General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[danbrotherston]

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But you really hit the nail on the head, the key is having common public spaces available.

The massive crowds in the parks are not a result of too much density or crowding, but of too little public space. If Toronto had instead opened half the roads downtown to the public for pedestrians (and closed them to cars), I doubt you would see the crowds that you do. This is a self inflicted situation.

That would certainly ease some of the pressure on parks, but streets are not green space. Streets can be used for exercise, but as far as I'm concerned, green space is just as important as exercise for mental well being.

This is fair, and it's not a replacement. (Nor are city parks a replacement for less....manicured natural areas, which are in even more tight supply in our region).

But plenty of people (not everyone) are probably like myself, I enjoy the park, but I also enjoy a pleasant walk through a neigbourhood. Unfortunately, in many places in Toronto streets are barely safe, let alone pleasant, due to traffic. I'm sure that some people who end up in parks, would be happy to spread out on streets.

While I'm all in favour of creating more parks, opening streets to people is something Toronto could do in about 10 minutes, rather than the 10 years it would take to build a new park.