As public space experiments go, the risks were as low as the block was short.
In 2022, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association (SLNA) and the local business improvement area pitched Councillor Chris Moise on a proposal to close Market Street, just west of St. Lawrence Market, to cars for the summer.
Motivated by the isolation of the pandemic and the emphasis on outdoor activities, the group’s plan was to put out tables and chairs and take advantage of the fact that the City, in 2014, had rebuilt Market Street so it didn’t have curbs. The pedestrianization, with a full calendar of events, was resurrected for the summer of 2023 and again for this past summer.
This contained experiment revealed how an intentional effort to welcome city-dwellers into a lively public space can defuse the loneliness of life in the big city.
A 2022 survey conducted by the SNLA and the Old Town BIA found overwhelming public approval for the “I HEART Market Street” initiative. More than 90 per cent went further, approving or strongly approving the concept of pedestrianized streets in Toronto generally.
Yet, the City isn’t acting. Torontonians who’ve visited Montreal, New York or European cities such as Paris, Copenhagen or Madrid, have seen how other places have pedestrianized some downtown streets, moves that invariably draw crowds.
Photo: Jorge Láscar from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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