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Christopher Greaves

Orangeville for the day – Execution

I walk down Bay Street after collecting a Toronto Star at Ryerson University and start the day with $34.49 on my Presto Card.

At least, that’s the balance I read out from a machine on Sunday.

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And it’s into the new swinging all-dancing York Concourse without even trying to get into the Bay Concourse to see if it is, finally, sealed off as a tomb during construction.

Here is the announcements board. I am to travel by train to Brampton. At Brampton (the last stop on my little #37 schedule) I must transfer to the #37 Go Bus. There is no train listed to Brampton. There is a train leaving at 9:48 but it goes to Kitchener, apparently.

Huh? I thought that there were no trains to Kitchener except a solitary commuter train in the late afternoon.

I have not yet made a trip by GO without feeling the need to check on my travels.

Turns out (as the happy clerk tells me) that the train I see listed as “9:48 Kitchener” does go to Brampton; it is the train I should catch; it does NOT go to Kitchener (?) but it runs to Mount Pleasant and it used to be the train that went to Georgetown (??).

Got that?

It says “Kitchener” on the board because, as every GO employee knows, it is a train that runs on the Kitchener Line.

Now, I want to know “What passenger (Toronto resident Lo! These thirty years, or what visitor from Dublin or from Crzyxkvewskislavtr) knows or cares about Kitchener?

A few minutes later a friendly and helpful information clerk elsewhere in the concourse confirms that this is indeed puzzling, and it would make more sense from the customer’s viewpoint to list the train as “Mount Pleasant” or even “Brampton” which you will have noticed is not the last stop for the train, merely the last stop listed on my printed schedule effective 5th September 2015”; that is, I do have a current schedule with the new times.

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I am early, as usual; seating is limited in this new concourse, about as limited as the old Bay concourse. Why do transit authorities urge us to arrive well ahead of our departure time and then provide only a couple of dozen seats?

More to the point, why are the seats situated without a clear view of the departure boards.

I sit and find myself staring at a blank wall. Why can we not have a display mounted there? After a few minutes I wonder if I should risk losing my seat to wander over to a far display to see if my train has been assigned a platform number.

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From where I sit I can see two display boards a bit to the right of straight-ahead; My camera is cheap and cannot focus in the bright lights, but even if it could we wouldn’t be able to read the boards.

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From where I sit I can see one display board over to the left; My camera is cheap and cannot focus in the bright lights, but even if it could we wouldn’t be able to read the boards.

So it is that I figure since I have to get up and leave my seat every five or ten minutes anyway I may as well get up and leave my seat now and explore.

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And waddyaknow! Way over to the west are seats with a TWO display boards.

Now I am doubly puzzled; why do the overpaid designers know enough to mount displays on this wall but not on the other wall? Did they run out of pocket-money?

I have circled the table with three helpful GO Transit clerks. It is here that I made my second enquiry about this “Kitchener” farce and asked about the display boards. To the credit of the front-line staff (and front-line is appropriate because at times it is a battle to make sense of GO Transit) they are always helpful and agreeable.

My clerk gave it some thought and said he could see my point of view as a traveler. He seemed surprised that there were seats with no display boards, and I rather hope that later on he wandered over to see what I saw; or rather couldn’t see.

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I found the Go Transit Employees new swimming pool.

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It is still under construction. An engineer (overalls and hard hat) told me that he thought “they” were building a new concourse.

If so then we have the old Bay Concourse being re-built while construction continues at the new York Concourse. Should be interesting ...

It was during these wanderings that I thought GO Transit might have a brief announcement over the P.A. system when a train was assigned a platform. “Now boarding the Kitchener train” ought to do it, with the “Now boarding” up front to alert us, and the name to correspond to the display board. At least then we would know to gather our bags and walk to the nearest display board.

I tap my Presto card to board and it tells me $5.30 is taken, but I think that that would be the full fare to Mount Pleasant. At the end of the day I really messed around with charges, but until then ...

The guard tells us over the PA system that we are the Westbound train, which makes as much sense to me as my printed schedule which says this is a Northbound service. Inspection of the route shows that the train runs West from Toronto to Brampton, and the bus runs North from Brampton to Orangeville.

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In the Bloor or Weston station I watch as a semi-trailer laden with massive concrete blocks inches its way in reverse along a narrow path adjacent to the railway tracks. It inches at walking pace, for there is a man without a red flag walking behind it to guide it.

