I agree, these two stroads actually seem to want to be roads and not streets.

The simple truth is roadway classifications in North America need a overhaul. Most people can’t list the difference between a street or a road. Then comes the unfortunate issue when a proper road is proposed most think it’s actually a highway (though most road proposals do seem to be over engineered in design).

Streets are destinations, they are low speed 20-40kpm with many places for pedestrians to cross and walk, there are driveways and intersections. Homes and businesses face streets. Street parking is common. In some cases vehicle travel is restricted. Streets are multi use for all modes of transportation, walking, cycling included. Lanes of traffic should not exceed two lanes.

Roads are throughways. They have a higher speed between 50-80kpm with reduced conflict zones between vehicles traffic and pedestrian traffic. Roads don’t have driveways and signaled intersections are not used, roundabouts and on/off ramps are used. Homes and businesses do not face roads, there is not street parking on roads. Roads act as a slower speed hwy. Roads generally have center mediums such as grass or curbs. Lanes of traffic should not exceed three lanes.

A reduction in speed is a great first start, but it needs to be followed by a dedicated desire for total and systematic street redesign. For one the current design is neither a street or a road, it’s design as something in between called a “strode”.

Lanes widths and counts need to reduced. Center medians added, raised pedestrian crosswalks to prevent hard right or left turns. Removal of dedicated left or right turn lanes to minimize pedestrain crossing distances at intersections. Tree canopys added to act as traffic calming. Transit corridors moved off the street and into a separate and dedicated route with priority signals.

Once you start to get older and your mobility decreases, or you loose the ability to drive yourself around, you start to notice how North American suburbs are not friendly towards the elderly, or the young for that matter. Places we live in should be enjoyable to walk, cycle and move around independently.

A 78-year-old woman, hit by a Range Rover. That intersection is a hell scape, having to cross six lanes of traffic with dedicated left and right turn lanes. The street is designed like a “strode”.

At least the driver remained, but places like this should not exist. Cities should be designed for the people that live in them, and not cars traveling “through”.

Unrelated, those electrified bus lanes, pretty cool (though implementation could be better with a truly separate line to reduce conflict zones).

FYI, Toronto had those back in the 1920 they were called trolley coaches. You can read about it here and see some old pictures if interested.

https://stevemunro.ca/2021/12/24/a-brand-new-electric-bus-for-the-ttc-9020-on-charter-april-20-1969/

The business on this street must be making a killing in profits, and not a single parking spot or car lane in sight!

Most business owners seem to be the first to complain when lanes of traffic are removed along the street they face, or parking spots are removed. The argument always seems to be sales will go down and shopper traffic will decrease.

Now this is what living in a city should be! Congratulations NYC and the people that supported this right from the beginning!

It’s amazing something like the image below is considered “normal”

If there is a acknowledgement that what you are building is in a natural flood zone, why not build according to the environmental conditions of the area?

There must be homes designs that don’t look like the typical “American dream” single family home.

Something on stilts comes to mind.

Its a strange world were somehow we have been conditioned to belive travel on foot or cycling is somewhat “lesser” then travel by car.

Hopefully the notion of “Car is King” dies one day, and we build cities once again for the people living in them.

Any tool or item can be used to take a life or cause injury.

It could be argued guns are designed for hunting, and cars are designed for travel, but both can be used to cause harm.

Hell even a shopping cart design to haul groceries can be used to harm. Relevant video in the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePmc1656EVo

Wait till I tell you about all the mobile weather machines that are heavily subsidized by the government as well.

We see them on roads and driveways all the time. Wake up sheep!

Flash floods are becoming more prevalent and common.

I really hope the people of this community are safe and those that can rise up to shut down the goverments subsidize weather machines in their area and towns.

Hey that looks like my street :(

Just add a search yesterday on the App Store and Google Play Store to see what new “productivity apps” are around. Pretty much every app now has AI somewhere in its name.

The ones being implemented into emergency call centers are better though? Right?

Agreed, integrated tram lines at street level would work perfectly in Toronto (as they do all around the word).

Toronto just needs to take some streets with tram lines already in them and turn sections of these streets into car free pedestrian zones. Half if not more trams have boarding zones within a full traffic lane already.

Toronto being toronto through would probably screw it up, turning a non issue into a issue, with pedestrian barriers and over engineering of some sort.

The answer is yes, Toronto needs Pedestrian only streets.

Places that come to mind for pedestrians zones & car free zones.

1. King street near Spadina
2. College near Bathurst
3. Church street
4. Parliament street
5. Liberty Village
6. Kensington Market
7. Ossington Ave between Dundas & 8. Queen.
8. Roncesvalles Ave
9. Parkside Drive

Because cars don’t cause deaths, it’s the pedestrians jumping infront of my car that do. /s

Edit: Has everyone been missing the satire in this point?

FIngernails and toenails are primarily composed of dead skin cells. I wonder if having a meat allergy would make one allergic to biting their own nails.

Would a meat allergy cause me to be allergic to myself? /s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6JFTmQCFHg

ICE seems to have already checked two of those boxes, torture and killing.

And I bet rape must be happening in some of those ICE “holding facilities”.