[URBAN NOTE] "Mayor-elect [Tory] supports narrower city streets"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Betsy Powell reports on a pleasant news item: the mayor-elect of Toronto talking rationally and calmly about counterintuitive measures which might improve traffic.

Mayor-elect John Tory says he’s open to a city staff proposal to narrow Toronto streets to reduce speeds and increase safety as long as it does not add or worsen traffic congestion.

“Mr. (Stephen) Buckley, (general manager of the city’s transportation services department) says, and his experts, that this is in fact will help traffic to move more smoothly and some of these lanes are already in place on streets like Danforth and University Ave.,” Tory told reporters Tuesday at city hall.

“But I just want to make sure that is in fact what is achieved because if as we move to implement this in different places it actually has the effect of making the traffic congestion worse than I think it’s something we’re going to have to take another look at.”

[. . .]

Tory noted other cities, such as New York and Chicago, have narrowed lane size to improve traffic flow and safety.

“It is on that basis that I would say let’s take a look at doing it at other places (in Toronto.)”