Riding the Ion

If there’s anything that gets people’s dander up, it’s change. And we’ve had massive change in our twin cities over the Ion, the light rail, first whether it should be built and then upheaval on our roads for months and months while tracks and roads were under construction.

Canada Day was the last day for a free ride. Our youngest daughter and her husband were talking their two-year-old son on the Ion, and we decided to join them. I was interested and had thought of doing it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

close to the universities

The ride was smooth, with nary a bump or shudder on stopping or starting. As the driver of our family vehicle, I don’t have the privilege of just looking around me. I need to focus on my job of driving, watching for lights, pedestrians and other drivers. This ride would offer the opportunity to just look out the windows and enjoy the ride.

We were fortunate to get seats when we boarded and it wasn’t long before there were people standing in the aisle holding on to the straps or a seat.

Apparently the changes are not over (Reality, things never stay the same). More property is being bought along the main street that runs from one city to the next. According to a passenger I spoke with briefly, people in her neighbourhood are not pleased with the additional changes that are coming—tall condos or other buildings that will rise along the main street. They’d even gone to city hall and signed a petition against the change. It got me thinking about low income housing close to that route and how it would affect them. Where will they go?

One the other hand, the Ion will convey a large number of passengers from Point A to Point B, along the main street that has schools, hospital, doctors’ offices and businesses on or close to the route.

As citizens, we’re being encouraged to step out of our cars and take the public transit. Drivers of cars and trucks honour traffic lights, but the Ion doesn’t stop for those things, only at their stations where passengers are waiting.

Thing is from our neighbourhood, we still have to take other transportation to the Ion and park at a lot, or find a bus close to it that connects to the light rail. Not as convenient for people in the outlying areas, but it would definitely be a boon to those living close to the main line, and it could work well for attending a festival uptown.

clean and quiet ride

Our city is changing, that’s for certain. The powers that be had decided on intensification of the core, and while we are certainly not at the size of TO or Mississauga, it seems our population is growing. The building will go on and people will need to adapt to it, even when there are bumps in the road along the way.