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I reckon there must be between 50 and 60 blocks on this load; something to think about next time you feel like cutting in front of a big truck.

I’m just sayin’ ...

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And here we are in sunny Brampton. I will be back at this spot in seven hours!

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The bus exhibits the same behaviour I noticed in the Milton trip two weeks ago. We crawl out of the terminal onto the street, then dive back into the terminal to emerge into the same street thirty seconds later; my guess is that there is no left turn to where we want to go, but that the second exit from the terminal lets us navigate the intersection in a (literally) straightforward manner.

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My penciled notes read “The #37 schedule does not show bus correspondence” and now I am unsure of what I mean.

(1) I wish that the column headings (for example “Huronatario St. @ Mayfield Rd.”) showed the Brampton route numbers. This is probably too much to ask of the disjointed silo-structures that are Toronto Regional Transit.

(2) I wish that the column heading for “Brampton GO” indicated what other routes travelled to, from, or through that terminal.

I find these paper schedules to be only 50% helpful; they spell out some part of what is happening on (in this case) route #37, but offer no linkage into the rest of the system.

Recall that on my trip to Hamilton the schedule (train to Aldershot then bus to Hamilton) made no mention of the existing express bus from Union Station to Hamilton GO station. A non-stop fifty minutes service which I discovered by accident.

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We head up Highway 10, but not before I contemplate a day trip to Brampton. I’d written off Brampton as a plague-like extension of Mississauga, and this shot shows what I mean. But the heart of downtown Brampton could be worth a stroll on a fall or early winter’s day, and I could a tour of the suburbs by bus would be appreciated by an out-of-towner.

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Soon we are in the countryside, sort of. These bright yellow weeds prove it.

Question: Why are these dandelion-like weeds flowering this late in the season? How many generations of seeds can germinate and reproduce in a season anyway?

About three minutes later I spot a sign “Etobicoke Creek”. I had no idea it started this far north.

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We draw near to Orangeville which can boast its own urban sprawl.

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There you are; Little Boxes , and the blurred view of the sign confirms it.

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The “Headwaters” hospital up on a hill.

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And a lone wind turbine (I assume) whirling frantically in the mid-morning breeze.

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Now here’s a strange sight. The “Orangeville Visitor Information Centre” is perched on the outskirts of town. If you arrive by car and come from Toronto you will see it as you zoom through the intersection. By the time you have managed to turn around you will have navigated a chunk of the town. If you arrive by bus, there’s no way you are going to slog back here on foot.

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The GO Bus makes a mighty loop through town, shown here superimposed in purple on a transit map. We arrive at the lower right-hand corner (there’s the Hospital) and cruise up to the Orangeville mall, then along Hansen Boulevard, south down Blind Line, then east along the main street – “Broadway” – to Town Line and double back to the railway station.

I jumped off partway along Broadway, shown by the circled spot.

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There goes my Go bus, and I start walking east. I have perfect weather; clear skies and a warm sun and a mild breeze.

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First stop, of course, the Library, where the staff supply me with a bus map and a card of ten tickets.

The library is eye-grabbing in the nicest way. This reading area boasts a fireplace and is quite spacious. Two patrons were reading at the time I took this photo, but the area is so wide that they don’t appear in the photo.

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If I have counted correctly there are three levels and a basement. The levels are open; here I am gazing up to the top level.

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And here from an upper to a lower level.

I know that I am weird, but the layout seemed to draw me in; “Come explore!” was the message; “See what lies around the corner!”

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The usual notice board with what’s on.

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Another view of the upper level. The librarian was seated at the desk; I asked permission to take photos providing I didn’t get faces in them, and the librarian went off to find out, returned, handed me a business card and asked if I’d let them have a link.

We chatted for a few minutes and she said I should write a book on my visits to libraries.

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Skylights admit natural light . I think I’d like to be sitting here reading a book during a downpour of rain or a heavy snowfall.

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There is a Children’s Computer; I saw these brightly-coloured keyboards in Milton and, I think, in Guelph. The child in me wants one for myself.

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Here is a view from the Kids Place across the upper level. Can you see the bright light streaming in through the skylights?

I came up here by the stairs shown to the left.

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And here is the entrance to the Kids Place; Children must be accompanied by an adult.

I had no adult to guard me so I didn’t go in.

