H
Hydrogen
Guest
^^I'm sympathetic to what you are saying, but I did experience two booze-fueled hockey riots while living in downtown Montreal.
City parks had to be closed on Sundays until August 1938, when they were opened providing that competitive games were forbidden (except, for some reason, tennis) and "no apparatus shall be used," which meant that swing sets and other playground equipment were chained and locked. Movie theatres were allowed to open on Sundays as of May 23, 1961. Bars were allowed to open on Sundays starting in 1962.
http://www.toronto.ca/archives/toronto_history_faqs.htm#sundaysparks
Now we close the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway on some weekends instead.
Agreed, but alcohol is controlled by the province, not the city. I don't think there's anything the city can do about those laws.I think we could "loosen up" a lot in this city by instituting a few new laws allowing us to enjoy some simple pleasures people used to enjoy in simpler days.
I'd like to see us allow the drinking of wine in public parks. Maybe during daylight hours and only when accompaning food. I think we used to call them picnics.
I love visiting the summer festivals where the close off a portion of the street to auto traffic. Maybe we could allow people who buy a beer within the closed off area to carry the beer with them while the stroll the festival.
This week, the NFL game in Toronto demonstrated the stark contrast between our enjoyment of "tailgating" where people set up in a parking lot and grill, party and socialize before a game. In Toronto, they set up a sterile banquet tent and sold $8 sandwhiches and beer. This in nothing like the tailgating experiance millions of Americans enjoy every year.
Unfortunately my short list of ideas above all have something to do with alcohol consumption. If any of you have any other ideas, I like you to share.
Maybe in a couple years, the way our inept and mothering city council works, we'll get something other that pre-cooked smog dogs to enjoy on the street.
I can't believe how long it is taking to move forward on such a simple proposal.