Yonge and Running Away

It seems there’s a mass exodus, or a planned one, from my neighbourhood.  The area of Willowdale in which I live is experiencing an insane condo boom.  I’ve asked it before - where are the tens of thousands of people coming from to occupy these teeny, tiny units? 

Thousands are under construction at Leslie and Sheppard.  It’s already impossible to drive around that stretch if it’s a busy day at Ikea.  Adding this much population density may serve the city’s tax base but it doesn’t do much for quality of life of its residents.

I have been taking afternoon walks around my ‘hood lately and discovering huge condo developments I never even knew were underway.  Signs boast that dreamed-of buildings still to come on freshly broken ground are “Sold out!” and “ready for 2009 occupancy!” 

Now Mayor Miller wants to tear down part of the Gardiner Expressway.  The city is in financial dire straits (yes, I realize the Toronto Waterfront committee gets funding from all three levels of government) and traffic chaos is already at its worst. Shouldn’t we take care of the backlog of road repairs first? 

Miller’s first order of business as Mayor was to quash the concept of a bridge to the island airport.  I predict his eventual successor will have that bridge built and we’ll be better for it. Sure, 1,300 residents of the island won’t be happy but this city has to move and function more smoothly.  More people, fewer options for getting around – some days it feels like we’re rats trapped in a little cage. I don’t know about you but I’m weary of running on a wheel that doesn’t get me anywhere!