September 9th, 2009 Andrew Cash
I’ve lost friends as “collateral damage” in a war that badly needs peace
By Andrew Cash
I didn’t know Darcy Allan Sheppard, but our household has mourned the death of two close friends in the last few years who were killed riding their bikes – one a gifted photographer, the other a budding musician, both unwitting “collateral damage” in a war that badly needs some peace.
But this war isn’t really just about competing modes of transportation. It’s a contest between top-down and bottom-up power, one that, as in the altercation between Sheppard and former provincial attorney general Michael Bryant, sometimes ends in tragedy.
The car is quintessentially top-down: it’s about status, speed, steel, ego, privacy, convenience, the individual and entitlement to space and resources. Not to mention it’s a brilliant example of human ingenuity.
Grassroots power has no better symbol than the humble two-wheeler, which is simple, accessible, communal, public, physical and a light touch on dwindling resources.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in All Blog Posts, Environment, Now Magazine, Transit | No Comments »
December 20th, 2007 Andrew Cash
Rocket’s space invaders
Time for stroller-pushers and people with disabilities to take on TTC
By Andrew Cash
I’ve taken up the challenge of riding the subway with my young kids as if it were training for an urban iron man competition where strength, endurance and speed are tested in a gruelling and hostile environment.
I’m not, of course, the only sort of person experiencing the TTC as a formidable opponent. Physically disabled people are getting so pissed off that some of them have taken to direct action. On Friday, December 7, 40 members of the Disability Action Movement Now (DAMN) blocked all four entrances to the St. Patrick station at King and University for a few minutes during rush hour to make their point.
It’s one I get, even though transporting tots gives me but a mere taste of the transit rigours faced by the DAMN folks.
For example, it’s rush hour and I’m waiting for the eastbound subway at Bloor and Yonge with one kid in a stroller. Not one of those SUV models, mind you, but the sleekest of aluminum-framed umbrella strollers.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in All Blog Posts, Now Magazine, Transit | 1 Comment »
