• Eight-Day Child: $300
• Nine-Day Child: $310
• 10-Day Child: $320

For a complete look at price changes, see the Walt Disney World Resort ticket and passes slideshow.

Disney Annual Passes and water parks

Disney Annual Passes also increase. Guests who are not Florida resident will pay $609 for an Annual Pass and $729 for a Premium Annual Pass, reflecting an increase of $35 and $30 respectively. Florida residents may purchase a variety of pass options, some with blockout dates, and those prices also have gone up.

A Disney Premier Passport, which offers admission both to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, will now cost $979. That price is up from $849.

Increase for Annual Passes are across the board, including those for Florida Residents, DVC Members and Passholder renewals.

A one-day ticket to either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach, Walt Disney World’s water parks, goes up $1, to $53 for adults and $45 for children.

Update:

Metrolinx GO Train Engine

Metrolinx wants a new Parking Levy, imposed upon all drivers to be implemented in the Province of Ontario

see source

A one-point increase in the sales tax and a new parking levy are at the heart of Metrolinx’s highly anticipated plan to raise $34-billion for the next generation of transit, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The regional transit agency is set to release its suggested financing strategy on Monday, after heated debate throughout the region and on the board of Metrolinx.

The so-called Big Move is the agency’s ambitious attempt to plan for a generation of transit expansion. Less than one-third of the $50-billion price tag is currently funded, and the agency is mandated to give its recommendations for raising the rest to the province by June 1.

The report was still being revised this week, but Metrolinx has indicated it will have a selection of revenue tools.

Although high-occupancy toll lanes were announced in the provincial budget, people familiar with the report say Metrolinx will not recommend more broad-based road pricing, removing one of the more controversial possibilities from its shortlist. Similarly, an increase in property taxes – widely labelled as a non-starter in suburban areas – is not on the table.

Public discussions of the options were vigorous and often divisive, with civic groups, business lobbies and experts all weighing in.

The debate turned toxic at Toronto city hall, and many across the region have spoken out against new charges. At times, it appeared that almost everyone felt they were getting a raw deal – and that someone else needed to pay more.

The strength of differing opinions has been reflected on the Metrolinx board itself.

The members have gathered repeatedly behind closed doors since the last public meeting, according to several people familiar with the proceedings, hashing out the extent to which corporations should pay, the economic effectiveness of various revenue tools, and whether the options should have a sunset clause.

The board – which includes people from both left and right – must approve the strategy before it is delivered. It is likely to do so in a vote on Monday, but the final tally of votes will indicate how well the agency has been able to find common ground.

A rise in the sales tax has long been viewed by observers as one of the best options. Sources familiar with the report say it will peg the increase at 1 percentage point. This would raise $1.4-billion annually, almost three-quarters of the amount needed, and it could be applied quickly and easily. Since the federal government cut the goods and services tax by two points in 2006 and 2007, the increase would still leave the overall sales tax below what it was in recent memory.

Parking in many cases (example, at hospitals) should be free and under no circumstances should a new parking levy be imposed upon drivers in Ontario.  The Metrolinx investment strategy released Monday also includes three “complementary” policy proposals designed to wring more efficiency out of the existing road and transit network. Those include high-occupancy toll lanes, parking fees at transit stations and land-value capture to leverage the development potential along new transit lines.

However, experts say increasing the tax in just one region would be difficult.

That problem, they suggest, could be avoided by applying the tax across the province, with money raised in the Toronto area going to transit and money generated outside the region being rebated or used for other purposes.

A levy on non-residential parking that the report will recommend also carries complications.

In the suburbs, home to the vast majority of Toronto-area parking spots and the most sparse transit options, it is widely seen as unfair.

Metrolinx will have an uphill battle in convincing Ontarians that in order to fund future transportation over the next 25 years and to raise $2 billion a year, that Ontarians would have to endure a 1 per cent hike in the GST; a 5-cent a litre hike in the gas tax; a 25-cent daily commercial parking levy and 15 per cent rise in development charges  – which would translate into  additional cost of an average GTA household of about $477 a year.  The Province of Ontario would have to agee before any of these changes could be implemented.

That could be addressed through variable pricing that is higher downtown. Small businesses, hospitals and post-secondary education institutions are among those that are keen for a break, but it is not clear if the board will recommend any exemptions.

Metrolinx is expected to broach as well the idea of putting money raised in a formal trust that would prevent future politicians from diverting it to other purposes. And the report is expected to include a mechanism for adjusting the plan over the long term where the evidence supports such changes – a nod to recent questions raised by Transportation Minister Glen Murray.

The report will be received at Queen’s Park, where the government recently secured NDP support to pass its budget, avoiding an election. No money is expected to flow before later this year, though, or more likely next year.

With the report in provincial hands, Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig will head out on the road, touring the region and explaining the rationale behind the agency’s choices.