sharkus

I wouldn't consider Oakville "far far far away from Toronto.". I'm in Oakville and it's about 38km from downtown Toronto. I wouldn't consider that to be too far.

Currently it'd take me about 30 minutes to get there if I drove. This is of course outside of rush hour, which I will grant could be anywhere from 40 to 70 minutes, possibly longer.

Care to elaborate on what you consider public transport? If you're talking GO Transit then I wouldn't say it's an afterthought at all. In fact, I'm actually surprised at how good it is. My comparison? South Eastern train from Tunbridge to Charing Cross. Suffered that route, and it's reverse, many many times, far worse than the run from Oakville to Union Station.

I have in the past taken Oakville Transit bus from home to the GO station, was a reduced fare due to using a PRESTO card. Yes, it did take longer than driving down there, but it was manageable and the bus schedule was generous enough that there was a fair bit of wiggle room if the bus was delayed.

The Oakville transit website and mobile app also now seems to have real time tracking for buses, so you can see where things are. very handy indeed.

I used to live within very short walking distance of Oakville GO, but alas since moving I have to drive. from home to actually parking in the multi-level garage is about 15 minutes on a bad day, and 8 minutes on a very good (or very early!) day. Commute time is around 35 minutes on the all stops train, would be 5 less if I could take the express, but I cannot.

When I'm staying downtown I'll take the streetcar to / from the office. Again, it's not too bad for public transit. sure, it gets busy depending on exact time of day and the weather, but it's perhaps a 15 minute ride, so it's acceptable.

evets

OK so I live on the meadowvale line, so not really any comparison but the meadowvale PT to downtown Toronto is shocking. Well in my my eyes compared to other major cities I have lived in. Still do not rate Mississauga as a city but as a suburb, and still confused as to why people class it as a city.

To me public transport, in rush hour should not run every 30 mins. Really kind of misses the point of rush hour! Or maybe I am missing something something very un-obvious....

Considering some of the cities I have lived in the world, public transport and Mississauga are not two words I would even put together. If you are not on the GO line round QEW, then just do not bother.

dbd33

Mississauga and Oakville are car based suburbs and the transit is set up to support them as dormitory locations. If you think of them as places people go only to sleep then the transit reasonably supports that. Toronto has passable public transit but it serves only the city and the older suburbs such as Scarborough and Etobicoke. If one wanted a transit based social life one would aim to be on the TTC.

The idea that people might choose to emigrate to live in Mississauga or Oakville has baffled me since I discovered this board (rather like the British fixation with snow tyres). If you can't live in Toronto and have to spend your life shuffling up and down on a train then I think you may as well stay in Milton Keynes, or indeed, Tunbridge.

evets

Yes I understand know. I was kinda sold the dream of Toronto, and Mississauga fell very short.I am trying to make sure other people do not fall short of this dream.

Public Transport in Toronto, kinda felt an after thought also compared to other cities I lived in. Was expecting more but was disappointed to be honest, and was trying not to be. Really. I got on the subway and thought this is it, a major city in the world with a sub par transit system.

Honestly, for one of the most liveable cities in the world, it has one of of worst transits systems. Apparently. but what would I know. Having lived in some of the most liveable cities that DO have usable public transport.

scilly

evets .............

you also have to think of Mississauga, Scarborough, etc as places that started out as separate entities form Toronto but were then absorbed into Toronto as the city expanded and spread out.

That happened much more recently that similar suburbs around London, Sydney etc were absorbed into the big city to become part of Metro xxxxx

I've been here long enough that I can remember when Metro Toronto was set up ... and the huge kerfuffle about the "cities" being absorbed.

It unofficially began in the mid-1950s, but the various entities retained their independence. The Act setting up the current city of Toronto was only passed in 1998

If you think of it in those terms, maybe it will make more sense.

You also have to think in terms of the population of Canada and a city like Toronto, vs the population of Australia and Sydney, or of the UK and London, etc etc


We lived in a suburb of Melbourne back in the mid-1970s ......... we had a place in Mcleod, had to walk about 2 km to Rosanna to catch a very rickety train (about 90 years old) in to Melbourne.

