The Commute: My Vacation In Canada And Upstate New York – Part 2 Of 2
THE COMMUTE: Continuing from last week, the fare in Toronto was $3 a ride with transfers. Seniors pay $2. There are discounts when purchasing multiple tokens and tickets as well as weekly and monthly plans. We chose the $11 daily pass, which, by the way, is transferable after the first person is no longer using it. The pass can be shared by more than one person on weekends. We used four trains and at least six different streets cars so we got our money’s worth.
On our last day, we opted to drive downtown because two daily passes and $7 for parking at the park and ride lot would have cost $29 whereas all day parking downtown, where we left our car for most of the day, cost $2 an hour or a maximum of $12 for most of the day. It was a private parking lot and was competitively priced. The municipal lots downtown actually cost more at $4 an hour. The website locating municipal lots and showing numbers of spaces available was very user friendly.
We used the municipal lot to park at the beach and I was pleasantly surprised. The meter rounds up your time to the nearest half hour so that it always expires on the half hour or hour, making it easy to remember when to get back to your car. None of this ‘5:18’ business to remember. We paid $1.50 for an hour at 4:40 p.m. and the expiration was 6:00 p.m. It was just a nice friendly touch, and you don’t get the feeling that you are being ripped off.
As far as the on-street parking signs, they were just as confusing as in New York. One parking sign only stated “No Parking 7 to 9:30 AM” from that point to the corner, making it appear that it was OK to park for free on the remainder of the block. Not wanting to take any chances, I inquired with a local who informed us that some cars were being ticketed for parking there because the meters were never replaced after construction was concluded. We decided to not park there.
Niagara Falls, Canada
What is noteworthy about Niagara Falls, Canada, is that in addition to numbered local bus routes for residents operated by Niagara Falls Transit, there is a separate system called WeGo just for tourists. There are four distinct color-coded bus routes specifically for tourists, since tourists — one can only surmise — are too dumb to understand numbers. The lines are the Red, Blue, Purple and Green. The fare is $7 a day, which I didn’t know until now, since a two-day pass is included in what they call the Adventure Pass, which costs $50 and allows you to see four separate attractions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the MTA offered some package deals for tourists using the subway, which included a MetroCard? They offer railroad packages, so why not subway packages? We don’t even have a one-day pass anymore.
Back to Niagara Falls. Not only are the WeGo buses painted with their own color scheme, except for the Green Line, which offers a display in white lights, the other three colored lines used color-coded digital displays to match the line, as pictured. Also, check out the extra large bus shelter at Table Rock. We could use those in places like Orchard Beach.
In New York, the first IRT subway cars with digital displays on the ends of the cars were ordered all in red, instead of using red digital signs for the Seventh Avenue 1, 2 and 3 lines and green digital signs for the Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 lines to match the station signs and maps. The MTA claimed ordering different colors would have cost more. Why? It was merely a question of not caring to make it easier for tourists or residents to find the correct train with consistent signage.
Unlike other cities that try to maximize ridership, the MTA philosophy is that everyone is a captive rider and will use the system regardless, which of course is untrue. Nevertheless, for a tourist it is confusing when the green Lexington Avenue line approaches with a big red 4, when it easily could have been a big green 4.
The only transportation problem we had in Niagara Falls was on July 1, Canada Day, their Independence Day, after the fireworks, when all traffic near the Niagara River ground to a halt. There were hundreds of people waiting for the buses at Table Rock to get back to their hotels. We decided to take the bus in the opposite direction. That turned out to be the correct choice, because the bus operator decided not to finish the route and instead turned around in the right direction. Still, the short trip took us 50 minutes (probably twice what it would have taken to walk) because of the unusually heavy traffic, but we were just too tired.
Niagara Falls, USA
We also spent a day on the US side of Niagara Falls by walking over the bridge back to the US. It was the first pedestrian toll I ever encountered, 50 cents in Canadian money. There were US dollar bill changers, but we had nothing smaller than tens and twenties and not enough Canadian change. Luckily, some nice foreigners gave us the dollar we needed to cross. Niagara Falls Park had a $2 a day tourist “trolley” bus that took you around the park for those too lazy to walk, like us.
Confusing Signage In Albany
When I drive, I am always bothered by confusing signage in New York State and throughout the entire East Coast, especially Virginia and points north. I have never had a problem out west where I have always found road signage especially clear. One problem that continually bothers me is the lack of distinction as to whether a destination sign is just telling you where the road terminates, or is actually the entrance to a highway, bridge or tunnel. When you see a sign saying, for example, “Verrazano Bridge,” if you are a tourist, you may not know if it is 10 miles away or if you are about to get on the bridge. The only clue is the “Pay Toll” sign for toll crossings.
I remember once finding myself in a left turn lane in Washington DC because of no prior warning that it would become a left turn lane. Too late to get off because of the heavy traffic, that left turn took me out of Washington DC into Arlington, Virginia, miles away from where I wanted to be.
Something similar just happened in Albany near the State Capitol. I needed State Street, which I knew was one or several blocks away. I had my choice of the upper road on the right, which passed over several streets or a lower roadway that appeared to be going into the next street as shown by the Google picture below.
Not wanting to pass over State Street, I chose the road on the left, because there is now an oversized “Thru Traffic Sign” on the upper road. However, when reaching the next block on the lower roadway, my only choices were to turn left (away from the direction I wanted to go) or right, where the red car is about to turn, in the picture below.
Little did I realize that turning right puts you on an expressway entrance leading out of Albany, over a bridge, and into the neighboring city, Rensselaer. About three-miles later I was on my way back to Albany. Checking the map upon returning, I learned that the road I did not choose led directly to State Street. So what is the point of a misleading oversized “Thru Traffic” sign that should have just been a small sign reading “To State Street?”
I can’t think of any place in New York City where a bad or missing sign would take you that far out of your way.
Above was a sign that I liked, which we saw when stopping to purchase gas between Seneca Falls and Albany.
The Commute is a weekly feature highlighting news and information about the city’s mass transit system and transportation infrastructure. It is written by Allan Rosen, a Manhattan Beach resident and former Director of MTA/NYC Transit Bus Planning (1981).
Disclaimer: The above is an opinion column and may not represent the thoughts or position of Sheepshead Bites. Based upon their expertise in their respective fields, our columnists are responsible for fact-checking their own work, and their submissions are edited only for length, grammar and clarity. If you would like to submit an opinion piece or become a regularly featured contributor, please e-mail nberke [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.