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The elevator fascinated me (it doesn’t take much ...).

There is no doubt at all that it is an elevator; the sign tells us so.

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But if you want the elevator you have to call (it) a Lift!

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And what novelty! I’ve not before seen an elevator with doors at right-angles. In hospitals we will often find elevators with doors at opposite sides, a 180º rotation, but not a 90º rotation.

I have circled the elevator door on the lower level.

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Another notice board; this one alerted me to the fact that I could buy my tickets right here.

Always ask a librarian!

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Down in the basement a book sale, but I am traveling light today, so I bought none.

In typing up these notes I realize that I could have picked up some books during my second visit later in the day. Darn!

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Here is a view of the library entrance on, I think, Mill Street; I am standing on the south side of Broadway, looking south.

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And this is the view from the north side of Broadway; yes, that beige vehicle, lower-left corner, is the one in the first photograph.

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Now, why did I take this shot?

Oh yes. Now I remember. The leaves have begun to fall from the first stressed trees. Autumn draws close ...

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Broadway is an attractive street; in the first place baskets and beds of flowers break the monotony of brick-and-concrete.

The street is litter-free, which speaks well of the citizens.

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Now, you tell me: Is it 11:45 or 12:05? And no peeking at the time-stamp on the photo either.

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There’s your answer!

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I love these street maps mounted on the streets. (Thinks: I must visit www.DiscoverBroadway.ca )

(LATER) I couldn’t find it on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.

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I am making my way to the Town Hall. This is the Broadway façade of the building, but serves as an entrance to the theatre.

Note the flower beds.

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Tradesmen’s entrance around the back, please (cheeky grin).

I collected a street map and a few cards ...

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Here is the map side of the street map I obtained from the Town Hall.

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And here is the obverse; with a directory of every street in Orangeville. A handy little reference.

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I liked this card. It offers a web site www.HeadwatersCommunities.org/FindARide and two at-a-glance indices of services.

Clever!

(LATER) I couldn’t find it on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.

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The coloured street map was available at the Town Hall.

Riding around on the buses I made good use of all three maps to orient myself.

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And here is the folder version of the bus map and schedules which I collected from the Orangeville Public Library.

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... then continued walking eastwards towards the bus hub. The timestamp in the photo suggests that I have, or am about to miss the buses. They depart every half hour on the quarter hour.

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I suspect a great many of these businesses are housed in, well, original houses that were residences in the main street many years ago.

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I am impressed by the flower beds; this bed softens a dentistry.

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And I couldn’t resist an extra shot.

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Here I am at the bus shelter; not much space for three buses, but we will see.

I trotted across to the strip plaza and bought a slice of pizza with extra cheese and a bottle of pop. When was the last time I bought pizza and pop? Just don’t tell my doctor ...

Another customer in the pizza shop asked me what part of England I was from; my accent still bleeds through after 59 years! He was from London; go figure.

The Orange Route

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The first of three buses arrives; I board. Here is the interior.

Here’s how Orangeville Transit fits three buses into the small parking bay – they are midi-buses and who knows how crowded they get on the way to and from school, but I traveled in the middle of the day and had plenty of room (and good conversation)

I like that the windows are clear, not covered over with advertisements (see HSR ).

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All the buses are equipped to board wheelchairs through a ramp at the rear of the bus. As well every bus was clean and tidy.

Maybe we should get Orangeville Transit to manage the TTC.

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The view forward is poor because the seat deck is raised up, higher than the window.

Views out to the side and perfect, but the way ahead is hidden from us.

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Here is my ten-ride pass with the first ride punched out by the operator; nine more rides to go.

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There are no conditions attached (I asked!) and so I can hand the unused rides over to another person – senior or student – or just hang on to the pass until my next visit to Orangeville; and there will be another visit to Orangeville.

The only other passenger when we started asked me what part of England I was from; my accent still bleeds through after 59 years! She was from London too; go figure.

The bus driver was from Blackburn, not twenty miles from where I was born and lived for ten years, but the bus driver remembers little since her family emigrated when she was but four years old.

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Some of the bus stops are on a metal pole, but I saw quite a few fixed high up on a utility pole, and that made them superbly visible from a distance.

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We traveled through older and younger parts of town. The older parts are distinguished by serious old and tall (and thick!) trees.

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The older houses are attractive, too.

