If the TTC offered a pay card like Chicago does, then I might use the TTC more, but even if I drive down to the ferry docks, it is $10 to park (most times) versus $5.50 for return fare on the subway. With my dog, it's just far more convenient to drive.
Less than 20% of the 'pollutants' come from the private automobile. Since my car is less than a year old, it's tailpipe emissions are as clean as current technology allows.
We do walk to the bars, clubs, shows, etc. in this neighborhood, but if I am already in my car (commuting to work, for example), it only makes sense to make quick detours to do errands along the way.
Who out there can possibly claim the TTC is faster or more convenient than driving? It takes me 45 minutes by walking and subway to get to work. In the worst traffic I can drive it in 30 - I average 22 minutes.
What makes a good neighborhood? That's a little tougher because the meaning can change as one gets older and life changes. It's odd that the current argument seems to be that living downtown should be about walking or cycling because of the density, but really isn't that what small town living should be? To take advantage of everything Toronto has to offer, with its various shopping districts, etc., the TTC simply wouldn't be convenient. We have visited Yorkdale, Ikea and Sherway Gardens in the same afternoon. How could you possibly do that on the TTC?
How many people on this board can really lay claim to knowing their neighbors? Sure, maybe you say hello to them in the elevator or as you sweep your front drive, but do we really know our neighbors anymore? I'm talking like the Ricardos and the Mertz's!
Is a neighborhood like the Annex where neighbors curse at each other because there is no parking and they have to park a block away with their groceries? Is it more like Victoria Village where octogenarians resent the young families invading their neighborhood where they've lived for 45 years? There are plenty of positive examples, too, I am sure, but if you want to know your friendly grocer, pinch the cheeks of the neighbor's kid while visiting the butcher, you really need to move to Stayner, or Clinton.
How about Islington/Albion where my parents grew up, with shootings in the schools and nary an English sign in sight?
A neighborhood is many things to many people.