Kristyn Wong-Tam and Denzil Minnan-Wong argue over how to turn Yonge into New York

9 thoughts on “Kristyn Wong-Tam and Denzil Minnan-Wong argue over how to turn Yonge into New York”

1. wong-tam’s plan for the win. there’s no reason why bike lanes can’t be included in her proposal too — they can be narrower ones, like the jarvis street lanes.

   make it happen!

2. This is not only KWT’s hood. It belongs to the entire city. Making changes to these streets is more than a local issue. It’s not as if it’s an application to build a carport.

3. I gotta say, Minnan-Wong’s plan doesn’t seem that bad. It should appeal to all sides. I say those on the left should pick their battles. Fighting over this (as well as the plan to lower the speed limits of city streets) will only serve to engage those who believe there’s a “war on the car.” Let’s throw them a few bones, and keep the next election from being another Ford fiasco.

4. With all the time he spends worrying about Wong-Tam’s ward, you almost get the feeling Denzil wishes he lived downtown. He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to his own Ward these days, does he?

   That said, both proposals actually seem pretty good to me. No reason Yonge St can’t be like Broadway (if we’re going to use the NY analogy).

5. The key difference is that K W-T’s proposal has a year of consultation and study behind it whereas D M-W’s came to him in a dream the other night and has…..nothing behind it.

   Changing Bay and Yonge to one-way streets *may* be an excellent idea, but you’d need to do a lot of traffic analysis first to see how it would affect the overall traffic patterns of downtown. Adelaide and Richmond essentially operate like downtown highways; is that what we want Yonge and Bay to be?

   KWT’s idea – to test out reducing car lanes in a pilot project – is exactly the right approach.

6. As a retailer who owns a large store in the downtown core that contributes taxes and jobs to the economy, I want to say that people in cars who come to the city’s downtown spend money on large ticket items. People on bikes do not. If the city core is going to be a car unfriendly zone then businesses that rely on customers who drive in will relocate or close. Minnan-Wong has the right idea.

7. The question is, is Yonge Street to be a thoroughfare, allowing cars to pass through as quickly as possible, or will it be a place that accommodates all kinds of traffic, foot, bike and car?

   Thoroughfares promote rapid transit through the neighbourhood, and does not encourage lingering/ shopping/ dining etc.

8. I bet if you were to ask New Yorkers which area of the city they would rather walk along, broadway or somewhere like Greenwich village they’d probably prefer the latter. I don’t want my city to turn into that part of New York.

9. To Todd: I don’t know what your particular business is, but you may be mistaken about the amount of money people in cars actually spend compared to those arrive on foot/bicycle. See this study: http://www.cleanairpartnership.org/files/BikeLanes_Parking_Business_BloorWestVillage.pdf

   Now, it may be true that your particular business is particularly dependent on customers that drive. But we should not sacrifice all the other businesses that would benefit from more pedestrian and cycle traffic at the expense of the few businesses that would benefit more from car visitors. There needs to be a compromise, and a place like Yonge, accessible by streetcar, subway, and by foot for all those who live in the condos and apartment buildings in the area, it may be more beneficial to sacrifice some driving customers for those who walk/bike/take transit.

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