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From today's Eye Magazine...
Five Good Ideas (for Toronto)
Looking around the world for simple, road-tested ideas to improve the quality of life in Toronto
After travelling in Asia this summer, I returned to Toronto to wander the streets with a new set of eyes. Being extra critical of your city is a side effect of spending any amount of time abroad. What struck me most about Toronto, upon returning home just a little more worldly, wasn't our architecture or transit system, but our hot-dog carts.
Why, in a city as multicultural as Toronto, do we offer almost nothing but wieners on our streets? The almost overwhelming variety of street food in other cities, and the almost overwhelming number of people who eat from them, stands as proof, you would think, that Toronto street vendors could sell more than sausages and hot dogs without citizens becoming ill.
Our inability to think beyond the wiener is typical of a sensibility that feels buying food from outdoor vendors is unsafe, that public washrooms are dangerous and that we can't survive without really wide roads. Instead of claiming that things such as laneway housing or banning billboards are impossible, we should look to other cities and ask: if these kinds of projects have been successful elsewhere, why can't we implement them here?
Here are five ideas we could use to spruce up Toronto that other cities have already proven feasible.
Public washrooms
Compared to Paris, Torontonians are on a pretty tight "bladder leash," a term used by the World Toilet Organization (WTO) to describe how far from home people feel they can go based on the availability of public toilets.
While in Toronto, public washrooms are limited to municipal buildings, public parks and a few TTC stations, over 420 stand-alone public washrooms are scattered throughout the streets of Paris. These self-sanitizing units open and close with the push of a button and self-wash when you're done. Since January of this year, Paris has been converting its public toilets to facilities that can be used free-of-charge, with the hopes of recouping most of the cost through the money it saves on street cleaning.
Toronto, it seems, has been taking note. The Request for Proposals for its coordinated street furniture program — which will give one company a contract to provide the city with new bus shelters, benches, garbage bins and more — includes a call for 20 public washrooms. Unlike Paris, however, Toronto's city council isn't planning to shell out any cash to fund them. "I love public toilets," Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38) told the Toronto Public Space Committee. "And if there's one thing I love more than toilets, it's advertising."
Art in subway stations
Here's what sets the London Underground apart from the TTC: the Underground sees itself as "integral to London's historic and contemporary identity." The world-famous tube isn't merely a tool to get from A to B, it's an "attraction in itself," according to its website. Launched in 2000, the Platfrom for Art program provides the opportunity for London art galleries to organize temporary rotating exhibitions in subway stations throughout the city. The program features both emerging and internationally celebrated artists, helps promote local galleries and brings art to the masses. For the price of a subway fare, you not only get to where you want to go but also gain entry into a gallery of art.
Small fire trucks
In North America, we like everything — including cars, homes and meals — super-sized, and fire trucks are no exception. But big fire trucks require wide streets, and since safety trumps good design, our fire trucks end up calling the shots when we build our roadways. With the average width of a fire truck in Canada ballooning to 3.4 metres, Toronto's Development Infrastructure Policy and Standards recently recommended that all new streets in Toronto be 8-8.5 metres wide. (Prior to this recommendation, the road width standard was 7.3 metres.) These standards mean that homes can't be built in our narrow alleyways and the amount of paved surface in Toronto will only increase. Wide roads also give motorists a sense of comfort, which reduces their level of caution and makes driving faster easier. Although other factors likely also play a role, on the wide open roads of the USA, the traffic fatality rate is almost twice as high as in Japan and nearly three times as high as in Great Britain.
Tokyo, like many other cities in Asia and Europe, has taken a different approach to ensuring that emergency vehicles can easily speed through city streets: instead of having the size of the trucks determine the width of the street, the width of the street determines the size of the trucks. Tokyo's trucks are built to handle a minimum street width of 4 metres — half the size of what Toronto's guidelines recommend. Its trucks are built to fit, and, surprisingly enough, its citizens aren't in any more danger.
Making use of the space under expressways
Urban affairs writer John Lorinc describes it as "infill at its grittiest," but a project to reclaim 23 acres of property under the Westway expressway in north London has transformed a mile of derelict space into much-needed recreation centres and other local amenities. In 1971, Westway Development Trust was created to develop the land for the benefit of the surrounding residents. The redeveloped area now includes skate parks, a daycare, a fitness club and a full-size soccer field with underground parking. A building for creative work space, artist studios, offices and shops was also built under the elevated highway. By setting aside 20 per cent of the property for commercial use, Westway Development Trust has been able to secure a steady stream of income that's reinvested back into the community.
