Toronto Hates Pedestrians

Chris Hume of the Toronto Star doesn't like our traffic (These streets aren't made for walking - July 11/05). He writes:

....Now that running red lights is common practice in Toronto..... Crossing the street can be equally dangerous now whether the light is red or green.

....in their rush to get through the intersection, drivers are more likely to speed up when the light turns red than when it's green.

And by the time the traffic has actually come to a full stop, there's very little time left to cross.... The old and infirm don't stand a chance.

....Toronto City Council proudly proclaimed a Pedestrian Charter several years ago but... pedestrians only slow things down. They're in the way.

..... In a clear effort to drive them from the streets, the city seems to have embarked on a deceptively clever program of pedestrian obstacles.

.....The pedestrian lights are the main weapon..... the city is erecting short steel columns at selected intersections throughout Toronto. Ostensibly, they contain traffic control buttons, which, strangely, never appear to work.....

We like to think of ourselves as being somewhere in between Europe and the U.S. That may be true.... we combine the worst of both.

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