Rob Ford's Toronto

[urbandreamer]

But really, the Ford's lack of knowledge of the city is due to their ... size. Being un-pc, and as a walker, I rarely see fat people out strolling the city streets and neighbourhoods. Being driven around the city you hardly notice details that make life interesting. Do the Fords ever hang out in Trinity Bellwoods, College St, Dundas and Ossington, St Clair West, even Bayview? Doubtful.

The city sure is tedious if you live in the 'burbs and think the city is watching sports events, large concerts, the cn tower, staring at the dull waterfront and going to Mandarin...

 

[urbandreamer]

But really, the Ford's lack of knowledge of the city is due to their ... size. Being un-pc, and as a walker, I rarely see fat people out strolling the city streets and neighbourhoods. Being driven around the city you hardly notice details that make life interesting. Do the Fords ever hang out in Trinity Bellwoods, College St, Dundas and Ossington, St Clair West, even Bayview? Doubtful.

The city sure is tedious if you live in the 'burbs and think the city is watching sports events, large concerts, the cn tower, staring at the dull waterfront and going to Mandarin...

 

[taal]

see, my impression of Toronto is completely the opposite: its a messy, broken down, poorly planned, garbage littered eyesore that has plenty of things to do.

I'd like everyone to stop, and help me understand this.

First to be clear I completely agree with you. Though I'd throw in extremely livable.


Now, I've been to many medium / large US cities (thriving ones - well, that's a relative term) and by far and away Toronto is the dirtiest / messiest / ugly city out of them all.
Just about anyone I know that visits Toronto from elsewhere (even in Canada) shares this opinion, and loves it at the same time just to be clear.

So please please, explain who are these people that call Toronto clean and beautiful ???

 

[EnviroTO]

Now, I've been to many medium / large US cities (thriving ones - well, that's a relative term) and by far and away Toronto is the dirtiest / messiest / ugly city out of them all.
Just about anyone I know that visits Toronto from elsewhere (even in Canada) shares this opinion, and loves it at the same time just to be clear.

Are there some examples you can throw out there? I have lived in 3 US cities and visited many more and only 1 that I have been to was better kept as a whole than Toronto. Now many US cities have a few blocks in the core which they dump a ton of money into for flowers and fountains and those specific areas are better maintained than the Toronto core, but then as soon as you leave that area it is worse than going into the neighbourhoods in Toronto.

 

[taal]

Are there some examples you can throw out there? I have lived in 3 US cities and visited many more and only 1 that I have been to was better kept as a whole than Toronto. Now many US cities have a few blocks in the core which they dump a ton of money into for flowers and fountains and those specific areas are better maintained than the Toronto core, but then as soon as you leave that area it is worse than going into the neighbourhoods in Toronto.

I'm referring to the 'core' ... yes most US cities (even the thriving ones) have areas much worse then Toronto. It's not 'outside the core', as many have extermely picterous and well kept suburbs, though you're correct the run down areas do tend to be close to the core.

Anyway, the article mentioned 'tourist / vistors', these would only be visting the 'core' of cities and the comparison would be done based on that. I also disagree that it's only a few blocks that are well mainatined, generally most of the downtown area is extermely well maintained. To bar fair, in some cases, the lack of street level activity may contribute to that nonetheless ... much cleaner ... good examples of this are just about any cities in Texas ... I swear they're the cleanest in the world! (i.e. Houston / Dallas / ...) ... again, I'm referring to the core area. But even cities with more pedesterian activity are generally cleaner and better kept.

 

[Automation Gallery]

I dont want to get into no shit here, but i can honestly say i dont know who Canada especially Toronto is letting in over the last decade, but regarding street litter some of these so called new Canadians have no respect for where they live..they just open their car doors and throw their trash (coffee cups, pop cans, even dirty diapers for gods sake, etc) on the curb,,,WTF..they sure need a lesson on the Canadian way and not just a pat on the back, but i say a kick in the ass. We will never be a clean city if people dont respect it.

 

[TonyV]

My favourite Edsel ( or whatever his name is ... ) Ford quote from the Globe article:

Mr. Ford wants things to happen faster – big things. He talks about making the waterfront a true destination, with attractions like the giant London Eye Ferris wheel and dramatic buildings like the curvy “Marilyn Monroe” condominium in Mississauga – not just “square glass condominiums.”

He says that when he brings U.S. visitors to Toronto, they tell him, “Doug, you’ve got a beautiful, clean city but there’s nothing to do here.”

“Well,” he tells them, “there’s going to be something to do.”

Methinks we've heard this all before - spectacle! the Edifice Complex! etc. etc.

The Ford Bros are there for a reason; together they make up one brain (or almost). Their ignorance is on display now.

Let's not tell them about LuminoTO or the other cultural festivals (jazz, etc.) that abound during summertime: gravy, you know. Or, the blazing music scene in general ...

But it might be fun to remind these guys (again) that Chloe was filmed in downtown Toronto, not in N. Etobicoke.