Street food
The streets are alive with vendors in Seoul, South Korea, where you'll find spicy rice cakes, dumplings, noodles, fresh fruit, egg sandwiches, kimbap, dried and roasted squid and even simmered silkworm larva. In addition to providing cheap — and often nutritious — meals to people who work or live in the neighbourhood, the vendors act as social hubs — patrons gather around each stand as they eat, and (gasp!) maybe even enjoy an alcoholic drink in public space.
So why are there nothing but hot dogs in Toronto? As Katie Rabinowicz learned after attempting to open a stand selling food from around the world, there are a number of rules and regulations in T.O. that make selling anything that's not a wiener difficult. Pre-cooked or pre-packaged food is OK. As for anything else, "I had a hard time navigating the regulations," Rabinowicz admits. "They are really difficult to interpret."
Rabinowicz, together with Andrea Winkler (both co-directors of Multistory Complex, a group working to engage and educate the public on urban-planning issues), is preparing to launch a street-food vending project in the spring. The plan is to work with street vendors, architects and our city's mind-boggling bylaws to introduce healthy, affordable food to Toronto streets.
AND FIVE MORE
Train time: Taipei, Taiwan — Riders aren't allowed to eat or chew gum on their immaculate subway cars, but at least they know how long they can expect to wait for the next train thanks to electronic signs that display arrival times.
Tolls: Stockholm, Sweden — In September, after a six-month test run, Stockholm residents voted in favour of charging those who drive in and out of the city.
Banning billboards: São Paulo, Brazil — Though it's dismissed as a publicity stunt, the mayor of Brazil's largest city has submitted a bill to city council that would outlaw all billboards.
Shared streets: Holland — Instead of banning cars from streets or relegating pedestrians to small strips of sidewalk, people and cars actually share the same surface on some residential and commercial streets in the Netherlands. According to studies, shared streets are safer — cars have no choice but to slow down, while kids, pedestrians and cyclists have more space to walk, ride and play.
Uncovering rivers: Seoul, South Korea — A river running through the heart of Seoul called the Cheonggyecheon, which was buried in the early 1960s, was recently uncovered (and the expressway built above it torn down) to create 5.8 kilometres of beautiful public space where residents can walk, sit and even swim.
Five Good Ideas (for Toronto)
Looking around the world for simple, road-tested ideas to improve the quality of life in Toronto
After travelling in Asia this summer, I returned to Toronto to wander the streets with a new set of eyes. Being extra critical of your city is a side effect of spending any amount of time abroad. What struck me most about Toronto, upon returning home just a little more worldly, wasn't our architecture or transit system, but our hot-dog carts.
Why, in a city as multicultural as Toronto, do we offer almost nothing but wieners on our streets? The almost overwhelming variety of street food in other cities, and the almost overwhelming number of people who eat from them, stands as proof, you would think, that Toronto street vendors could sell more than sausages and hot dogs without citizens becoming ill.
Our inability to think beyond the wiener is typical of a sensibility that feels buying food from outdoor vendors is unsafe, that public washrooms are dangerous and that we can't survive without really wide roads. Instead of claiming that things such as laneway housing or banning billboards are impossible, we should look to other cities and ask: if these kinds of projects have been successful elsewhere, why can't we implement them here?
Here are five ideas we could use to spruce up Toronto that other cities have already proven feasible.
Public washrooms
Compared to Paris, Torontonians are on a pretty tight "bladder leash," a term used by the World Toilet Organization (WTO) to describe how far from home people feel they can go based on the availability of public toilets.
While in Toronto, public washrooms are limited to municipal buildings, public parks and a few TTC stations, over 420 stand-alone public washrooms are scattered throughout the streets of Paris. These self-sanitizing units open and close with the push of a button and self-wash when you're done. Since January of this year, Paris has been converting its public toilets to facilities that can be used free-of-charge, with the hopes of recouping most of the cost through the money it saves on street cleaning.
Toronto, it seems, has been taking note. The Request for Proposals for its coordinated street furniture program — which will give one company a contract to provide the city with new bus shelters, benches, garbage bins and more — includes a call for 20 public washrooms. Unlike Paris, however, Toronto's city council isn't planning to shell out any cash to fund them. "I love public toilets," Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38) told the Toronto Public Space Committee. "And if there's one thing I love more than toilets, it's advertising."