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And then we have the new dormitory housing on the outskirts, a creeping form of housing which we see in the suburbs of Toronto.

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Now here’s something you don’t get very often on a public transit bus.

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The driver executes a neat and orderly three-point turn in a parking lot.

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This takes place at the western end of Springbrook Plaza, also known as “Bus stop number fifty”!

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And then it’s off again, and just as in most parts of towns and cities across Southern Ontario we see construction sights as townhouses go up.

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This is, as far as I could tell, the only water reservoir in Orangeville, and hence a useful landmark for navigation.

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Alright! Here’s an example of a high-mounted bus stop sign.

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And soon enough we are back on Broadway heading east.

I note that the sign includes the local Orangeville transit sign and a GO Transit sign; we came by here earlier this morning. I could, if I ended up here later in the day, wait for my bus here.

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Or here.

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Gas prices are down. Note that this price is displayed outside a variety-store-cum-gas-bar, where prices are often higher. (eagle-eyed viewers will have noted $1.039 in the photo taken at 10:46 in Brampton)

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Or here. This will be the sign off to the railway station (where GO Trains never come!)

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I loved this little sign; lost your wallet?

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We arrive back at the terminus and I hop off the Orange and onto the Blue bus. Off we go around the town.

The Blue Route

I keep hearing (well, three times that I can remember) a diesel locomotive horn. It is not an air-horn on a dump truck, but a locomotive wail. How many trains run through Orangeville during the day?

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Up ahead I see the rail crossing, so here is the railway station.

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We do another little loop-de-loop in the Westside Market Village mall.

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Neat!

The bus driver welcomes and farewells passengers by name, and before too long I feel that I know half the folks in town.

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We arrive back at the terminus and I hop off the Blue and onto the Green bus. Off we go around the town.

The Green Route

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No. Hang about! The Green bus was to have been the yellow school bus, but the driver has been called elsewhere, so we like sheep mill around until we are herded onto the leading bus.

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I meant to take a better shot than this, but didn’t, so you are stuck with it. Don’t swear at me!

I’m not sure whether “loss of transit privileges” means you get turfed off this bus, or whether you are banned for life.

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No matter where we go, there is an orange construction sign. (sigh!). It’s just like being in Toronto, but infinitely better.

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I am happy with this shot; my little camera was having trouble focusing in the bright sunlight until the car pulled up alongside.

That tiny but extremely brilliant flash of sunlight off the right-rear of the car body caused my camera to pull in its horns and reduce something or other enough to find focus.

The sign flashed by too quickly for me to take a photograph, but on entry to the hospital parking lot I read “No Smoking on Hospital Grounds”.

Toronto take note: It did not read “within nine metres of any doorway”; it read “on hispital grounds.

No Ifs, Ands or Buts.

And definately no Butts.

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I had seen this house twice before on Broadway; it is coloured a brilliant maroon on at least two sides, but struck me as quite pleasing.

I think I’d love to be Marooned in Orangeville.

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And so back to base.

I have completed all three of the bus routes, and while there are some spots I’d like to re-visit (the Alder Street branch of the library to name but one) I want to walk the business district, so bye-bye buses.

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Well, Okay then; a parting observation and question:-

I note that all three bus routes converge at the western end of Broadway and travel along Broadway to the terminal (circled in purple).

Since all routes depart the terminal at the same time and all routes take 30 minutes to travel the circuit, this must mean that all three routes travel eastwards along Broadway within about five miunutes of each other.

That is, no bus for thirty mintes than all three come barelling along.

And no bus route travels westwards along Broadway.

Of the three routes, Orange seems closest to linear (Green and Blue make broad circles through the town, but Orange is close to straight-out-and-back) so I wonder why one route, possibly Orange, couldn’t be reversed to supply a westbound route along Broadway?

Perhaps the answer is that there are so few residences on Broadway, or that peoiple rarely want to bus up and down the business district.

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Now be honest; when you think of a panel-beater’s shop you think of crud and muck and grease and oil-soaked clay and wrecked cars, don’t you?

But not in Orangeville. Here it is all clean pink brick with a trim administrative block.

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Orangeville has gone all-out on sculpted tree trunks, painted and varnished.

You’ll never guess which organization sponsored this sculpture.

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That’s right! The Lions Club. Well done.

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I don’t know why I often feel rushed for time. I have traveled all three routes and have FIVE HOURS to spare before my bus is scheduled to take me home.

