If you could change one thing about Toronto, what would it be?

[vultur09]

One thing huh?

Real and attainable- end poverty and homelessness through compassion and intelligent programs.

Imaginary- alter the weather to a more temperate climate like San Diego.

 

[ducati0000]

Run the city like a business and not like a money pit.Be more creative on urban designs,punish those who vandalize property (graffiti).Stop being political correct all the time and let common sense rule.

 

[christiesplits]

Establish a bylaw to eradicate the worst eyesores on Toronto streets: Ban all exterior white and orange tiles and mustard-yellow stucco from pizza establishments.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

Greater attention to detail/aesthetics in all things in the public realm. Entirely doable things like keeping places not just clean but tidy, keeping roads/sidewalks/street furniture/storefronts in good repair, making sure trees don't die shortly after planting, etc. Fresh coats of paint for everything, and no more Cheapening, anywhere!!

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

Establish a bylaw to eradicate the worst eyesores on Toronto streets: Ban all exterior white and orange tiles and mustard-yellow stucco from pizza establishments.

what is it about the color of diarrhea splattered on the outside of a building that invokes a feeling of hunger? i think it's a subconscious cue to replace imagined lost nutrients.

Greater attention to detail/aesthetics in all things in the public realm. Entirely doable things like keeping places not just clean but tidy, keeping roads/sidewalks/street furniture/storefronts in good repair, making sure trees don't die shortly after planting, etc. Fresh coats of paint for everything, and no more Cheapening, anywhere!!

yes, more attention to details! i will add preservation of good* existing things to that list.

*of course what is good can mean different things to different people.

 

[GenerationW]

I agree, we need more giant red arrows!

 

[TonyV]

" IF you could change one thing " .. most responses here encompass more than one item. I am having a rough time with this one, and find myself torn between:

(A) elected representatives who desire to propel the city forward in all ways, grow the city, and stimulate wealth creation, rather than just feather their nests by appealing to their niche voters (by the way, how do we ask for better candidates, anyway?);

or

(B) a dramatically increased transit system with about five times the subway coverage, in all directions, north-south, east-west, and diagonal.

Or, would A lead to B?

 

[kEiThZ]

The one thing that I think would give the biggest long-term impact would be for Toronto (metropolitan Toronto) to become an independent province.


If we need to be more realistic than that, I'd settle for legalizing party affiliations in municipal elections.

+1

My views exactly. While becoming a province is not feasible given how much the rest of Canada hates Toronto, I don't see why adding parties to the mix can't be done. The argument always is that city councilors in Timmins should not be taking direction from party bosses in Toronto. Fair enough. Then create two classes of municipalities. Single tier cities like Toronto and Ottawa would be allowed to have party politics and would have the strong mayor system, while other jurisdictions could keep the system as is today. Everybody talks about the quality of politicians at the municipal level. But that's largely a function of the system we have. Change the system and you'll get better governance.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Replace the red exit signs

with green exit signs

after all, red means stop and green means go.

and emergency exit signs

 

[Whoaccio]

^
Yea, that would be nice. I'm amazed how ugly and abrasive signage can be here compared to other jurisdictions. Nice traffic lights would be cool as well, as would buried hydro wires.

 

[Second_in_pie]

" IF you could change one thing " .. most responses here encompass more than one item. I am having a rough time with this one, and find myself torn between:

(A) elected representatives who desire to propel the city forward in all ways, grow the city, and stimulate wealth creation, rather than just feather their nests by appealing to their niche voters (by the way, how do we ask for better candidates, anyway?);

or

(B) a dramatically increased transit system with about five times the subway coverage, in all directions, north-south, east-west, and diagonal.

Or, would A lead to B?

The former would undoubtedly lead to the latter. Having proactive, forward-thinking and modern-minded politicians would definitely lead to a better Rapid Transit network, not to mention the growth that would occur with a government of such mythical creatures.

Politicians that have the whole City, or even the whole region's best wishes in mind is probably the best suggestion so far. Who knows what the city and the rest of the region could accomplish with good politicians in terms of transportation, infrastructure, population, density and economic growth, as well as a hundred other things that we're struggling with.

Oh, but switching our Emergency Exit signs would be good too

 

[master_t]

What does that mean? "Please run into a wall"?

 

[Epi]

Well I'll go out on a limb here and say...

Wouldn't it be great if we could plop Toronto as it is on top of Vancouver? Then we could get awesome weather, ski and golf in the same day, and also have an awesome vibrant, multicultural and happening city all in one.

Failing that, I'd prefer Toronto to have some nice pedestrian space in the form of really nice sidewalks (see Tokyo) that no one spraypaints on endlessly.

 

[isaidso]

Change 1 thing? I wish Toronto had far more pre-depression structures. Royal York, Commerce Court North, College Park, Union Station, Canada Life, and the ROM. I wish we had 100 variations of each.

 

[OttoSchloss]

more big hair!

happy hour!

but most importantly I wish the city would stop attracting so many complainers from elsewhere. People who move there and then bitch about everything. As if there aren't a thousand other places in Canada you could move to. If you're miserable in a city like Toronto then perhaps the city isn't for you and you should decamp for greener pastures. If you see room for improvement in the city do something about it, otherwise you're just a useless boring negative Nancy.