Art in subway stations
Here's what sets the London Underground apart from the TTC: the Underground sees itself as "integral to London's historic and contemporary identity." The world-famous tube isn't merely a tool to get from A to B, it's an "attraction in itself," according to its website. Launched in 2000, the Platfrom for Art program provides the opportunity for London art galleries to organize temporary rotating exhibitions in subway stations throughout the city. The program features both emerging and internationally celebrated artists, helps promote local galleries and brings art to the masses. For the price of a subway fare, you not only get to where you want to go but also gain entry into a gallery of art.
Small fire trucks
In North America, we like everything — including cars, homes and meals — super-sized, and fire trucks are no exception. But big fire trucks require wide streets, and since safety trumps good design, our fire trucks end up calling the shots when we build our roadways. With the average width of a fire truck in Canada ballooning to 3.4 metres, Toronto's Development Infrastructure Policy and Standards recently recommended that all new streets in Toronto be 8-8.5 metres wide. (Prior to this recommendation, the road width standard was 7.3 metres.) These standards mean that homes can't be built in our narrow alleyways and the amount of paved surface in Toronto will only increase. Wide roads also give motorists a sense of comfort, which reduces their level of caution and makes driving faster easier. Although other factors likely also play a role, on the wide open roads of the USA, the traffic fatality rate is almost twice as high as in Japan and nearly three times as high as in Great Britain.
Tokyo, like many other cities in Asia and Europe, has taken a different approach to ensuring that emergency vehicles can easily speed through city streets: instead of having the size of the trucks determine the width of the street, the width of the street determines the size of the trucks. Tokyo's trucks are built to handle a minimum street width of 4 metres — half the size of what Toronto's guidelines recommend. Its trucks are built to fit, and, surprisingly enough, its citizens aren't in any more danger.
Making use of the space under expressways
Urban affairs writer John Lorinc describes it as "infill at its grittiest," but a project to reclaim 23 acres of property under the Westway expressway in north London has transformed a mile of derelict space into much-needed recreation centres and other local amenities. In 1971, Westway Development Trust was created to develop the land for the benefit of the surrounding residents. The redeveloped area now includes skate parks, a daycare, a fitness club and a full-size soccer field with underground parking. A building for creative work space, artist studios, offices and shops was also built under the elevated highway. By setting aside 20 per cent of the property for commercial use, Westway Development Trust has been able to secure a steady stream of income that's reinvested back into the community.
Street food
The streets are alive with vendors in Seoul, South Korea, where you'll find spicy rice cakes, dumplings, noodles, fresh fruit, egg sandwiches, kimbap, dried and roasted squid and even simmered silkworm larva. In addition to providing cheap — and often nutritious — meals to people who work or live in the neighbourhood, the vendors act as social hubs — patrons gather around each stand as they eat, and (gasp!) maybe even enjoy an alcoholic drink in public space.
So why are there nothing but hot dogs in Toronto? As Katie Rabinowicz learned after attempting to open a stand selling food from around the world, there are a number of rules and regulations in T.O. that make selling anything that's not a wiener difficult. Pre-cooked or pre-packaged food is OK. As for anything else, "I had a hard time navigating the regulations," Rabinowicz admits. "They are really difficult to interpret."
Rabinowicz, together with Andrea Winkler (both co-directors of Multistory Complex, a group working to engage and educate the public on urban-planning issues), is preparing to launch a street-food vending project in the spring. The plan is to work with street vendors, architects and our city's mind-boggling bylaws to introduce healthy, affordable food to Toronto streets.
AND FIVE MORE
Train time: Taipei, Taiwan — Riders aren't allowed to eat or chew gum on their immaculate subway cars, but at least they know how long they can expect to wait for the next train thanks to electronic signs that display arrival times.
Tolls: Stockholm, Sweden — In September, after a six-month test run, Stockholm residents voted in favour of charging those who drive in and out of the city.
Banning billboards: São Paulo, Brazil — Though it's dismissed as a publicity stunt, the mayor of Brazil's largest city has submitted a bill to city council that would outlaw all billboards.
Shared streets: Holland — Instead of banning cars from streets or relegating pedestrians to small strips of sidewalk, people and cars actually share the same surface on some residential and commercial streets in the Netherlands. According to studies, shared streets are safer — cars have no choice but to slow down, while kids, pedestrians and cyclists have more space to walk, ride and play.
Uncovering rivers: Seoul, South Korea — A river running through the heart of Seoul called the Cheonggyecheon, which was buried in the early 1960s, was recently uncovered (and the expressway built above it torn down) to create 5.8 kilometres of beautiful public space where residents can walk, sit and even swim.
