Article content

Some downtown elites put on quite a show on Wednesday after Mayor John Tory announced a new roadwork policy: utility companies won’t be able to block downtown traffic to perform routine maintenance during the day. The rule applies from Lake Shore north to Dundas, and from Bathurst east to Jarvis.

This might strike many readers as delicious common sense. There are 24 hours in a day during which one can work down a manhole on telephone and electrical systems and … you know, whatever else goes on down manholes. (I’m a downtown elite, how the hell would I know?) Unless it’s an emergency, daytime is a ridiculous time to do it. Every day, the population of the downtown core basically triples. About 40 per cent of those people arrive and depart by public transit, including on streetcars and buses, and everything else should be getting the hell out of their way.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Chris Selley: Torontonians want it all — but without construction noise. It doesn't work that way Back to video

It did not strike several left-leaning councillors as common sense, however. On Twitter, Coun. Joe Cressy declared himself “dumbfounded,” calling the Mayor’s “unilateral” decision “totally and completely unacceptable.”

“Cars driving through our neighbourhoods do not deserve more respect that the hundreds of thousands of people living in them,” Cressy said in a statement.

“Moving traffic should not be prioritized over the quality of life for residents living in our downtown,” Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam echoed.