I am still puzzled that Toronto has elected a mayor who dislikes the city. Has anyone heard the guy say anything positive, anything passionate? That is what I would expect from a mayor - to show some passion. It's part of the job, and it's politics. What up with that?

EDIT: if the Bros really want a new white elephant stadium, and another loser sports team, or a nice shiny ferris wheel, then they can have those adjacent to an off-ramp in their own constituency.

 

[Tewder]

But really, the Ford's lack of knowledge of the city is due to their ... size. Being un-pc, and as a walker, I rarely see fat people out strolling the city streets and neighbourhoods. Being driven around the city you hardly notice details that make life interesting. Do the Fords ever hang out in Trinity Bellwoods, College St, Dundas and Ossington, St Clair West, even Bayview? Doubtful.

The city sure is tedious if you live in the 'burbs and think the city is watching sports events, large concerts, the cn tower, staring at the dull waterfront and going to Mandarin...

The problem here is that everybody wants a city to be a reflection of their own personal taste, interests or style. It's incredibly narcissistic. An interesting city is one that accommodates all, from the sublime to the ridiculous, from the high-brow to the low-brow. As much as we may want to overplan and overdesign this a little circus is good too.

 

[TonyV]

I dont want to get into no shit here, but i can honestly say i dont know who Canada especially Toronto is letting in over the last decade, but regarding street litter some of these so called new Canadians have no respect for where they live..they just open their car doors and throw their trash (coffee cups, pop cans, even dirty diapers for gods sake, etc) on the curb,,,WTF..they sure need a lesson on the Canadian way and not just a pat on the back, but i say a kick in the ass. We will never be a clean city if people dont respect it.

Last I knew, there was a $390.00 fine for littering, but it's not enforced; I guess the cops have other fish to fry, or the City won't pressure the cops into enforcing the bylaw. I'd love to see a few fines handed out ...

But I hasten to add that guess what, you are in shit indeed for fingering new Canadians ... I sympathize for you, put on your pith helmet now. I have observed just who drops litter at streetcar stops, etc. and indeed they are folks from elsewhere - but they are also folks from here. The problem is everywhere, too. I have been through a phase in my life when I had to drive north to some places like Collingwood and Bracebridge, caring for family members, and I've been pretty shocked to see the litter thrown by the sides of highways; it's unbelievable and it's disgusting.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I'm not interesting in racing cars. However, there are those who are. There is an event held every summer over the course of a weekend. Thousands of people attend that.

Others attend the yearly International Film Festival. However, not everyone is interested in films.

My kids are grown up. When they were little kids, I took them down to see the Santa Claus parade. They are not interested in the parade now. However, there are thousands of others who are.

Each year, I go down to the Canadian National Exhibition. However, there are those who don't.

People have different interests. Toronto caters to most of them. Except, it seems, Doug Ford.

 

[Tewder]

... plus you can always get away from crowded polluted Toronto and visit the Niagara region!

 

[EnviroTO]

I also disagree that it's only a few blocks that are well mainatined, generally most of the downtown area is extermely well maintained. To bar fair, in some cases, the lack of street level activity may contribute to that

I think you really hit the nail on the head. If the streets are near empty then the news paper boxes disappear because there isn't the readership, the flyers posted on every telephone pole disappear because there is nobody to read it, the litter disappears because there was nobody to leave it, etc. Remove the homeless people from the financial district and there is a bit of what you see in those "9 to 5 downtowns" there but the size of the area which is dead on weekends is quite small in downtown Toronto. There are just so many more people living in downtown Toronto.

 

[taal]

I think you really hit the nail on the head. If the streets are near empty then the news paper boxes disappear because there isn't the readership, the flyers posted on every telephone pole disappear because there is nobody to read it, the litter disappears because there was nobody to leave it, etc. Remove the homeless people from the financial district and there is a bit of what you see in those "9 to 5 downtowns" there but the size of the area which is dead on weekends is quite small in downtown Toronto. There are just so many more people living in downtown Toronto.

I completely agree for the most part; But then there are cities like San Francisco and Boston, (there are more here), that range from lightly to medium populated and still manage to be extremely clean.

The point is, whether it's due to a lack of people or ambitious street cleaning plan, no one call Toronto clean not even close ...

btw - it's not even an issue of clean or not ... just the general status of many of our parks / great sites - Toronto is not a pretty city on the whole ... but that's okay ...

 

[nfitz]

I dont want to get into no shit here, but i can honestly say i dont know who Canada especially Toronto is letting in over the last decade, but regarding street litter some of these so called new Canadians have no respect for where they live..they just open their car doors and throw their trash (coffee cups, pop cans, even dirty diapers for gods sake, etc) on the curb,,,WTF..they sure need a lesson on the Canadian way and not just a pat on the back, but i say a kick in the ass. We will never be a clean city if people dont respect it.

This seems racist to me.

I haven't noticed immigration status being a factor in this.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

"it's not even an issue of clean or not ... just the general status of many of our parks / great sites - Toronto is not a pretty city on the whole ... but that's okay ... "

This, in a nutshell, is Toronto's fundamental problem: the embrace of the mediocre and third-rate as some kind of virtue.