Why Toronto needs to fast-track a focus on public transit
Looking 475 miles to the southeast, Toronto -- Canada's largest city -- pales in comparison to New York and other global cities in transportation planning and investment, Lisa Rochon writes in the Globe and Mail.
With "urban arthritis" from clogged streets, "corroded" sidewalks and an insufficient amount of both subway lines and bicycle lanes, Toronto has yet to shake itself from the postwar mindset that the road is king -- and its continued lack of foresight is allowing it to fall behind London, Hong Kong, Barcelona and yes, even New York City.
Rochon writes:
Along with the province’s contributions, Toronto’s public transit has only tasted bits and pieces from the federal slop pail: $300-million toward the Spadina subway expansion, another $300-million toward a previous vision of the Sheppard Avenue East Light Rail Transit line, though that funding has been frozen since Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cancelled the Transit City plan earlier this year. A trip through the city that takes 20 minutes by car takes three times that long by a disheartening and exhausting relay of streetcar, bus, subway and bus.
Rochon urges Torontonians to "unpark" their brains to turn streets from "economic dead zones" to hubs for investment and revenue.
To compare, Rochon notes that New York has been reclaiming some of its car-clogged public plazas (Times Square, Herald Square, etc.) for pedestrian use. Hong Kong has invested 1 percent of the (tiny but wealthy) nation's gross domestic product in its public transit, year after year. And commonwealth cousin London continues its progressive streak in rolling out rail and cycles.
But Toronto? You could say reception has been a bit, um, cold.
To turn that around, Rochon suggests dedicated funding for public transportation and calls for urban visionaries to "go big or go home" -- that is, don't be afraid to upend conventional thinking.
Between the lines, Rochon is really saying that Toronto need not stigmatize the car but return it to its appropriate context relative to other modes of public transportation. Will city officials agree?
Toronto's gridlock is never going to be beautiful [Globe and Mail]
Photo: Juan M/Flickr
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com