This photo is mounted on a wall. How many retail businesses can you see?

Like so many red-brick towns, when the main street is lined with insurance agents and tattoo parlours, you just know that Wal-Mart has come to town and sucked the life out of retail businesses.

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There are a few stores closed down, but it is not clear to me whether this is just part of a regular turnover in fortunes or part of a general malaise.

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This was a games/comics sort of business, so perhaps it just lost its profit margin. It was not one of the original mom-and-pop retail stores selling groceries or clothing, that’s for sure.

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I wander in and out of businesses. Here is an old (fifty-years?) kitchen range doubling up as a display case.

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Mr. Sub is closed and moved away to another spot in Orangeville; maybe the main street rents have been jacked up; that often causes business to relocate.

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I spot a print of the classic Canadiana of railways, the witches-hat roof on the station building, the faithful steam locomotive and the posed train crew.

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Another business site “For lease”

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Then I walk through a mews with seven or eight murals depicting the change in this area, from forest to technology in about two hundred years.

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My goal is ... “stuff” which I spotted from the Blue bus route.

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This is an example of the benefit, to me, of riding the public buses first thing; I get to spot places that warrant a visit on foot.

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I walk back from the Outlet centre to the main street and am struck by the attractive rears of stores; usually you see rickety-stairs and wooden-siding badly in need of paint, but there we have finished surfaces as trim and neat as those fronting onto the main street.

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Another wooden sculpture, outside the library, I think, but don’t hold me to that.

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Marilyn Doekes; a great influence on generations of children, no doubt.

At 17:30 I am working my way through a hefty salad (I mean, hefty in size, but light in taste) when I see an eastbound GO bus, following the same route as my bus this morning.

Odd? I thought that there was no GO bus until around 19:30. Maybe there are other GO Transit bus services running through Orangeville that are not shown on my #37 schedule. I wouldn’t put it past GO management; they are a devious bunch who seem determined to dis-inform users.

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Now what would a day-in-the-country be without a picture of “the crane”, to remind me of how gritty is the city where I live (with more cranes per something than any other place in somewhere or other).

I know that this isn’t a regular condominium tower-crane, but it’s all Orangeville has got (Hooray!).

No wait! It gets better!

Later on I came to the conclusion that this crane wasn’t actually building a tower, that it was just for show; an advertisement if you like.

Hooray for Orangeville!

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After a great supper at a local diner I head towards Town Line and snap this shot on the south-west corner of Broadway and Town line ...

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... and across the street on the south-east corner of Broadway and Town Line ...

The reference librarian showed me a catalogue of tree-trunk sculptures. I am of the impression that there are two or three dozen of them scattered around town.

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The photo doesn’t do the sky justice. In the evening the sky was laced with contrails.

It has been such a lovely day for exploring the town. It surely couldn’t have gotten any better than this.

(Bit it did. Read on, dear reader, read on)

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I stop to take photos as I walk up Town Line towards Mill Street. These are weeds, but beautiful none the less, and I feel blessed to see them.

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And right next to them, these. Now what nicer combination can there be than purple and yellow?

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And here we are at the railway station in Orangeville.

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Another witches-hat roof, this time in the flesh.

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Who knew? I must visit www.CreditValleyExplorer.com

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I sit for a few minutes. I have ninety minutes before my bus arrives and leaves, but it’s been a great day; I’ve just eaten a delightful and filling salad, had a little walk; the sun is getting ready to set, and it is dead quiet here in the shade.

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Then I decide to stroll around the station yard.

Here is a view of the locomotive and the front of the rake of carriages.

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A weather-worn map of the route.

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And for any rail buffs, here is car ORXX 202.

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A view of one of the bogies.

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And the inevitable shadow of my former “selfie”; yes, they have an observation-dome car.

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Orangeville boasts a small marshalling yard with grain wagons.

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And the line snakes off to the west, running through town about a hundred yards south of and parallel to Broadway.

Note the dip in the rails just past the level crossing; also the short straight segments that make up part of the curve.

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I have no idea what this is; it looks like a single place setting for dinner, but it is buried in the shrubbery.

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Then I came across an apple tree.

Self-seeded by someone waiting for the train ten years ago?

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You know that I contemplated picking the apples to make an apple pie, but discretion got the better of me.

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And then!

Herein lies a story.

The bus displayed “Not In Service” as it pulled up, so I knew that it was no use to me. Not a big deal to me. I am retired, and on holiday; it is time to enjoy a quiet hour. I have my podcasts and a newspaper ...

I asked the driver about the bus I had seen an hour earlier while I was in the diner. Apparently that bus, and this bus, and my bus (due to arrive about an hour from now) are all part of the service bringing commuters from Brampton back to Orangeville.

Where was I going? To Toronto, but it’s OK, I have known for weeks that the only bus back is the 19:46 (a very good year, by the way).

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I return to my seat and take another photo of the sky; a jet hurries by on its way to Ottawa or Montreal or Quebec City or ...

I am listening to a podcast of TVO when the driver appears on foot, points to her ears and says “Oh that’s why you didn’t respond”.

In short order she suggests I get on the Not In Service bus and she can drop me off at Bovaird Drive from where I can hop on another, more local GO bus and get home early.

A brief discussion follows during which it becomes clear that I cannot tap my Presto Card because – TaDa! – the bus is out of service.

So I am to get a free ride to Bovaird and, we both hope, get home early.

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Thirty five minutes later I say goodbye and thank-you to the driver and prepare to cross Bovaird Drive to the Brampton and Go bus stop almost invisible in this dusk snapshot.

As I finish crossing Bovaird Drive a Brampton Bus swishes by. I break into a run and hop on board.

Yes! The driver says she can drop me off at the Brampton GO station, and I know that there are fleets of GO buses that pass in and out of there, so there’s a chance of a Union Station bus or else a York Mills bus; either one is good for me, for I live on that subway line.

You know what I mean.

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Off we go, southbound down Highway 10, and I am delighted for this is, I think, the first time I’ve ridden Brampton Transit.

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Ay 19:20 I am standing in the Brampton GO station.

It will not have escaped your attention that there are still 26 minutes to go before my planned GO bus leaves Orangeville.

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See? Buses for Union Station and York Mills.

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Don’t be fooled by Go Transit Management; they are trying once again to pull the wool over your eyes.

This notice is nothing to do with customers who want to travel to Kitchener.

This is only about a short-spur service as far as Mount Pleasant (“Where is that?”).

I am annoyed that Go Transit has stolen the abbreviation of the Transilean service “RER”. This is nothing at all like the French RER, which provides services in both directions 18 hours a day at 15-minute intervals.

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We pull out of the Brampton GO terminal at 19:36, four minutes before my bus is due to leave Orangeville.

This is the 31J route, and after about a half-dozen stops in Brampton we jump onto highway 410 southbound to the 401 eastbound, 427 southbound and Gardiner expressway. Whoop-de-doo!

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And we pull into the GO Bus terminal (after a mild traffic jam on lakeshore/Bay) at 20:23, the time that my original bus would be pulling into Brampton, and about an hour earlier than I had planned.

So herein lies a story.

First off, ten out of ten to front-line staff on Go Transit, Brampton Transit and so on. It says a great deal for the philosophy of the Go Transit system that the drivers are empowered to go out of their way, in a manner of speaking, to be of service to passengers; Drivers are not bound by rules that say what or is not allowed by management.

I feel welcome whenever I come into contact with a GO driver, guard, ticket clerk or information officer. No exceptions.

I think that:-

(1) I got a free ride from Orangeville to Bovaird Drive

(2) I got my “first trip” on Brampton Transit

(3) I got home an hour earlier than I had expected.

The joke is on me: I was so excited that I forgot to tap my card when exiting the Brampton #2 bus, so I probably got charged for the entire route and I was so excited when I got off the GO bus at Union Station that I forgot to tap off there too, so probably lost my mysterious 10% discount.

In short, I paid for my free ride.

But I don’t care. I’m happy.

I have $15.99 left on my Presto card, so I “blew” just under $20 on the trip, and that includes penalties and surcharges which to me count as “excitement tax”.

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I walk home from College Subway station to find a repair crew in the middle of my street.

That’s right; it’s the fifteenth of the month; it seems like (but isn’t) every month that the crew come and turn off the water main and dig a new hole, or sometimes dig out a hole they patched a month earlier.

But this time the foreman tells me to relax.

They aren’t going to cut off our water.

They are going to turn off the electricity.

Hah hah!


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7092187927 CPRGreaves@gmail.com

Bonavista, Wednesday, June 03, 2020 8:18 AM

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