Home
Search:
1146 feeds
357 categories
0 articles (<24 hours)
34 registered users

Use the Mobile version
Mobile

Follow our Twitter feed

View our Linkpartners
Links

Username:
Password:

Register | Retrieve

Culture


RSS FeedsChristopher Hume: A year after the van attack, no one has figured out how to balance safety with openness
(The Star Food)

 
 

21 april 2019 23:12:59

 
Christopher Hume: A year after the van attack, no one has figured out how to balance safety with openness
(The Star Food)
 


As much as the Toronto van attack last year was a human tragedy, it was also civic disaster. The city’s public realm was a collateral victim of a horrific incident that left 10 pedestrians dead.The violence of the assault turned the sidewalks of Toronto and its open spaces into potential killing zones. It was also a reminder that something as simple, as essential and basic as walking home, going to the corner store, to work or a restaurant can be a death sentence. Not only have cars and trucks become weapons, so has the city itself.In Toronto where so much of the public realm has been handed over to motorized vehicles, streets and sidewalks can be deadly for pedestrians even under normal conditions. Every year, people are killed waiting for a traffic light to change, crossing the road on a green light, selling hot dogs at an intersection ….These are risks we accept as part of living in Toronto. But the van attack was different; it was not an accident. Some argue that the design of our streets and sidewalks makes pedestrian fatalities inevitable and, therefore, anything but accidental. But they’re not planned, not deliberate. In contrast, the van attack was allegedly carefully organized and carried out. And so the question arises, how should Toronto respond? Should we remake the city or carry on as usual? Do we hope nothing like it ever happens again? Would a memorial help the community and city cope?“There are no plans for a permanent memorial,” says Jesse James, political assistant to local Councillor John Filion. “We’re going to hold a ceremony at 1:30 on April 23 at Mel Lastman Square.” James insists that whatever might appear, it should be less a reminder of the attack than a commemoration of a tragedy. The community will be consulted before a final decision is made.Clearly, though, if there is a solution — and that’s a big if — it lies in how we design streets and sidewalks and the connection ...


 
17 viewsCategory: Culture > Gastronomy
 
`The lower we got, the more blood we saw: Canadians react to Sri Lankan bombs that killed more than 200 on Easter Sunday
(The Star Food)
This barbecue jackfruit sandwich is much more than a vegan consolation prize
(Washington Post Food)
 
 
blog comments powered by Disqus


Copyright © 2008 - 2024 Indigonet Services B.V.. Contact: Tim Hulsen. Read here our privacy notice.
Other websites of Indigonet Services B.V.: Nieuws Vacatures Science Tweets Nachrichten