One
thing to say about major sporting events, they compel cities to do
crazy things. In a mad bid for cash, Chicago leased its parking
spaces for the average lifespan of its citizens – for just the hope
of an Olympics. Athens went through the monumental step of building
public transit – on credit – lots of credit. Barcelona now has a
park and a rather large public pool documenting the wake of the
games.
Toronto
is running in the same direction.
Regarded
as an ugly, cold, and less salty Mediterranean, history adorned Lake
Ontario with industry, railways, and the great Gardener expressway.
Like flat shoes to a supermodel, it was seen as merely practical.
While
many may have looked at the lake and seen something more than the
geeky girl with big glasses and baggy clothing, none had the courage
to ask her to the dance. Enter the Pan Am games. It bet its friends
that frumpy lakeshore was a hottie in disguise. The transformation
began and we are now in act two.
It
is 2011, or still months from prom in cityscape time. Trendy but
isolated district made from nostalgic booze manufacturing? Check.
Sporadic parks blooming along the concrete beach? Check. New condos
erupting at a cataclysmic pace? Check. New urban park renewals...
The
renovation is exciting and making Toronto a place where you want to
live moreover. It is refreshing to see money put to good use creating
public and worthwhile goods. One hopes to see the successful Act III
of the project and the gorgeous green aftermath.