I'm sure that has changed since then.

evets

Ah ok, makes more sense. Yes I do understand, but still trying to get my head around who ever designed Mississauga, based on the fact it really it is so new in terms of cities was very short sighted. At some point, you would have thought someone would have thought, oh look Mississauga is growing fast lets make sure it has a decent public transport system as easier to incorporate when the place is growing and not trying to incorporate now when it hard to put in place.

So in comparison to Melbourne, someone actually thought public transport to the outer suburbs may actually be handy. Even chatting to colleagues, who are born and bred here and have explained the rapid change of Mississauga also find it odd. One girl, who lives in Streetsvile can actually remember driving her motorbike across farmlands to SQ1.

And yes I know the suburbs you mentioned in Australia, but still being 30/40km out of the CBD you can still get public transport and somewhat reliable and well covered in the rush hour. The outer suburbs may mean a drive to the train station, but at least you have an option. Does that mean it is actually coping with the population growth now, na. But that is something all cities are having to deal with.

evets

scilly........

Had to re-respond a 2km walk, sheesh. >snip<.. I would do that daily and never ever considered it hardship, takes around 15-20 mins. Are you that lazy.

Zoe Bell

walking 2km in decent weather is fine.
walking it in -20 temperatures and or snow/ freezing rain etc is a bit different

evets

true, but still not a hard ship. When you get rugged up. Welcome to the North. Like me you made this choice, so you understood the weather.

Walking in +40 also a very interesting and not fun experience.

EDIT: Should add, walking +40 and humid. A dry heat makes all the difference.

dbd33

No one. I remember when it were all fields. The farmers sold up 100 acres at a time, each time one did a builder covered the land with the griege shacks you see today. That's why there are no trees and no services, however many houses fits on 100 acres (300? 400?) isn't enough to warrant having shops and restaurants and the like. For a long time the lot levies paid by developers on the land kept taxes low so everyone shut up, reelected the mayor, and let the catastrophe happen.

Who designed the city hall? is a better question, you can't excuse that as a product of greed and shortsightedness. Someone is to blame.

evets

ok understood. and noted. Still a badly designed city, well suburb. Someone has a lot to answer for!

Zoe Bell

I'v been thinking quite hard about this sentence and I honestly don't think i did.

yes Canada has snow and winter weather. Of course I knew that but I don't think i really understood the implications on everyday life.

I am fortunate in that I live in a condo with snow shoveling taken care of and for various reasons my commute to work has improved drastically over the years in the amount of "outsideness" involved.

but even i have to think about things that never would have occurred to be , like allowing the extra 5 to 10 minutes it takes me to get suited and booted up in winter for the weather. Dealing with the "shoe shuffle" to ensure that I'm wearing winter boots outside but have my work shoes to change into. And if I've gotten a ride somewhere remembering that my winter boots need to come with me, so I am not ice skating in heels to get home.
The white stains up the back of your pants from the salt wicking up them ( so you need clothes to change into at work)

all minor things for sure , but not something i'd considered before moving here.

evets

Yep agreed, and after spending a winter in Montreal, I realise how under prepared I am for Canadian winters! Even after spending nearly 18 years in Scotland, somehow 7 years in Australia makes you forget these things fast.

BristolUK

I think I adapted quite well. I visited Montreal the first week of December and immediately discovered my fleecy jacket was totally inadequate. My soon to be wife still had her ex's winter three-in-one jacket which was a perfect fit and warm.

More than 12 years on it's still my winter coat.

I never once cleared snow in the UK and suddenly I was doing it here, pushing it, piling it up, learning the differences between types of snow, working out whether it was worth doing, how to tackle the ridge across the drive - I leave that bit to our "Mr Plow" now and just do the steps and a 'tidy up' of the bits left.

-10 seems balmy When a big storm or freezing rain is due, just make sure we have what we need and stay in. There's something nice about sitting inside, blizzard raging outside and watching the footie from 'wintry' England.

So much easier not having to go to work, admittedly.

Engineer_abroad

Im sorry I couldn't help myself