The Open Streets experiment on Bloor and Yonge Streets has gotten off to a curious and somewhat sparsely populated start. The first of two closings took place today (Sunday, August 17, 2014) between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. As few as they were, those on foot had to watch out for bicycles and the occasional skate boarder. There was clearly no traffic control. Cyclists swung from one side of Bloor to the other. A woman heading south on her bike traversed the intersection at a speed of perhaps 30 km/h. The purpose of the street closure was hard to find. In the Starbucks on Yonge just north of Bloor the baristas were bemoaning the lack of business. “It’s so slow,” said one. Out on the street, a few couples and families walked mostly on the sidewalks looking a little bemused by the empty thoroughfare. A lively band played to a handful of onlookers outside Zara on Bloor. Nonetheless, with all the hoopla preceding it, Open Streets was de rigeur for mayoral candidates. Sarah Thompson and her workers were dressed in cheery red and white. They hustled potential voters fairly aggressively but found limited opportunities. Olivia Chow and John Tory made an appearance. Kristyn Wong-Tam, (Ward 27) was present. It is an open question if any of today’s open streeters, even those on bicycles, made it from end to end of the blocked off roadway. The much ballyhooed “connection” of neighborhoods seemed moot.
Closing those streets on a Sunday morning is an idiotic idea. Ward 27 needs a new councilor!