Results tagged “streets”

The next time somebody tells us that Toronto is in the midst of a war on cars we are going to buy them a plane ticket to Copenhagen. Or possibly Bogotá. New York if they want something closer to home. We will send them to one of the growing number of cities that are actually demonstrating the nerve to redefine their planning priorities in favour of liveability and environmental sustainability and dare the auto-obsessed malcontents to say that they aren't all the better for it. For all the recent controversies over Toronto's Bike Plan and Walking Strategy, over our notions of just talking about taking down one portion of one disastrous highway, and converting one traffic lane on a road that is not used to capacity [PDF] to allow five times the number of people to use it on their bikes, Toronto's initiatives are piddling, tentative, nibbling-around-the-edges sorts of things when compared with what is happening elsewhere in the world.

Score one for the cycling community. After an intense and late-breaking campaign, and with a crucial assist from Councillor Kyle Rae, bicycle advocates have successfully introduced bike lanes into a major redevelopment plan for Jarvis Street. Yesterday afternoon the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) voted to remove the centre, reversible-direction lane of traffic, and use the freed-up space to install bicycle lanes in both directions from Bloor to Queen.

At the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) meeting this morning, councillors debated the Roncesvalles revitalization project that has been under discussion in that community for the last while. (By some counts, the conversation has lasted at least five years.) The proposal calls for curb bump-outs and transit platforms, in the form of sidewalk extensions, at several points along the avenue. Though the environmental assessment of the streetscape plan has been a matter of some controversy within the community it was unanimously endorsed in today's vote, with all four members of PWIC present at the time (Councillors Carroll, Giambrone, Palacio, and Perks) speaking in its favour.

As we reported on Friday, this weekend was the annual extravaganza of pedestrian urban love known as Jane's Walk. With dozens of walks exploring every corner of Toronto (and many more in cities across the continent), there was a glorious medley of tours to choose from. We were there (well, not everywhere), and though we couldn't begin to do a comprehensive survey of the walks on offer we did manage to log dozens of kilometres, and pick up a good number of fun tidbits along the way. Behold some of our favourite finds...

"Streets in cities serve many purposes besides carrying vehicles, and city sidewalks—the pedestrian parts of the streets—serve many purposes besides carrying pedestrians... Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs. Think of a city and what comes to mind? Its streets."

If you're ever having one of those blah days, the kind where your life seems decidedly lacking in excitement and you find yourself in need of an emotional jolt, might we suggest that you attend a community meeting as an antidote? Perhaps one devoted to an ambitious redesign of your neighbourhood? The depth and breadth of passion, indignation, frustration, hope, and fear on display will perk you right up.

Following her usual route home from work, Della Hazelton made her way down Yonge Street in the early evening of October 2, 1907. On the south side of Bloor, the forty-two year-old widow stepped off the curb and was part-way across the street when she was startled by an approaching streetcar. Jumping back, Hazelton was struck by a northbound car, thrown under its wheel, and killed instantly. Constable Hobbs, who'd been directing traffic at the intersection, and other witnesses testified at a subsequent coroner's inquest. They confirmed that the driver, Frank E. Mutton, had slowed his big touring car—and had even sounded his horn—as he approached the busy intersection.