Raise the Hammer

And yet we had a thriving bustling growing downtown core 40 years ago complete with one way streets and no LRT. Then things changed not the streets not transit but society. I can remember when the Black Forest Inn had lines out the door and down the street every Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Why not now? Is the food bad? is the service horrible? or is it simply that consumers now have more choices and can get more for there money at other places? Some 40 years ago they were the only ethnic restaurant in town, today they do not really qualify as an ethnic restaurant. Nothing to do with one way streets or lack of LRT. Instead it has to do with The Mandarin and The Keg and a whole slew of other restaurants that are now available for the consumer. When the downtown thrived Steelworkers with good incomes lived downtown, now not so much. What steelworkers we have left tend to live in Stoney Creek and Dundas and Ancaster and in one of those newer bigger nicer houses on the mountain. Most people who can afford to want to live in a bigger nicer house. Only through necessity do most people decide to live in the smaller houses downtown or in apartments or condominiums. Bigger nicer accommodations with more desirable destinations will bring people downtown, not LRT or two way streets.

James St. both north and south has grown since it was converted to two way traffic but was that because of the conversion? If it was then why has the same thing not happened on John St? A parallel street only a few yards away? Things need to change for downtown to become relevant again. Those changes are not two way streets and LRT. The most needed change would be more desirable housing and/or jobs. If you can attract desirable housing people will move there and the increase in density will take care of everything else. Toronto does not have a dense downtown because of slow horrible traffic instead it has slow horrible traffic because of a dense downtown.

The more difficult it is to get there the less people will be inclined to go there. The more people want/need to go there the more inclined they will be to do it. I hate going downtown Toronto and only do it if I really need to. I will go to Buffalo to watch the Leafs play the Sabres rather than go to the ACC just because I hate getting there. I am not alone in this many others are exactly like me just watch a game on TV. Toronto has enough residents and one of a kind attractions that it still has more traffic than it needs or wants. Making our downtown traffic slow and horrible will not attract anyone there in fact it will keep people away. Getting good jobs and desirable housing there will attract people and get people into a thriving downtown.