Pedestrians forced off sidewalk for the convenience of cars is peak Toronto

Pedestrians on a stretch of Bathurst Street have been experiencing the true essence of what it means to (attempt to) travel on foot in construction-scarred Toronto.

A closed sidewalk in front of a construction site on the west side of Bathurst, south of King, has been forcing pedestrians to cross the street for several weeks, if not months.

And the most infuriating part? Even as pedestrians are forced to take an at-times dangerous trip across the road through car and streetcar traffic, there is still on-street parking available for cars, occupying the exact space where a pedestrian detour could be placed.

@cityoftoronto @TO_Transport it has now been over a month! 5 cars can continue to park, but pedestrians are forced to cross the street twice on Bathurst south at King. Why not remove the parking and provide that space for pedestrians to walk away past the construction? pic.twitter.com/1tRYTDrfSh

— Toronto Poles and Dangling Wires (@PolesWires) June 5, 2022

The anonymous Twitter account 'Toronto Poles and Dangling Wires' tells blogTO they "first took pictures back on April 29th and posted a tweet. It had already been blocked for a while."

"The fact that this is such a prolonged sidewalks closure should really mean a more permanent pedestrian solution should have been implemented," says the voice behind the account, adding that "the city simply does not view things through the eyes of pedestrians, even though that is how most people get around downtown."

The closure conditions, which appear to be related to a mixed-use development at 64-86 Bathurst, seem to place the convenience of a few cars above that of hundreds of pedestrians.

The parking serves 5 parked cars for 3 hours. 100s of pedestrians are inconvenienced by this every hour. The city should be thinking about people and not cars.

— Toronto Poles and Dangling Wires (@PolesWires) June 5, 2022

For many, it's a minor inconvenience, but having to backtrack half a block to cross safely at a light and then repeat the process from the other end of the closure can present significant challenges for people experiencing mobility issues or parents/guardians with small children.

It's the Toronto way. Must be so tough on parents with littles or disabled in the city.

— Ben Leow (@Astr0b0y8) June 6, 2022

While the Twitter account that alerted blogTO of this ongoing closure was created "as a way to make Torontonians more aware of some of the poor aesthetic choices being made in the city," it is also becoming a place to shine a light on "the poor choices being made then the more pressure our elected officials will get to change things."

Seeking an answer as to whether this comes down to the responsibility of the city or the developer of the project in question, blogTO has reached out to a representative of Toronto Traffic Services and is still awaiting a response as of writing.