Cheeky Brit drawing penises to bring attention to potholes

Everybody hates potholes. They're a nuisance and they never seem to get fixed.

One fed up Manchester, UK resident has decided to take matters into his own hands, with a delightfully cheeky political protest.

The artist, who calls himself Wanksy, has been going around drawing penises around the offending holes.

"The roads of Manchester are in an appalling state... I have cyclist friends who have been hospitalised, he told the Manchester Evening News. "They damage vehicles. Sometimes it's hard to know which pothole caused the damage because there are so many."

So far it seems to be working. Many of the city's potholes were quickly repaired shortly after being tagged.

However, local officials are less than amused with his methods.

"Has this person, for just one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school," a council spokesperson told the BBC.

Wanksy defended his protest as artistic expression, and notes the drawings are only temporary. He uses industrial road chalk that washes off after a few weeks. He says that anybody who gets offended by his drawings must be awfully prudish.

Many around the web consider him to be a sort of folk hero. His Facebook page currently has 18,000 likes from people around the world.

The council is warning residents that such actions will not speed up repairs.

"We understand and accept that residents are unhappy with the number of potholes in the borough, and we have a programme of scheduled works to fix them. Painting obscenities around potholes will not get them repaired any quicker."

It just goes to show, sometimes you've got to be a dick to get things done.

Source: CBC
Photo by Wanksy, via Facebook 

Goodlife Marathon brings runners, traffic headaches to downtown this weekend

Marathon season is here, which means traffic headaches for Toronto drivers this weekend. 

The Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon runs this Sunday, May 3rd. As runners lace up, roads will be shut down to accommodate the race. 

The main portion of the race will run along Yonge from Finch to Davenport, before looping through the downtown and running along Lake shore out to South Kingsway. 

The city is warning drivers to expect lane closures from 7am to 3pm in the area bounded by Bayview, South Kingsway, Finch, and Lake Shore.  

The Gardiner ramps at Spadina and Jarvis will be shut down for the remainder of the race. There will also be no access to Bayview and Bloor from the Don Valley Parkway.  

Check out the full list of closures complete with reopening times here. 

Photo by Lam Chihang via Flickr, CC licensed 

DVP, Gardiner shutting down for their annual Spring maintenance

It's that time of year again. Over the next two weekends, both the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway will be shutting down for their annual spring maintenance.

The DVP will be closed from the Gardiner right up to the 401 starting Friday, April 24th at 8pm, and will reopen on Sunday, April 26th at 6am.

The following weekend, the Gardiner will close from Carlaw to the 427 May 1st at 8pm to May 3rd at 6am.

The closures give the city the opportunity to fix damaged pavement, replace lights, inspect bridged, and clean out catch basis to ensure the highways operate smoothly for the rest of the season.

Of course it will mean big headaches for drivers, who will be left scrambling to find alternate routes.

If you're needing to take the DVP, your best bets are Bayview and Don Mills, though expect those to be much heavier than normal. Gardiner drivers can take Lake Shore Blvd.

Photo by Floydian via Wikipedia

City of Toronto studying new technologies to reduce gridlock

Mayor John Tory wants to modernize the way the City of Toronto collects traffic data.

Right now, the city has government workers going out and manually counting traffic flow at intersections. Tory says he wants to harness the power of big data to help bring the process into the 21st century.

“We can’t afford to have a city that is way behind on these sorts of things,” he told media at an event at Ryerson university Tuesday morning.

“We are going to take the brain power that exists in the city and lead from the front. Unlocking this information and unlocking it through applications and the smart companies that exist in this city will make a big difference in fighting gridlock.”

One avenue the city is exploring is using GPS based apps to collect accurate, real time information to optimize traffic flow. Cities such as Amsterdam and Barcelona have seen ten percent reductions in volume thanks to the technology.

"Learning about how we can better use travel data – by all modes – is a huge step forward," Councillor and Chair of Public Works Jaye Robinson said in a press release.

"We need to be investing in projects that tap into the power of big data. This type of work will serve as a foundation for improving commutes for all Torontonians, whether you travel by transit, bike or car."

Toronto Transportation services will be partnering with several organizations on the project including McMaster University and the TTC.

Tory says he expects the cost of the new initiative will remain on par with current methods.

"Probably it will cost no more than having people stand on streets with clipboards and clickers and putting sensors in the ground that get worn out over time and are frankly utterly useless."

Source: CP24, City of Toronto
Image by Floydian, via Wikipdia under CC license

Intersection of College and Spadina closed for construction

It's construction season once again in Toronto. That means major headaches for commuters as the city looks to shut down a major downtown intersection until the end of April.

College and Spadina will be closed from April 6th to the 27th while TTC crews replace streetcar tracks. Traffic will be diverted onto surrounding streets.

TTC routes will also be on detour during the work.

The 506/306 Streetcars will travel along Dundas via Ossington and Bay, while the 510 bus will loop around through St George, Harbord and Bathurst.

Sidewalks and access to local businesses will remain open during construction. Cyclists are being asked to dismount through the area, or to use alternate routes.

Waze will now tell you how long you'll be stuck in traffic

There's nothing worse than being stuck in a traffic jam knowing you have to be somewhere. How long is this one going to last?

Waze is now looking to make that experience a little lest painful in a new update. The Time in Traffic bar will show drivers their progress through a delay, and how long they have left to wait.

The company says their latest app update will also include improvements to guided navigation, and makes it easier to recover your account if you get a new phone.

The new update is now available for both iOS and Android.