The Toronto Sun: Toronto's war on cars

[marmar]

Toronto's war on cars
Toronto drivers spend roughly two work-weeks per year stuck in traffic on the city's congested streets and highways. And it's going to get a lot worse ...

By JENNY YUEN, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 17th May 2009, 5:17am


Despite a massive, $50 billion transportation plan to improve road, rail and transit across the GTA over the next 25 years, there are no plans to make it easier for cars to move throughout the city.

Instead, Toronto's "anti-car" council has focused its spending almost exclusively on public transit, including a new $950 million light rail transit line along Sheppard Ave. E., and allocated relatively modest funds for a pedestrian and bike lane strategy.

"This city seems to be in a deliberate campaign against vehicles," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong. "Our job is to provide solutions. We are becoming more of a problem."

It's city policy to put pedestrians, cyclists and transit ahead of automobiles as part of its integrated transportation plan. But despite an additional 10 million cars bought by North Americans each year, Toronto has no plan to accommodate the extra vehicles, said the city's manager of transportation services.

"We're trying to meet the needs of the future," said Gary Welsh. "There's going to be a lot more people travelling on the roads, on the public rights of way. We may not have the room to widen. We can't put more cars on the road."

The cost of the city's anti-car strategy isn't cheap. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/05/17/9483606-sun.html

[dorkulon]

1. San Francisco does the same thing and I think it's brilliant policy.

When I lived there, they had a policy of reducing the number of parking spaces annually. I thought it was pretty smart.

[AndyTiedye]

2. The SF Area Needs to Run More Transit At Night Though

One of the big attractions of San Francisco is its nightlife.
One of the big downsides of attempting to partake in SF nightlife is the lack of parking.

You can't take public transit there if the transit stops running before the event is over.

[bertman]

3. Thank goodness someone in North America is taking the lead on this. It's about time.

Go Toronto!!

[MrScorpio]

4. Big ups to Toronto

Love the forward thinking on this

[Canuckistanian]

5. All that traffic was one reason I moved away from Toronto in 2000

I was born there and spent most of my adult life there. But the daily traffic jams were getting to be too much.

After I moved to the Ottawa area, I immediately noticed the difference. Driving wasn't a blood sport any more. I could relax, I knew I would be on time and I didn't have to worry about my radiator boiling over in hot summer weather.

Also, Toronto residents are REALLY getting freaked out about the smog. It's so bad it makes a yellow haze everywhere and it sometimes spreads hundreds of miles right into cottage country.

This is long overdue, but I'm glad they're finally doing it.

[fishwax]

6. increased mass transit *will* "make it easier for cars to move throughout the city"

by giving people alternatives to driving themselves all the time :shrug: