City
7 urban trends Toronto must resist in 2013
On the last day of 2012, urbanism blog Atlantic Cities published a list of worldwide city trends it hopes will not last another year. At a glance, several of the activities on the naughty list seem to apply directly to Toronto; casinos, tacky marketing schemes, and large-scale sports development for a single, grand event.
OK, so I'm a little biased towards forever banishing most of these trends to a black portfolio somewhere in a leaky storage container in the basement of city hall. Anyway, let's hear your thoughts in the comment thread below.
DOWNTOWN CASINOS
According to urbanist Richard Florida, "politicians and cities see [casinos] as economy boosters, but often the social costs outweigh the economic benefit." Right now, a cluster of gaming companies are flirting with the city for a potentially lucrative deal to build a downtown complex. I'm willing to bet any casino will be a hideous turd on the city whoever builds it so this one is firmly in the reject pile.
SPONSORING SUBWAY STATIONS
In July 2011, the TTC approved a new ad contract with Pattison Outdoor Advertising that laid the ground work for the sale of naming rights to subway stations. Commercial advertisers are apparently frowned upon so Ryerson University was one of the first to express a real interest in renaming Dundas station. Its location next to the stop might have made it a little more palatable - the proposal seems to have died - but this is a trend that really should vanish before something horrendous, like McDonald's Spadina or St. Coca-Cola station, happens.
FANCY BIKE LANES
According to the Atlantic Cities, elevated, heated, and brightly painted bike lanes are being proposed in various cities around the world, and this is a problem because it focus on style over practicality. In Toronto it's hard to scorn any new bike lane, whatever form it takes, if it means making the roads safer. Who knows - maybe an ambitious project will help us find some sensible middle ground.
FAILING TO FUTURE-PROOF SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
The original list cites the Olympics as the prime example, but Toronto and the GTA could also be heading for trouble with development ahead of the 2015 Pan Am Games. Milton is getting a world-class velodrome, Markham is building a pool complex, and U of T is working on a new high-performance sports centre. Here's hoping that these venues serve some real practical use once the games are over. In Hamilton, the replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium will host the Tiger-Cats once Pan Am soccer wraps up.
COMMUTERS FIGHTING COMMUTERS
Recent years in Toronto have been marked by disputes between users of various modes of transportation: cars vs. bikes, bikes vs. pedestrians, streetcars vs. cars, etc. That needs to stop if this city is going to ever provide a sustainable and efficient way of moving everybody where they need to go, and back again. Writer Emily Badger describes the partisan disputes in other cities (it's not just us!) as resembling "warring Balkan tribes." It's time for a truce, guys.
DITHERING ON FOOD TRUCKS
They're delicious, they're fun, but quite why Toronto isn't willing to make it easier for food trucks to operate in the city is baffling. It's not just us; Columbus, Ohio is leisurely working on new laws for its 150 food trucks over concerns about where the vehicles are allowed to park. It can't be that hard to work this out, can it? Afterall, the National Post recently predicted mobile eats to be one of this year's big food trends.
DOING AND UNDOING
Plastic bags were out, then they weren't. Transit City was dead, then it wasn't. The Jarvis bike lanes survived then vanished. This year let's make the right decision the first time around and stick to it. Sadly, this is the one resolution that most likely won't come true.
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Photo: "in the lane" by 'Xander @416cyclestyle from the blogTO Flickr pool.
Discussion
36 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
Why don't you move to Vancouver instead of giving advice that would mess Toronto up???
You're saying that better commuting for all would screw up Toronto? I don't know about you but I'd prefer to have better options for commuting. But then again I don't like spending an hour sitting on the Gardiner wondering if I'll fall through the deck this time.
And the bike v. transit v. pedestrians v. drivers case would be a lot better if more bicyclists understood the concept of red lights, open streetcar doors and the rules of the road.
A casino would be great for the city. Pretty bike lanes, named subway stations. Big deal. There are plentiful other cities that have these and are more then fine.
Yes food truck Accessibility would be better for the city - agreed
Doing it right the first time. I agree. Look at the ontario teachers. Our premier is imposing things just to take it back before he steps down. Maybe it's the new trend. ....
Commuters are being pitted against each other by political forces - and it's working, sadly. Food trucks, and other food places should be regulated to ensure safety but should be flexible enough to be creative and flourish - don't heavy-hand their efforts. Doing and undoing is a part of city life - that's ok. It's when things have progressed past a point of no return and are undone that it becomes problematic.
A city isn't devoid of life, these trends should be welcomed, but only if common sense prevails. The reason these are brought up as issues is because we put up with inept leadership at City Hall. Change that and this list changes completely.
Yes, because only bicyclists need to understand that. All motorists and pedestrians are perfect and adhere to road rules.
Turn off the basement light and get out occasionally.
i'd imagine more car drivers are killed around the city than cyclists. I'd imagine that more pedestrians are killed around the city than cyclists, usually from getting run over by cars.
But your great idea to end the 'us vs them' problem is for cyclists to behave better.
If it helps our subway system expand and become more efficient, who cares about what the stations are called?
Some people try too hard to make this city so world class and decent, that it ends up being a joke in other people's eyes anyway. The city needs money, and if you have to give it up to corporate people to fund it then so be it.
If you want the city to be a hippy town, move to Vancouver.
Stop kicking dead horses.
Casino: Niagara Falls is an hour away. People go there, gamble away, then come back and work in the city to recoup their losses. Why not just keep them in the city and save some gas? Or give the out of towners who come here for business a place to have a few drinks and play a few games? Montreal has a casino. Ottawa has one and may soon have two. The almighty Vancouver has a casino. These cities have not descended into some ridiculous alternate-reality Hill Valley. Toronto won't either.
Sponsoring subway stations: "We want more transit! But don't do anything logical to pay for it, cuz that would be embarrassing."
Fancy bike lanes: What the HELL is a fancy bike lane? One with colour? Is it really awful to add colour to bike lanes to make it easier for drivers to not cross into it when i'm trying to bike to the store for some milk? NYC has em. Why can't we? And I don't think anybody has ever considered heating bike lanes here. Heated driveways barely work in this country, and we're going to heat roadways?
Future-proofing sports facilities: I think the bigger, more obvious example is at the foot of the CN Tower.
Food trucks: Sorry, they're awesome, but not if they're creating congestion. This needs to be handled properly.
That being said, I don't care if someone wants to abuse him or herself by eating from one. :)
Also, for the people complaining that blogTO is too opinionated - it's a BLOG. That's the point. Why don't you go over to The Star and read the news without any bias whatsoever. :-\
Look at London: Their Thames cable car/gondola lift project went over budget, so they got a £36 million sponsorship from Emirates, and now it's called the Emirates Air Line.
The world didn't implode. People are using it. An Emirates Air Line is better than no air line.
I really wish people would be precise with their use of language.