O'Canada

Ireland (and the UK, but that’s beside the point) has a lot of roundabouts on its roads. They’re a very sensible way of handling intersections, but they are unfamiliar to most North Americans, who are worried they will get trapped on one and go around and around until the car runs out of gas (or petrol). This is the first of a series comparing intersections of various sizes. Here we have two two-lane roads crossing, in Dublin on the left and in Toronto on the right. In Dublin cars wouldn’t stop but would move slowly through or around the roundabout and then exit; in Toronto every car comes to a full stop, waits for any cars that got there first to move through the intersection, then moves on.

Small Irish roundabout. In Ireland one drives on the left.

Small Toronto intersection. Note the stop signs (facing away) and disrepair of the road. In Canada one drives on the right.

The subject of this first post is of a rather personal nature to the authors. For both of them Trinity College was a very integral part of their undergraduate university life (albeit some years ago!). We thus make our blog debut by comparing our respective Trinities.

Trinity College Dublin on the left, Trinity College at the University of Toronto on the right.

Trinity College, University of Toronto

Trinity College Dublin

A chapel here ...

... and a chapel here.

Many squares in Dublin ...

... but just one quad in Toronto.

Both have a Buttery ...

... where students can eat.

And both have benches ...

... where tired students can rest.