I have been a loyal Urban Toronto reader since this forum was created... but this thread has really tried my patience. John Tory never threatened to cancel the marathon, or move the marathon. Yet this forum has now spent pages and countless posts calling John Tory "out of touch" "against physical fitness" "pandering to drivers" and "old" simply because he suggested that some (NOT ALL) events should find alternative locations instead of the DVP or Gardiner.
Toronto has amazing events which shut down major arteries the Santa Clause Parade (which I believe is one of the largest in the world and broadcast internationally), Pride, heck - I'll even throw in the marathon even though size wise - with 10,000 runners or 20,000 runners pales in comparison to the other two events, Caribana, and others. These events help make Toronto great, they bring in tourist dollars and make up the fabric of our city. We should continue to shut down city streets for marquee events.
However, does EVERY event or ride or fundraiser need to close down the DVP or Gardiner? I don't know. Do we need two different marathons?. I personally don't think so. As with any decision there should be a set of criteria applied to approving such permits (is it international in scope?, does it attract external funding?, is there an alternative route?, is it a tourist event? etc...). This is all John Tory has said - that not every event should close a major city street. Toronto needs a balance; ca c'est tout.
Instead of spending time talking about other JT initiatives such as rear door boarding on the King car, or bringing visa/debit to the TTC (which is real f'ing progress) people on this thread have nit-picked and have blown out of proportion this - its disheartening, it does not elevate the discourse in TOpoli and concentrates on a chimeric negative that actually was never raised. The marathon sky isn't falling folks [sic] so come back from the brink.