The car or
lack thereof – has been front and centre of a passionate debate about the
future of Toronto’s sprawling High park.
Last summer,
growing tensions between cyclists, police, and drivers in the 400 acre park
made for headlines and potential lawsuits. It all began when police started
enforcing a posted 20km/h speed limit in High park by issuing tickets to
cyclists. While some concerned residents applauded this move, many people felt
that cyclists are being unfairly targeted.
In fact,
fingers point to cars as the major culprit, which have been responsible for
accidents and injuries in and around High Park in recent years. This past
summer, journalist James McLeod hit High Park with his own speed radar, and
aptly documented his findings on Twitter. “Literally, the first car was going
double the speed limit,” reads one tweet. “John Tory says cars should obey the
law. Where are the police?” He went on to highlight a slew of other vehicles
that were traveling above the 20km/hour speed limit, including a church bus.
In a climate
of record-breaking numbers of new residents, some say High Park’s use has
outgrown its capacity for cars. The take away from what the park should be: a
nature-filled sanctuary where people can escape the daily grind of big city
life – certainly not a place of perpetual conflict.
Late last
year, results of the High Park Movement Strategy survey, which surveyed 10,384
people, revealed that the majority of people want a car-free High Park. The
move would follow that of other major urban centres, like New York City, which
banned cars entirely from Central Park in 2018.
When it
comes to priorities for the park, 58% of respondents reported they wanted to
see measures taken to reduce the motor vehicle activity within the park. They
were also concerned with mitigating risk at conflict zones where road users mix
(56%), reducing the number of roads in the park where motor vehicles are
permitted (55%), and providing dedicated bike lanes (54%). Meanwhile, the
lowest priority was placed on offering direct vehicular access to interior park
destinations (62%) and maintaining car parking within the park (53%).
Currently, the park is closed to car traffic from 11pm Friday nights to 7am on
Mondays – something that was implemented a few years back in response to the
pandemic.
As Toronto increase
in density, one towering new condo development and ambitious immigration target
at a time, city residents need all the green space they can get-and an
expensive suite of outdoor condo amenities isn’t always going to cut it. More
than just a nice idea, access to green space in urban centres has been linked
to improves mental health and lower levels of loneliness.
The pandemic
and Toronto’s relentless lockdown measures- highlighted a glaringly obvious
reality: we will soon have too many people for the city’s green spaces. On countless
weekends in the summer of 2020, Trinity Bellwoods Park was so packed with people
that it was virtually impossible to score a square foot of grassy real estate.
Meanwhile, hours-long lines for both water taxis and ferries filled with those
seeking the breezy refuge of the Toronto Island – spanned all the way down the block.
While the influx of cooped-up residents to these green spaces can be considered
a lockdown era anomaly, the reality is that we could see a similar sight in the
next few years due to population growth within the city core.
As the crown
jewel of Toronto’s park systems, banning cars in High Park makes sense as we
look toward the future, in order to reduce the ensuing competition for pieces
of its supposedly peaceful green space. Furthermore, it’s not like the park is
in the middle of nowhere; it sits just blocks from a TTC station. Not to
mention, one streetcar line sits on its southern border, while another enters
the park at its eastern edge.
Of course,
there’s room for compromise. For example, cars could be banned only during the
peak season. Last year’s survey asked for feedback on four draft strategies for
network improvements. Strategy 1 would prohibit vehicles within High Park;
Strategy 2 would prohibit vehicles within High Park; Strategy 2 would prohibit vehicles
at scheduled times; Strategy 3 would ban vehicles on certain park roads; and Strategy
4 would allow visitor vehicles at all times.
Respondents indicated
the highest level of support for Strategy 1: no visitor vehicles allowed within
High Park. Tellingly, Strategy 4: visitor vehicles allowed at all times, has
the lowest level of support, and the highest level of opposition.
At the end
of the day, Toronto is inevitably moving in a direction where the car takes a back
seat to transit and other modes of transportation. This is reflected in
everything from the limited number of parking spots in new urban developments,
to massive investments in new transit and an increases in pedestrian and
cyclist-centric spaces in the city in spots reclaimed from the car. The reality
is, getting from point A to point B via car is only going to take longer in the
years ahead. Personally, I’d rather see cars banned in the park than on a city
street.
As for the
future of High Park, its fate has yet to be decided. In the meantime, one thing
seems quite certain: the car-free weekends likely aren’t going anywhere in the
near future.
Written
By: Erin Nicole Davis
Source By:
STOREYS