"Our cities are not walkable," she writes. "Ever tried to get from Masonville Place to the Great Canadian Bagel across the street? It's an urban hike that involves a lot of dodging of cars in mammoth parking lots -- it's easier to drive. With the exception of downtown London, there are a lot of places like this."
As a non-driver, I've often felt this way. Big strip malls and plazas are build with parking lots coming right off the street so that pedestrians must trek through a maze of cars before reaching a shop. That kind of set-up makes the street scape unappealing too. Why not build the shops directly off the sidewalk with a parking lot behind and entrances from either direction?
It's great to see downtown held up as the example for something, but there are a couple of spots in the core that aren't foot traffic friendly either. The intersections of Ridout/Queens and Wellington/York are particularly hard to navigate on foot. They are large with long lights and often won't display a walk signal unless you've pressed the button at exactly the right time. Reprogramming those lights would go a long way towards helping people get around downtown.
I agree! I cross York/Wellington twice a day to and from work and it's terrifying as a pedestrian...I can't count the number of times I've had to dodge vehicles that are not paying attention to me crossing the street.
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