You bash Toronto every chance you get. Why the need to constantly say Toronto isn't in the same league as New York and Paris? Nobody's saying it is. Toronto is, however in the same league as Berlin, easily. It's a tier above Berlin according to the GAWC (yes, somebody had to mention it). Berlin isn't nearly as globally important as you think, it's not even the most important city in Germany.
Okay, let me drag out the 3rd post in this thread, from ducati0000:
"If I had the money I be in Vancouver.Toronto is my birth place but Vancouver is where I can really have the best of both worlds (nature and city living).I'm so tired of Toronto trying to pass it self as a
"world class city",it was clean and safe once but that was 10 years ago.Unless we get people who can actually plan a city for the future instead of patch work BS we might be in the same league as the true "world class cities" on this planet.Toronto is a true melting pot of all the races on this world that actually gets a long but we have too many people who has large egos and personally agendas to make this a great city.
In my subsequent postings, I merely replied to this one. I have heard Mayor Miller look to London for its solutions to its traffic problems, which is ludicrous, considering London's size, population and history. Most of Toronto was built AFTER the automobile became important, so our lack of planning is more obvious.
Forgive me if I seem to be overly negative towards Toronto, but its only because I have lived here most of my life and witnessed its decline. It's the armchair critics who don't live here, or who visit once in a while who feel they know what is good for this city.
If Toronto is the 2nd most expensive city in North America and the 401 is the busiest highway in North America (which has been well documented, BTW) then something is seriously amiss. Clearly, our taxes, real estate, and cost of living are out whack, if we have beaten cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston as more expensive.
The more one travels, the more one realizes what a mess this city has become, and unless the trend is reversed there will be a backlash where money, jobs and people will leave this city. By some measures, this is already happening.
Do you think the Mayor of Detroit would have thought its mess today was possible when looked at from the vantage point of the 1950s when it was one of the most prosperous cities in North America?
I suggest those of you who are piling on should go back and read some of the other threads on this site. Every single thread is rife with personal anecdotes and stories. First of all, it's what makes these forums interesting, and secondly, we are hostages of our vantage points and personal experiences. Everyone filters and sifts their reality based on what they choose to see or hear. Everyone is guilt of that.
What makes a person visionary or a leader is their ability to rise above their personal feelings and do what is right for the common good. I don't see a lot of that in this city, or on UT.