Toronto city council votes to expand car-free streets

Toronto city council voted in favour of expanding car-free streets Thursday, less than a week after the city's Church Street pedestrianization pilot launched.

Coun. Josh Matlow's motion for a pedestrian streets program passed in a 16-6 vote. The motion directs city staff to come up with a plan to identify suitable streets for seasonal and year-round pedestrianization next year. Matlow suggested Baldwin Street and Bellair Street as potential contenders.

"Torontonians and tourism experts are calling on the city to expand pedestrianization options, and we should listen by taking concrete steps to make this happen," the motion stated.

The Church Street pilot began June 19 and runs until Aug. 21, closing the street between Wellesley Street E. and Alexander Street to cars. Coun. Chris Moise said businesses in the area have seen a "boom" in sales since the closure started. He's already fielded calls from other business improvement areas and councillors about running similar pilots.

Still, questions remain about costs. The Church Street pilot was initially expected to cost $150,000 for nine weeks but shot up to $500,000. Toronto police originally asked for 24-hour paid duty at $3 million; that was negotiated down to $300,000 for weekends, with 24/7 private security the rest of the week.

Paul Hess, a professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto who has studied pedestrianization for over 30 years, flagged the discrepancy: "The fact that there could be a tenfold difference between the ask and what we settled on tells me that the police are having a lot of authority over shaping these projects, and maybe that needs to be looked at very carefully."