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Toronto ranked second most pedestrian-friendly city in Canada by WalkScore

Walkable versus nice to walk

I don't think that WalkScore's rating system really takes into account some of the things posters find desirable:

"The ratings were tabulated by the app, which generates a score out of 100 based on the proximity of amenities like grocery stores, cafes and libraries. To achieve a city-wide score, the data was calculated by applying the score of each block then factoring in population density."

So, you might not like walking on Yonge & Yonge Blvd (I think it's a great walking neighbourhood, personally), but it would get a very high score due to the Loblaws, schools, libraries, etc. Yes, the traffic on Yonge can be busy, but it's still very walkable.

Same could be said of Avenue Road as well -- it's a bit of a highway, but it's easy to buy groceries, grab a coffee, etc.
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
So, you might not like walking on Yonge & Yonge Blvd (I think it's a great walking neighbourhood, personally), but it would get a very high score due to the Loblaws, schools, libraries, etc. Yes, the traffic on Yonge can be busy, but it's still very walkable.
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Indeed. If you were to pick your location as the parking lot of a major suburban mall, you'll get in the mid-90s ... Walker's Paradise.
 
nfitz, I think that is exactly what we should be doing. People should be living exactly where you say, in the parking lots of our large regional malls. These malls should all be connected via direct high-speed transit connections.

I love our low-rise mainstreet linear strips. I choose to live there, build and invest there. But if we are talking about walkability these areas do not provide the high volumes of residential and employment concentrations and point-to-point rapid transit connectivity that would make a real difference in how people really live there lives. Our low-rise mainstreet linear strips are great places to live but most people who live there will still choose, and rightly so, an autocentric lifestyle.
 
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TrickyRicky said:
But if we are talking about walkability these areas do not provide the high volumes of residential and employment concentrations and point-to-point rapid transit connectivity that would make a real difference in how people really live there lives. Our low-rise mainstreet linear strips are great places to live but most people who live there will still choose, and rightly so, an autocentric lifestyle.
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My sarcasm detector is broken tonight, it seems. So, you're suggesting we build downtown Toronto in downtown Toronto?
 
I think a big aid in walkability would be those yellow crosswalks where you just push the button and walk. Those seem to only exist in Old Toronto and are still rather rare. Those plus short lights that change frequently make it a lot easier to get around on foot. I went to Uwaterloo and sometimes you'd have to wait like 5 minutes just to cross the road (the cars all go 50-60km/h on every street there) so Toronto is miles ahead in that department.
 
rpeters said:
I think a big aid in walkability would be those yellow crosswalks where you just push the button and walk. Those seem to only exist in Old Toronto and are still rather rare. Those plus short lights that change frequently make it a lot easier to get around on foot. I went to Uwaterloo and sometimes you'd have to wait like 5 minutes just to cross the road (the cars all go 50-60km/h on every street there) so Toronto is miles ahead in that department.
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Unfortunately, those are not likely to be installed anymore, where as the city prefers full traffic signals. Crosswalks are better as they don't require an up to 2 minute wait for the light cycle for pedestrians (the average wait is shorter, more like 45 seconds), and they let cars through as soon as the crosswalk is clear. But too many cars go through amber-flashing crosswalks (which if the walk is clear, they are allowed to do), but won't go through a red light.
 
LNahid2000 said:
I actually prefer walking on Yonge north of Eglinton to Yonge south of Bloor. The sidewalks are wider than downtown, and I like the type of stores they have up there. Bus service may be only every 30 minutes, but you can catch a bus north or south (whichever comes first) to get to the subway, but I usually just walk the 15 minutes. Also Yonge/Eglinton to Yonge/Broadway is only 300m.
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Between Yonge/Yonge Blvd and Davisville, the bus is every 15 minutes (at least on average, there are slight variations to a perfect 15-min clockface schedule) almost all the time, 7 days a week.
 
ShonTron said:
Unfortunately, those are not likely to be installed anymore, where as the city prefers full traffic signals. Crosswalks are better as they don't require an up to 2 minute wait for the light cycle for pedestrians (the average wait is shorter, more like 45 seconds), and they let cars through as soon as the crosswalk is clear. But too many cars go through amber-flashing crosswalks (which if the walk is clear, they are allowed to do), but won't go through a red light.
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I would never cross at a crosswalk. Too many people die that way. I'd rather put the control in my own hands and jaywalk. It's much safer. (for me) I don't trust drivers at all.
 
Torontovibe said:
I would never cross at a crosswalk. Too many people die that way. I'd rather put the control in my own hands and jaywalk. It's much safer. (for me) I don't trust drivers at all.
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Can't argue with that. The only times I've been hit, or almost hit, by a car (as a pedestrian) was when crossing on a full walk symbol. The only car to actually hit me was stopped completely at a red light, and while I was standing directly in front of it, decided to do a right-on-red.

If there's no car in sight, it can't hit you.

That being said ... works fine on some streets. On some busy streets your only chance is a crosswalk.
 
Of course, it depends whether one uses a crosswalk responsibly, rather than taking their "safety" for granted by just sauntering across. Don't just point and go: make sure that the drivers are prepared to stop before going...
 
nfitz said:
Can't argue with that. The only times I've been hit, or almost hit, by a car (as a pedestrian) was when crossing on a full walk symbol. The only car to actually hit me was stopped completely at a red light, and while I was standing directly in front of it, decided to do a right-on-red.
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Agreed. The closest calls I had (I've never been struck as a pedestrian) have been cars pushing way past the end of a left or right turn signal, or a right turning car - never a through-moving car.

The only time I was hit on my bike (aside from evasive manuveures to avoid being the door prize or being cut-off - those left me caught in the streetcar tracks) was a left-turning taxi trying to cut through a back-up of traffic, but not looking for pedestrians or cyclists in the bike lane.
 
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