Toronto could take some notes from Barcelona: the city's comparable dependency on cars doesn't come at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists or green spaces. realestate Toronto infrastructure
No one would ever accuse Barcelonans of not loving their cars. Indeed, the city has the highest rates of auto-ownership in Europe. Though they’re not hooked on pick-up trucks and SUVs like North Americans, four wheels are good enough. But as anyone who has spent even a few days in the Catalan capital knows, the space given to vehicular traffic doesn’t come at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists or, even more remarkably, trees, benches, buses, playgrounds or parking.
Clearly, local standards are mean in comparison to Barcelona’s. In favouring cars over pedestrians, Toronto has compromised the very quality by which it has chosen to be known, namely its liveability. The false god of convenience has Toronto well in its grip.But since we can’t turn back the clock, we’re stuck with what we have. Even so, there are options. Recently, for instance, there has been much discussion about Yonge Street north of Sheppard to Finch.
Yet today we can see that it’s these very pedestrians that give Yonge Street its wonderful vitality. They have brought the neighbourhood to lifethe efforts of city planners and politicians to keep them as far away as possible. Against all odds, Yonge between Finch and Sheppard has evolved into a diverse urban centre that supports a wide range of restaurants, cafes, and shops.between Parliament and Bathurst. Again, today it’s not up to much.
The essence of the Barcelonian vision is, of course, the desire to create a city that is open, attractive, and accessible to all. That includes, but is not limited to, drivers. The idea isn’t that Torontonians should step out of their cars once and forever. It’s too late for that; that’s not going to happen. The more crucial part of the puzzle is that drivers and their political enablers grasp that it’s time to share the city. The decades of vehicular hegemony are drawing to a close.
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