'It's time' for OpenStreetsTO to make a comeback, Toronto resident says
CBC
A Toronto resident is campaigning to revive a popular street event after a years-long pause.
OpenStreetsTO is an event that closes roadways to cars and opens them to pedestrians, encouraging physical activity and recreation while allowing residents to experience the city's streets and architecture differently.
"Open Streets has widespread community support," said Robert Zaichkowski, who's leading the charge to restart the event. "It's a no-brainer to bring it back."
With some Toronto bike lanes under threat of removal, and the city trying to ease traffic congestion, keeping Toronto's streets accessible for pedestrians and cyclists is top of mind for many residents, including some government officials.
MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, who initially helped launch the Toronto branch of the festival in 2014 when they were city councillor, told CBC Toronto they felt inspired to bring OpenStreetsTO to the city after attending the event in Guadalajara, Mexico, and seeing its benefits.
"I got back to Toronto and said, 'Oh my gosh, we need this,'" they said. "We need this for our health, our happiness. We need this to build up economic development. We need this to bring new customers to our main streets. We need this to connect our kids and our neighbourhoods."
OpenStreetsTO was held across Yonge and Bloor streets every summer until 2020, when it was cancelled due to the pandemic. It came back during the summer of 2022 through a partnership with ActiveTO, according to David Simor, one of the event's original founders.
Simor says that because ActiveTO is not a permanent city program, they didn't have enough support to bring OpenStreetsTO back after that, and it hasn't been held in the city since.
Despite the passion for the program, there are no plans to bring the event back, Simor said. Meanwhile, Hamilton and Waterloo are holding Open Streets events this summer.
The main obstacle is getting multiple city departments, such as transportation and police, to co-operate without having strong support from city hall, according to Amanda O'Rourke, executive director of 8 80 Cities, the non-profit organization that collaborated to help launch OpenStreetsTO. She says political support waned after Wong-Tam left office.
"Bringing all those divisions together was easier to do in a big city like Toronto with a political champion, like councillor Wong-Tam, who could help us bring everyone to the table," O'Rourke said.
However, Wong-Tam says having a municipal champion won't be enough to sustain the program, should it return. Instead, they said management of the event should be raised to the mayor's office, reducing its reliance on councillor and volunteer support.
"I don't think that it's fair for a group of volunteers to launch and sustain Toronto's largest free recreation program on their backs," Wong-Tam said.
CBC Toronto asked Mayor Olivia Chow if the city has any plans to bring OpenStreetsTO back. She said the city has to examine whether the program is needed, as they've already increased funding for many other street festivals. However, she said the city is committed to keeping streets open to pedestrians.
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