In light of pro-car mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi turning the Jarvis-bike lane controversy into an election wedge issue, the best way to de-escalate this situation is to extend Toronto’s idea of
diversity from skin colour and religion to transportation choice. The
cyclists don’t need bike lanes — rather, “we” need to figure out how
to make different kinds of transportation work together in the same
place, all over the city. ...more
Toronto is vast and deep, and contains whole communities of people who never really meet each other. So what do we mean when we say "we"?
...more
Cities are dangerous. At least that’s what we’re supposed to think. At
some point in the late 1960s and early 1970s, North American culture
decided that the urban form is where bad things happen. But while Toronto mostly avoided the abandoning of cities that happened in the US, we still have our perceptions and misperceptions of urban decay. How we view “bad” is relative, and it’s shaped more by the media, film and television than reality. ...more
The TTC Riders Union is a good idea — but EYE WEEKLY's Shawn Micallef won't be joining just yet, because one of the organizing sponsors of the group is the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. If the TTC Riders Union is going to represent all riders it must be free of any
ideological leaning because the taint of dogma will evaporate potential
membership. ...more
Riverdale Park works better than those in the Annex and the rest of Toronto, where
parks have often become near-bloody battlegrounds in Toronto’s ongoing
war between dogs and kids. What makes this place nearly unique in Toronto is that it’s leash-free
24-hours a day, all year long, and it’s huge. Other than a sign
suggesting it’s leash free, there are no instructions on how to use the
space. It’s a miraculous thing for Toronto, a city that likes rules and
lots of them. ...more
The promised future that never arrived is preserved in Scarborough, where all the life is contained indoors ...more