Folks, I’m a bit steamed...

The City of Toronto had weeks to come up with a plan to address the certainty that people, however well intentioned or well behaved they might be, would start leaving their homes more often when the weather improved.

We live in a temperate country. Spring does things to our brains. And instead of hearing the cries for space, and acknowledging that involuntary confinement combined with stress can cause people to act irrationality, the City hired bylaw officers.

First, the enforcement is a joke. A bad joke. A smorgasbord of rule-breaking at Trinity Bellwoods and the Mayor’s response was essentially, “We’ll get ‘em next time.”

The City is so broke it’s going to have to amputate its own leg and both arms, and its army of expensive cops and bylaw officers didn’t do anything to deter all those people from going to Trinity Bellwoods? That’s some dark humour, man.

The City could have developed and executed plan to create new outdoor spaces near where people live to help alleviate crowding in parks that was sure to happen. They could have had this in place weeks ago to give people a chance to get used to new options. The City did nothing.

For weeks we’ve begged for more sidewalk space. And how did the City respond? By putting out pylons (but in a way which still prioritised cars, and it closed the Lakeshore. A classic Toronto solution which doesn’t address the problem and pleases no one.

We’re all trapped and we need help. The feds helped with money. The province helped with money. The City can only help with policy and it’s not going well. All the proof you need is in that photo of Trinity Bellwoods.