People-friendly streets

TheStar.com - editorial
October 01, 2007

The car has ruled Toronto's streets, and those of other cities, for decades. Now, a promising movement is afoot to ease that domination by better serving the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders.

A four-day conference on more liveable cities starts in Toronto today, attracting delegates and speakers from around the world. The meeting's theme is "Putting pedestrians first." And on Wednesday the city's public works committee is to discuss a forward-looking report that suggests several practical ways to make Toronto friendlier to those choosing to walk, bike or use public transit.

When Toronto residents leave their car at home, they help improve the planet's health by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As well, they boost their own well-being by getting exercise that would be denied them sitting behind the wheel.

Many suggestions listed in the works committee report are attractive because they can be put in place fairly quickly and are relatively cheap. Some could be done almost immediately.
Simply increasing the time allowed at stop lights for pedestrian crossings would make a big difference. Another proposed change is to stop all traffic, in all directions, for pedestrians at some intersections. This "scramble phase" would allow people to walk diagonally, from one corner to another, completing two street crossings at once. The report calls for such a system next year, on a trial basis, at the intersection of Bloor and Yonge Sts., and at Bloor and Bay Sts.

Other recommendations include conducting an environmental assessment as the next step toward building an east-west bicycle route through the downtown core in 2009, imposing longer rush-hour parking bans on key routes, endorsing bus lanes in the shoulder areas along certain parts of the Don Valley Parkway and studying the creation of permanent pedestrian streets in selected downtown areas.

Each of these proposed measures is relatively modest, but together they signal a new direction for transportation planning in Toronto. That new direction deserves encouragement and a strong vote of support from members of the works committee and from city council.