Using the Pedestrian Realm

2009 image of the east side of Yonge just north of Bloor in Toronto. Copyright Google, 2012.

Quiz time: there are five uses above; an office supply store (Grand & Toy), an ESL school (ILAC), an internet cafe (Netropass... although they've moved since this photo was taken), and two coffee places (Tim Hortons and Starbucks).

Why use is most likely to cause traffic problems on the sidewalk?

If you examine the Toronto Zoning By-law, chapter 40.10.20.10 about permitted uses on "Commercial-Residential" spaces (such as the one above), you'll find a laundry list of uses that range from Art Galleries to Veterinarian Hospitals. Chapter 40.10.20.20 expands the permitted uses either further, as long as they meet particular conditions, from Amusement Arcades to Vehicle Washing Establishments.

But as zoning by-laws (ZBLs) are wont to do to me, I wonder if giant lists of specific uses are really that helpful. Certainly, one could apply to obtain a minor variance (or in an extreme case, a ZBL amendment) to allow a use that isn't currently permitted. Such broad lists also say very little about what actually is going to go on inside. Consider that a "Financial Institution" could range from a major bank (i.e. RBC, CIBC) to a very small investment company. The former will have perhaps hundreds of people a day travel through and into it; the latter might be an office that perhaps sees a dozen visitors.

These classifications are good for only two things really; establishing an as-of-right list of potential uses within a structure, and preventing potential noxious uses (e.g. a manufacturing use) from being put in an area. But I wonder if this is potentially the wrong way to determine what can/cannot go on inside a building.

To me, it makes more sense to think about uses in terms of their potential traffic too. Certainly, city planning does think about issues such as car traffic (in which minimums for parking and such are set), but there aren't very many policies (to my knowledge) about how uses affect the pedestrian realm.

Let's answer that quiz question above: the answer is the ESL school.

Why? Well, the other uses may see "spikes" in service (such as Tims and Starbucks in the morning), but their traffic largely gets in and then gets out. Like the internet cafe and office supply store, there are rarely "extreme" spikes of traffic where dozens and dozens of people leave at the same time.

But a school? You have scheduled classes that cause nearly your entire student population to flood out onto the street during breaks or after classes. And yes, if you walk up this section of Yonge at certain times, you'll find that there are so many students gathered on the tiny sidewalk outside that it actually becomes quite difficult for north and south-bound traffic. With nowhere for the students to "hang" afterwards, they get in the way of people traveling to and from the Shopper's Drug Mart or. the Canadian Tire nearby.

Certainly, there are other options that could improve the pedestrian realm without affecting the school; widening the sidewalk would be the most obvious "step", but imagine if the ESL school and Grand and Toy swapped places; the students at the ESL school would be able to spill over onto Asquith Avenue. This would likely create issues for Grand and Toy (namely regarding deliveries to the store) but I think it works as a thought exercise. With a mind on what uses generate foot traffic, perhaps a better pedestrian realm could be achieved.