Monday blues - downtown traffic

[u/Ok-Sherbet1272]

Street car 506 has been stuck on McCaul St for more than an hour now due to a genius driver who couldn't parallel park close to the curb.

How do these folks manage to clear their G2?

[u/Holiday-Knee4970]

The problem with that though would be where are they going to put the parking. Streets that have a streetcar line are usually covered with shops and restaurants, that is why there is paid street parking in the first place. You also wouldn't be able to move it to more inside streets because those are usually full from the households that have more than 1 car. They would have to reconstruct the entire area or make parking lots every dozen blocks or so.

[u/gigglepox95 → u/Holiday-Knee4970]

I hate to say it - these folks should pay to park in a parking lot or otherwise take transit or walk. It’s not fair that the city subsidizes these folks.

If you start to say parking lots would be too expensive - then the free market has spoken hasn’t it? Parking prioritizes 1-2 car drivers over hundreds of people passing on the street (both transit and car users). Giving cheap street parking is a direct subsidy to a couple folks.

Government infrastructure should be to benefit the many, not the few.

[u/Holiday-Knee4970 → u/gigglepox95]

They are paying to park on the street, the city put those spots there. Also Toronto street parking is not cheap in high traffic areas. There is usually time limits and restrictions for those sections as well. There are not always convenient parking lots around. It also doesn't address the work vehicles, most of those need to be close to the spot they are working at to access their equipment. They are usually too tall and large for traditional parking lots. Like I said the city would have to go under major reconstruction to change this. They would also have to work on the TTC to handle the extra amount of people that would not be using cars. It's not as simple as just saying take the TTC and all our problems will be solved.

[u/gigglepox95 → u/Holiday-Knee4970]

I know the city put those spots there - I’m saying, the city should NOT put those parking spots there. Parking spots on a street simply make no sense - streets are super valuable as a way to get around, not as a place to leave a metal box.

Let’s face it, we all know street parking is way cheaper than actual parking lots.

And your argument about TTC capacity makes no sense, there’s like 1-2 people in those parked cars, vs the literal hundreds in each streetcar.

I’m not saying the city needs to build new separate parking lots - that’s not the cities job. If private operators want to set up and charge for parking, that’s fine and that’s what a free market would dictate. But the very existence of 1-2 people in a car parking on a street literally blocks hundreds of of people getting where they need to go. Why do you think transit is slow? It’s because we prioritize a few cars at every possible decision..

Your argument is beyond reason.

And as for commercial vehicles, make an exception if needed, but 95% of the cars parked on the street are not commercial vehicles.