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Written by David Delaney
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Monday, 06 October 2008 19:00 |
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A lot of seniors haven't explored the city simply because of a lack of confidence in getting around. The growth of public transit combined with congestion can seem daunting, but really getting around the City of Toronto without using an automobile is relatively easy. Whether you are visiting or just trying to be more adventurous this city offers many appealing transportation alternatives that the senior population can use and benefit from. Here are three of the car-alternative transportation methods you can use in and around the city area.
Be Fit and Active - Use Bike Lanes
Biking is one good transportation alternative for seniors. Not only will it be easy and cheap, it will also afford then much needed activity and exercise. Before you focus too much on possible dangers, you need to be aware that Toronto has kilometers and kilometers of dedicated bike lanes crisscrossing the metro called the Bike way Network.
There’s the Lawrence East lane, 16.1 km between Victoria part and Rouge Hills. The Bike way network is an ambitious project that envisions having all Toronto residents within a five minute bicycle ride to the bike way network. The city plans to complete the bike way network in 10 years; ensure the safe and comfortable operation of bike ways; and connect Toronto's network to bike ways in adjacent municipalities.
While it is being completed, there is currently enough bike lanes exiting that will allow seniors to take leisurely rides to their destination. Simply consult the Toronto Cycling Map, the first comprehensive cycling map produced by the City of Toronto.
Can’t Bike? Walk! - Choose the right PATH
If biking is not for you, maybe an old fashioned walk is more to your taste. This can be done by using PATH. This is downtown Toronto's underground walkway that currently links 27 kilometers of shopping, services and entertainment. Path is not an acronym, but rather a map in its own right. Each letter in PATH is a different color, each representing a direction. The P is red and represents south, A is orange and represents west, T is blue and represents north, and H is yellow and represents east. Navigating PATH is easy; going north? Then follow the T.
You can download the latest map of PATH online. This underground walkway provides an important linkage to Toronto’s public transit. It also protects pedestrians by providing a safe haven when the winter cold and snow sets in, or the summer heat gets too hot.
Toronto’s PATH is recorded by the Guinness World Records as the largest underground shopping complex with 27 km (16 miles) of shopping arcades.
Can’t Bike? Can’t Walk? Then Ride!
If biking and walking aren’t your preferred mode of transport, or if you’re precluded medically from pursuing those alternatives, there’s always the Toronto Transit Commission or TTC. The TTC is composed of buses with pre-preprogrammed routs, a streetcar system, and a subway system. All three systems run on a regular schedule all days of the year. It’s a very reliable mad very cheap alternative as seniors even get up to 20 percent discount on fares.
If you need help planning your route, you can call the Customer Information line at 416-393-4636. A Customer Information Representative is always there to answer all your routing questions.
All these modes of transport afford seniors a cheap and reliable way of getting around. It also allows then to keep active and see the sights while going on their way to the theater or other leisure activities they have planned for the day. |
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