I reject this premise. Motorists would find new routes through the core to get to high volume inlets/outlets (DVP, Gardiner west of the ex). The ease of access to the city for drivers should not be a priority when building neighbourhoods. Having people wait at traffic lights to get out of downtown will not be the end of the world. That's my opinion.
PATH is nice but it doesn't compare to surface level public streets. PATH is operated by City of Toronto, but I don't like the weird pseudo-public/private nature of it. Nothing wrong with it per se, but I would prefer if we dedicated resources to improving the pedestrian realm at street level.
Basically, I think that emphasizing speed and convenience for people in cars, already the most convenient form of transport, over the safety and welcoming of pedestrians is a bad way to build a city. Out on the street is where all the excitement happens, where that special electricity sparks ideas and different types of people mix together. Right now, in the shadow of the Gardiner, that kind of electricity is absent. I predict that as more people move into offices and condos in this neighbourhood - including the L Tower* - and people want to get out of their office and walk around on their lunch hour, you'll hear more cries for the Gardiner to be torn down. We'll be better off if we do it sooner rather than later.
*(notice how skillfully I managed to keep this on topic?)
