The damage they've done

In a rather rantish guest column in yesterday's National Post, Howard Levine - a former city councillor criticizes the streetcar project on St. Clair West.

SOme of Mr. Levine's points are valid. The effort does indeed suffer from:

myopia, Toronto-centrism and a refusal to learn from experience in other cities

But he's got to be joking if he thinks the project is about making St. Clair more of a artery for automobikle traffic. Other that during rush hour, the street will have only one lane each way for cars and trucks. There are modest-length turning lanes at signalized intersections. With the ROW barrier, these are needed to allow residents and delivery vehicles to make left turns and U-turns.

This citizen has examined the lanes and the whole setup. The most servere sidewalks cuts are to accomodate the wider platforms. The traffic lanes are - if anything - slightly narrower than standard in Toronto. The lanes must accomodate commercial traffic. There must be enough space for delivery vans and trucks to maveuvre in and out of loading areas without bringing traffic to a halt while they do 8-point turns.

Let's be clear. The sidewalk cuts and the general assault on the liveability and attractiveness of the street ARE BECAUSE OF THE STREETCARS.

The true myopia is the refusal to look at the success of cities - notably Montreal - in running successful and popular transit operations without streetcars. Mr. Levine can blame himself for helping foist the idea of keeping these in service.