My husband and I live in…

My husband and I live in Toronto in the Annex / Christie pits area, where bike lanes and pedestrian friendly areas are the heart of the community. On weekend mornings I stroll down Shaw street to contra cafe to grab a coffee and sit on the patio, I love watching the bikes fly by, young parents who feel safe with their babies in strollers and dogs on leash come up for their coffees and community connection. In a number of heartbeats we relax and connect with the other people who are in the neighbourhood also looking to catch some sun and enjoy a sweet treat. My friends who also live in the area walk over, and we often joke that we have a life like they do in sitcoms like Friends - everyone spontaneously walks over and shares the daily happenings of their life. We often meet in the middle at Contra to break breakfast sandwiches together.

When I think about all these small yet amazing aspects of my life, and how people post on social media that ‘My life would be so much better if my friends lived in close walking distance like they did back in University’ ; it makes me want MORE bike and pedestrian areas in the city like Shaw street, not fewer. You simply cannot create a people-first city by putting cars first. We can still design community based lifestyles after we graduate from school by putting people first, not cars. We make these choices to design for isolation and loneliness by putting cars first.

By putting cars first, the new parents and dog owners won’t spontaneously walk to the neighbourhood cafe, and may even fear their safety on narrow sidewalks should they choose to walk as I sometimes do at busy car focused roads like Dupont street.

By putting cars first, we will never increase service on the Dupont bus, which if it ran more than 30 minutes apart would reduce my daily commute time to the financial district from 45 minutes to 30 minutes. Not to mention the daily commute time of all the new residents of The various Dupont street condos being completed.

By putting cars first, we remove the connective tissue that brings a neighbourhood together. You remove common spaces to connect with your fellow neighbours and enjoy a rare non digital experience together. Even if it’s just a small interaction, these small interactions as you get older and battle loneliness become an essential part of living a long healthy life. Relationships are the key to happiness and longevity. By putting cars first, we put loneliness first.

Please, please, please - let us put people first. Keep letting us build community spaces for cyclists, pedestrians, neighbourhood cafes and bus riders - all of whom are doing their part to reduce congestion by not driving their own cars on the road! We need more community. More connection. Less isolation. Less car centric infrastructure.