Take a look at any downtown Toronto street at nearly any hour of the day and you’re likely to see many things. Business people with cell phones stuck to their ears (or Bluetooth devices stuck in them.) Perhaps theatre crowds rushing from their dinner to the show, or vice versa. Maybe even a couple of buskers, strumming their guitars or offering a quick magic trick. All of this and more seems appropriate with any street located in downtown Toronto. But kids? How often do you see them running around the busy streets of downtown TO? This is a question that was raised by Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday at a City Council meeting last month.
At the time, Holyday was trying to eliminate the current 10 per cent requirement on all condos in the downtown core – a number that represents the amount of “family-friendly” three-bedroom condo units that all condos in the downtown core must currently provide. Holyday is against the requirement for many reasons, but they mostly centre around traffic concerns. But if he wants that requirement to be tabled, he’s going to have his work cut out for him.
The proposed condo is to go up at the corner of King Street W and John Street, a high-traffic area no doubt; but certainly one that even families and children could find something to enjoy? That’s what Councillor Adam Vaughan and Toronto’s acting chief planner, Gregg Lintern, along with most of the other council members, thought during the course of the meeting.
The area sits right in Councillor Vaughan’s Trinity-Spadina ward, and he’s fought the 10 per cent requirement rule nearly since the day of its inception.
Lintern on the other hand, told Holyday when arguing for the rule that it’s “a neighbourhood, an emerging neighbourhood,” and that “it just makes for a healthier city” when families are included as part of the downtown core’s makeup.
But Holyday was still unsure of how that line of reasoning made sense, saying,
“It makes for a healthier city to have children out on a street like King Street where it’s bumper-to-bumper traffic and people galore at all times of night and day? I just think of raising my own family here. That’s not the place I’d choose.”
But choosing is all part of it, isn’t it? And that was part of Holyday’s arguments as well. While he doesn’t feel that families should be banned from living in the downtown core altogether, he also certainly doesn’t feel that builders and developers should be forced to market to a certain sector – especially when there may not be a lot of interest coming from that sector.
After being challenged on his thoughts about raising kids in the downtown core, Holyday replied,
“Well, I certainly think it’s really not the ideal place that people might want to raise their families. But on the other hand, if they do, I’m willing to leave the choice up to them. I’m not going to dictate to a developer that they must provide 10 per cent of their units in a three-bedroom form when there may or may not be a market for it.”
But Lintern pressed on, saying that there were many wonderful parks in the area, and giving kids a chance to live in the downtown core at such a young age exposes them to culture, theatre, events, and communities that could enrich them for their whole lives.
“I can tell you,” Lintern said, “as a kid who was born and raised in downtown Toronto and who has a family that’s being raised in downtown Toronto, the parks, the amenities, the culture wonders of the city, the museums, even just being close to a baseball game or take part in Caribana – all the greatest parts of Toronto are at our doorstep. It’s a wonderful place to raise a kid.”
Council members took the debate outside shortly after the meeting, reiterating their comments to the Toronto Star, and parents currently living in the downtown core with their children have spoken out in large numbers.
Sybil Wa thinks that it’s not a matter of forcing families to leave these culturally rich and diverse areas; but rather, that the city needs to catch up with the times and make these areas more accommodating for families.
“There are a growing number of children in the downtown core who are thriving, not playing in traffic as the councillor suggests,” said Wa. There’s no reason why they should have to move away because there aren’t the schools or there aren’t the open spaces or amenities.”
Where do you stand on the issue? Is the downtown core a good place to raise kids? And should condo builders and developers be forced to adhere to certain standards to make these communities more desirable for families?
