A pedestrian braves the cold grey expanse of Warden Ave
I was teaching a LINC class recently and the immigrant students were describing some things they liked/disliked about Toronto. I like to play devil’s advocate and present negatives, so I tossed out ‘smog’ and ‘traffic’, as the students easily identified the ‘Islands’ and ‘security’ as two of the multitude of positives. Then, the student teacher who was observing the class offered up a really nasty negative: “gun-killing.” It took me by surprise and I let out an awkward laugh. He explained that he lived in Keele/Eglinton and there has been some shooting recently. Without a doubt, gun-related murder is a sore spot for a city that is generally safe and secure: Mayor David Miller has been leading a campaign to band handguns, recently Dalton MGuinty weighed in on the topic… and a petition is online now.
Most of my days are spent in the blissful area known as High Park, a relative oasis compared to Toronto’s bleak “inner suburbs.” I have lived in areas like Jane and Finch, and I grew up in Ajax, so I know a thing or two about these wastelands. (Ajax, mind you, is chock full of parks and was a peaceful if mundane place to grow up). The most difficult thing and the point that hits home when you visit these areas, is how poor the transit infrastructure can be. Don’t get me wrong – the Warden bus I take is timely and the TTC are professional – but the commute for people who live way out past the fringe stations like Warden and Kennedy is amazingly long and dull. And don’t get me started on how insane it is to navigate these streets (hghways really) as a pedestrian.
What I try to instill for my students from these ‘burbs is that there are two Torontos. They need to take some time out to explore both of them. Eglinton and Warden is full of amazing Indian and Caribbean foods. YOU should check it out sometime – maybe on your way north for a camping trip to the Kawarthas! And to my students – take a train downtown to explore the colourful range of flora, fauna and people who inhabit my favourite neighbourhoods – places like High Park, Kensington, and the Annex / Little Italy.
So for everybody – explore the world outside your neighbourhood – and support the new transit initiatives which should transform some of our “inner city” corridors and hopefully make life easier for the people who live and work there.
For my students: your assignment is to comment on this blog entry. What is your opinion? Where do you live? How is transit for you?
EXTRA: Read the transcript and watch the TTC “Transit City” video
http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects_and_initiatives/Transit_city/index.jsp
