It is just plain nuts that streetcars run the way they do, particularly on the narrower streets where parking is still allowed. We could at least make many of those streets (King, Queen) one-way and limit parking.
1. Thanks to Mike "CommonSense" Harris, school boards now answer to province, not the city. And thanks to Mr "CommonSense", school board budgets -- and therefore, maintenance costs -- are controlled by a funding formula based on enrollment.
5. Thanks to amalgamation by Mr "CommonSense", suburban councillors can meddle in what goes on downtown. The KingStreet tram lane exclusion only happened after suburban councillors' objections were mollified by being less strict on car traffic. It was such a battle that the KingStreet tram "experiment" has not yet been repeated elsewhere, even though the increased ridership on the KingStreet tram has more than proven its worth.
Another item is a poor comparison with Paris:
3. In Paris, most schools are in areas where residents don't have cars/garages so it's easy to ban cars. In Toronto, most schools are surrounded by houses with cars/garages so permanently closing the street to cars is not an option.
It is just plain nuts that streetcars run the way they do, particularly on the narrower streets where parking is still allowed. We could at least make many of those streets (King, Queen) one-way and limit parking.
Smart suggestions. Thanks.
This is great.
But some problems will lead back to the province.
1. Thanks to Mike "CommonSense" Harris, school boards now answer to province, not the city. And thanks to Mr "CommonSense", school board budgets -- and therefore, maintenance costs -- are controlled by a funding formula based on enrollment.
5. Thanks to amalgamation by Mr "CommonSense", suburban councillors can meddle in what goes on downtown. The KingStreet tram lane exclusion only happened after suburban councillors' objections were mollified by being less strict on car traffic. It was such a battle that the KingStreet tram "experiment" has not yet been repeated elsewhere, even though the increased ridership on the KingStreet tram has more than proven its worth.
Another item is a poor comparison with Paris:
3. In Paris, most schools are in areas where residents don't have cars/garages so it's easy to ban cars. In Toronto, most schools are surrounded by houses with cars/garages so permanently closing the street to cars is not an option.
Valid points. I agree the province will need to play ball for some of thsese changes, and that some need to be adapted to work here.