Major cities across the world are seizing this moment to work on becoming more sustainable and prosperous by making critical investments in infrastructure, reducing dependency on the automobile, investing in public spaces and public services and improving the quality of life for their citizens.

Toronto, with its many natural advantages, could be a leader of that movement but we seem to be squandering the opportunity in a dysfunctional family feud that is incapacitating, embarrassing and, at this point, largely self-inflicted.

A perfect storm of internecine warfare has stalled over Toronto like a low pressure system that just won’t move on. The slow-motion train wreck at city hall has monopolized our attention, and as time passes we are missing opportunities to move our city forward in crucial ways.

The agenda of new business and unresolved old business is piling up. Exhibit A is the widely acknowledged transportation gridlock that is paralyzing us, yet we seem unable to draw the obvious conclusions that would enable us to address it. This failure to arrive at a consensus around a predictable, long-term strategy for funding a viable regional transit network is causing incalculable damage, yet a fractured Toronto City Council has been unable to make any commitment to a solution.

Partisan bickering at Queen’s Park is a major obstacle and the federal response is a knee-jerk thumbs down, unlike virtually every other national government in the developed world which has made this a priority.

Another looming issue is what to do with the crumbling Gardiner Expressway and, again, while cities around the world are busy modifying their aging mid-20th century infrastructure to reflect new priorities (and their entire street networks to embrace active transportation — walking and cycling), it is not clear we will seize this opportunity for transformation.

The problem is that these are not discrete, isolated issues that can be dealt with individually. They are parts of a syndrome, the backdrop of which is the still uneasy amalgamation of Toronto. Creation of the megacity has led to wedge politics and a debilitating sense of “them” and “us” which, whether real or not, makes it almost impossible to achieve political consensus on big issues. The endless, acrimonious debate about the appropriate roles for government and the private sector has turned what should be pragmatic decisions into ideological “all or nothing” partisan battles. The real question is whether we can unravel this syndrome, break through the debilitating inertia it creates and move on. Like the interwoven set of problems behind the crisis, the solutions must be mutually reinforcing if we are to break the vicious circle of inaction.

The mayor’s meltdown eventually will end; it has to, but we have to see this as an opportunity to reboot beyond just a personnel change. The unresolved issues of amalgamation need to be addressed. It is not working for anyone. We need to break down the megacity internally to provide more meaningful access to local government while creating stronger links and integration throughout the city-region.

The cheap-shot wedge politics between the downtown and the inner suburbs has to stop. Many of our able and committed city councillors and staff are struggling to bridge this divide and pick up the pieces to keep the city working but there are many ways to make our governance structure more efficient, responsive and workable. We are in each other’s hair and business in the wrong ways; “standardization,” the one-size-fits-all approach of the megacity, fits no one and we are all frustrated. We are different and diverse yet connected, e pluribus unum! We need to find a new way to respect this diversity; the narrow-banding is killing us.

In terms of the deferred infrastructure backlog, the acid test will be whether we succeed in investing in changing how we move in our city-region. The gigantic, false dichotomy pitting “taxpayers” against government and the presumption that we can get services without paying for them has to be challenged. We are also citizens. There are complementary roles for both the public and private sectors and they both have to be strong and effective for us to succeed and prosper. The statement that in crisis there is opportunity can be overused but in this case it applies. We cannot afford to just stand apart and watch the train wreck.

Ken Greenberg is an architect, urban designer, author of Walking Home and a member of the team that created the approved plan for the Lower Don Lands.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: