Ben Bull, Columnist –
Let’s go for a walk.
We are heading west, along the Esplanade.
Watch out for that SUV speeding between George Street and Lower Jarvis! They painted the asphalt red here, to give a right of way to the buses. Evidently not everybody got the memo. Perhaps that driver didn’t see those enormous ‘No Entry’ signs? Or perhaps he’s just an idiot.
At the intersection of Lower Jarvis and the Esplanade we cross. Our SUV friend is idling in the middle. But the Crossing Guard is blocking his path, keeping us safe. He waves his litle wand and we stride across, but wait – the SUV has spotted a gap in the crosswalk and – yikes, that was close.
We are walking up Market Street now. What an wonderful thoroughfare this is. The recent streetscape revamp replenished the quaint cobblestones and brought back the shine to those historic shop front facades.
This street takes me back to a time when the lake would have been lapping at our heels. Where is the lake now? I wonder. It’s close, I know, but somehow it seems so far away.
In the summer they close this street to cars. A little band will play under an awning, and the road will be littered with tables and chairs and chatty people. It’s wonderful. It reminds me that we really do have have so many nice things in this city.
Let’s walk west along Front Street. The sidewalk is crowded here so be careful.
Why do we have so many skinny sidewalks in this city? Are we a skinny city? The cars have plenty of room, I see – 2 lanes plus parking on this stretch.
Berczy Park is busy for this time of year. Look at that kid running around the dog fountain in his bunny hat. His parents are on the bench, fiddling with their phones. There’s a huddle of dog walkers on top of a mound, laughing and pointing.
Such a nice park.
We reach Yonge Street and walk towards Union Station. These massive concrete slabs are still here for some reason. They were plonked down several years ago, right afer that nasty white van attack in North York. But why are they still here? There’s barely room for us to squeeze through.
A cyclist is pulling his bike out of the bike share rack and – watch out! He’s cut off by a cab which sends him wobbling into the center of the road where he is honked at by another car. Poor guy.
You have to be either brave or stupid to bike in this city.
The intersection at Bay and Front is one almighty mess. The cops are back, I see, directing traffic. I don’t know why they bother. They might as well blow their tinny whistles on the 401.
A truck blasts through a red light. The cop waves his hand and peeps his whistle. The pedestrians take a step back. The truck keeps going.
We get our little white stick figure ‘go’ sign and meander through the carnage of cars, splayed out all over the crosswalk. Isn’t this a finable offence? Blocking a crossing? Who’s handing out the fines?
Some of the cars have inched into the intersection. The cross traffic can’t cross so they honk their horns instead. The cops blow their whistles. The pedestrians mutter and nobody is happy.
Oh look at this – we have reached our destination! Did you enjoy our walk?
How is our pulse then? Is our heart pounding? Or is our blood pressure running a little high?
Well, that’s great. Sure, we’ll cut down on the fatty food, yeah, yeah. But we’re still going to need that occassional glass of wine.
Let’s have another check up soon.
In the meantime, thanks for walking with me.
