This
email has been posted with the permission of the author.
From:
Vid Ingelevics
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 11:11 PM
Subject: St. Clair
To the editor: I have not seen the following question discussed.
One of the main arguments made by opponents to the DROW on St.
Clair is that small business will suffer and/or go under. This
continues to be said in spite of factual evidence that most Spadina
merchants' businesses actually improved! I have noticed that King
St., Queen
St., Dundas St., much of College St., Eglinton Ave., Bathurst
St., Keele St., Ossington St., and every other main street in
Toronto except Spadina consist of four lanes total. Two of those
lanes are used for parking during the non-rush hour times and,
during rush hour all four lanes are supposed to be free for traffic.
Now, on St. Clair I and many others have noticed that we have
six lanes for most of its length. A right-of-way would take two
of these lanes. That leaves four lanes. Two of which would be
used for parking during non-rush hour times and, like every other
main street in the city, would be off limits for parking during
rush hours. I have also noticed that somehow, in spite of these
terrible conditions, there are many, many small businesses located
on these streets that, astonishingly, seem to be surviving and
even prospering. In other words, four lanes for cars is what every
other main street in the city offers.
Could someone explain what it is about businesses on St. Clair
that would make them all go bankrupt (as is implied by the BIAs
and such groups as SOS) if we devoted two of six lanes to making
public transit reliable? What differentiates a textile store on
St. Clair, for example, from one of the most prosperous textile
stores in the
city located on Queen St. W. just east of Lansdowne? There isn't
even a public parking lot near the one on Queen St. as there is
close to such stores in the Corso Italia area. I honestly do not
get the anti-ROW argument. St. Clair doesn't exist in a vacuum.
There are many comparisons to be made with even other parts of
our own city that appear to refute the doomsday scenarios I keep
hearing.
Sincerely
Vid Ingelevics
Editor's
note : The facts and opinions expressed in the above email are
those of the author and do not represent the views of MyStClair.com.
Our interest remains to act as a conduit for information regarding
matters relating to neighbourhoods along St Clair Ave W and the
Ridge. Anyone wishing to comment is encouraged to do so.
editor@mystclair.com
