RC8
Senior Member
Cities of just over 100k in population that had their built form largely defined centuries before the automobile was invented?
It sure beats the likes of Barrie or Kingston, doesn't it?
There are cities in Ontario like Kingston or Belleville where riding a bicycle from one end of the city to the other would take about 15 minutes or less. These cities, built mostly before the car became king, continue to embrace the automobile with its gridlock, noise, and pollution. In the process they make local retail less profitable, their city less liveable, their land less desirable, and their people less happy.
Toronto is being held hostage by its amalgamated suburbs, but it would just take one generation of enlightenment to turn the likes of Kingston into very desirable, successful, healthy, and idyllic towns. Streetcar networks and bicycling infrastructure could make a massive difference there.