By Marc Lostracco

Each weekday morning, we pick an image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It’s our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

TORONTO (1963): With Toronto’s population now at a staggering 1.8 million, the businessman is finding it difficult to get to his down-town office on time. Above is an image predicted by Mr. N. Bytepusher of what Metro Chair Frederick Gardiner is calling the “Don Valley Parkway,” slated for completion in 1966. Picture motorists streaming through Toronto along a beautiful, curving highway beside the Don River at up to 50 miles per hour! The “river of automobiles” will be an appealing compliment to the waterway it follows.
Planned as a four-lane commuter highway, some planners claim that the grass median could some day be paved-over to create two more lanes (as pictured in Mr. Bytepusher’s “Flicker” creation), though few expect the route to reach such capacity, especially with the impending construction of the Scarborough Expressway, or with the inevitable raised monorail systems of the future.
Whilst the Don River is mostly only accessible on foot or bicycle, one is excited to imagine oneself finally able to enjoy the delightful scenery from the comfort of one’s automobile! And the businessman shall no longer have to answer to his testy secretary for arriving late—or to his wife for returning home to a cooling dinner on the table. It truly is a glimpse of the Year 2000…today!