Follow Monday

Happy Monday, Bros!

I was out of town this weekend, camping in the wilderness away from high rises, cramped street corners, and the TTC. All I had with me to stay in touch with civilization was my smartphone and Twitter app. Well apparently I’m not following any of the right accounts because I came home to a slew of news stories about special events, tragic accidents, and political mishaps. So this morning I did some research and compiled a list of five accounts you should be following if you want to keep up on all things Toronto and I thought I would share it with you. Now we can all stay informed and connected!

1) BlogTO
@BlogTO

You all know BlogTO. From restaurant reviews to movie listings, they’re covering everything Toronto. Follow them for a weekly calendar of events, archived photos of some of the city’s most beloved intersections, TTC updates, and much much more.

Yonge & Bloor, 1920s via @BlogTO

2) Pride Toronto
@PrideToronto

Pride Week is quickly approaching – how are you staying informed on what’s happening when? Follow @PrideToronto, the official Pride Toronto twitter account, for any information or notices you might need for Pride Week. And don’t just unfollow them after the week’s over. These guys stay active all year round, keeping you posted on the most current happenings and issues in the LGBT community.

3) Torontoist
@Torontoist

Torontoist is about Toronto and everything in it. It’s both a blog and a trusting news source. They love keeping Torontonians up-to-date on current events as soon as they happen. They live-tweeted the municipal budget and transport debates in their entirety. Their tweets include “in the news” & “to do today”, making sure every Torontonian is fully informed and never bored.

4) Queer Ontario
@queerontario

This one’s not unique to Toronto but since the LGBT community here is so huge, a large portion of Queer Ontario’s tweets are Toronto-related. Plus, they’re currently making a tour of the province stopping in at major city’s pride weeks, and it’s always fun to see how the rest of the province shows its pride! Follow this account to stay up-to-date on any federal, provincial, and municipal politics that are happening surrounding the LGBT community and the fight for our rights. They recently stayed very close to the passing of Toby’s Law as well as Ontario’s Accepting Schools Act.

5) Official TTC Tweets
@TTCnotices

We’ve all been there before. You’re running late for a meeting, pushing your way onto a subway train when the darned thing stops after 5 minutes. So you wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, an announcement is made that the train is delayed due to some sort of accident that is only vaguely described. Avoid this extremely frustrating situation next time by following @TTCnotices and giving it a quick check before you leave the house. They have up-to-date notices on delays, route diversions, and scheduled track maintenance. Trust me, a lot of frustrations with the TTC have been easily avoided due to my following of this account.

Why is the Queen Street streetcar always delayed?

What accounts do you follow to stay informed about Toronto? Share them in the comments sections below.

Downtown Relief Line – A Karen Stintz powerplay?

The dust has barely settled after council canned Rob Ford’s new subway for light rail, and TTC Chair Karen Stintz is talking about new subways again. This time she wants a Downtown Relief Line to abet congestion on the University-Spadina line. Many think this should actually take priority over light rail to the suburbs, which is expected to bring even more passengers to the already super crowded line.

Karen Stintz looks like she is posturing for a bid at the mayorship, as Rob Ford has already sworn to make subways an election issue. If Stintz can put the transit dialogue focused on subways on DRL, Rob Ford’s campaign to re-re-re-vamp the light rail into the subways is much more likely to fall flat.

Red has always looked good on you, Toronto

I don’t know where Stintz thinks she can get the money for a new subway line that will likely take a decade to complete under the busy streets of Toronto (thanks, city council of decades gone by) but a focus on moving forward with a new subway project instead of setting back the city another five years over a grudge could give her an edge with Rob Ford’s tiring voter base. After scoring a slam dunk on Ford winning the hearts of the centre-left earlier this year, it looks like the Stintz for Mayor campaign might have a shot.