The City of Toronto has begun blocking off select road lanes as part of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic response in order to allow pedestrians to better practice physical distancing.
Mayor John Tory announced the so-called CurbTO program at city hall Monday afternoon, calling it a “common-sense initiative.”
“The program will be activated in a measured way based on evidence so that physical distancing accommodations, including closing portions of the curb lane for pedestrians, are concentrated on areas where there is a clear need – actual hotspots of sidewalk congestion,” he said.
READ MORE: Man wears ‘social distancing machine’ to show Toronto sidewalks are ‘too narrow’
News of the program comes after questions in recent weeks about allocating more space for pedestrians amid lower vehicular traffic as many are staying at home due to COVID-19.
When asked about the calls for more widespread closures for pedestrians and cyclists, Toronto’s medical officer of health said she isn’t recommending that move at this time.
“We are still in the middle of an outbreak and our emphasis at this time is on continuing to have people stay at home as much as possible and to practice physical distancing,” Dr. Eileen de Villa said.
“So going beyond what we’re proposing here now may inadvertently encourage congregation, which is exactly what we don’t want to see in terms of protecting the health of our city.”
- Man dead after being pushed from downtown Toronto balcony
- AGO workers reach tentative agreement ending month long strike: union
- They stayed at an ‘absolute gem’ of a Dublin hotel. Now these councillors face questions
- On the ‘frontline’: Toronto-area residents hiring security firms to fight auto theft
Officials said the program will initially see 10 temporary sites blocked off across Toronto and the list will eventually grow to more than 100 sites. The sites were selected based on calls to 311, input from councillors, mapping and personal observations made by municipal staff.
In addition to blocking curb lanes, City of Toronto staff will create temporarily parking zones near essential businesses for customer pickups and may work with business owners to implement better line-up configurations.
The newly-designated areas will be marked off with signs and there may be cones, barrels or other barriers.
Here are the first 10 areas to see changes under the CurbTO program:
– Church and Carlton streets (pedestrian zone)
– Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street (pedestrian zone)
– Parliament Street and Gerrard Street East (pedestrian zone)
– Carlaw Avenue and Queen Street East (pedestrian zone)
– Spadina Avenue and King Street West (parking zone)
– Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue (parking zone)
– Broadview and Danforth avenues (pedestrian and parking zones)
– Berkeley Street and Front Street East (pedestrian and parking zones)
– Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street East (pedestrian and parking zones)
– Bathurst Street and Bloor Street West (pedestrian and parking zones)
Comments