Transportation - Public Transit

Whom are planners planning for?

Article from GetSmart
Sat Jun 25 09:55:08 EDT 2005

Hello all,

Re: Municipal Planning and Anticipating the Future

I can tell you from my impression of the meeting at Metro Hall, June 23, organized by Toronto City Hall that it was a little project, by little planning, for little(local) streets.

And that ain't planning and it ain't anticipating no future ...

Pictures of streets exhibited, were typical of dead-end suburbia; buildings, empty streets, and cars. They were considering ONLY the innocuous, little out of the way, streets in peripheral areas, keeping in mind the priority of vehicular traffic; to hell with people.

Throughout our discussions, we had many justifications, defences and praises of planners. So far, we have not seen anything that inspires confidence in the improvement of our infrastructure; and that is not because our city's infrastructure was built 50+ years ago, but because planners do not challenge our present dismal environment, but continue instead to plan for buildings and vehicular traffic in mind. The Official Plan that promoted "intensification" and rejected "people-friendly/car-free areas" is what created the Yorkville Bedlam.

If our planners want to be heard, they should take a good look at vibrant cities that prioritize the human element in their infrastructure. To take a good look with an open mind: Copenhagen, Portland, Curitiba, Lyons, Barcelona. They all respect and promote human interaction. We promote, think, and breathe traffic.

Any profession that expects attention and credit, they have to earn it.

Lela
http://www.ecopolitics.ca