Daryl Gonsalves, Columnist –
As the 2023 edition of the Winter Village in the Distillery came to an end, local residents breathed a sigh of relief. After lasting the majority of November and December, this year’s event was extended to January 7, testing to see if demand would persist beyond the traditional holiday season.
My previous pieces in the bridge summarized new measures deployed for this year’s Winter Village, initial results and resident reactions. Some outcomes improved, but traffic and parking enforcement is still inadequate.
New residents living within or nearby Distillery District quickly realized that the holiday season is both the best and the worst time of the year. If you travel on four wheels, trips get longer as the area becomes gridlocked with traffic. Playing it smart with your two feet? You have to stay alert to avoid careless drivers.
Feedback from nearby residents doesn’t call for shutting down the Winter Village but for more care to ensure that residents, patrons and businesses all experience more positive outcomes.
To their credit, the Gooderham & Worts Neighbourhood Association and Distillery District management have spent considerable resources integrating feedback from past winter villages into a comprehensive traffic management plan, alongside a concerted effort to encourage non-vehicle commutes. However, despite best efforts, a single condition of success remains: consistent and responsive enforcement from Toronto police and parking authorities.
On the enforcement front, this year was no different. Residents reported that paid-duty police failed to let through some delivery drivers or tradespeople. Parking enforcement officers vowed that towing was on the table, but an officer I spoke to bluntly told me there is no practical way to tow all the cars that defy the no-parking signage.
Residents also reported a paid-duty officer being too busy reading the bridge online on his phone to ensure the flow of traffic and pedestrians. And towards the end of the Winter Village, I noted that Distillery management had closed the Mill Street bike lane despite claiming to encourage arrival by cycling.
In early January the Gooderham & Worts Neighbourhood Association organized a virtual community town hall so that Distillery management directly heard feedback. Residents expressed their experiences, with a representative from the Distillery responding that management is listening and will integrate feedback for next year. One resident passionately decried an increase in litter near the Distillery District due to the Winter Village.
Unsurprisingly, all parties agreed that enforcement continued to be lacking this year and was the Achilles heel of the 2023 traffic management plan. Although the revised plan did mitigate a significant amount of traffic impacts compared with previous years, more changes are needed to reduce reliance on Toronto police and enforcement officers. Year after year, enforcement has proven to be mostly talk and no game.
Advocacy by the Gooderham & Worts Neighbourhood Association has been impressive, and no doubt will continue in the road to the 2024 Winter Village. The Distillery management has updated the website to state that the next edition will open on November 13.
That means nine months until it is again the best time of the year or the worst – take your pick.
