“I’m not saying we should close our downtown streets to cars tomorrow. Perhaps we could look at doing it on a few weekends in August,” he said, adding the city could build on this over a number of years.

As for the reasoning behind such a move, Guthrie pointed to other cities that have done the same thing, such as smaller projects in Toronto and larger schemes in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ghent, Belgium.

“What if everyone who arrived downtown by car parked in one of our parking lots or parkades, and then visited shops and restaurants on foot or by bike? What if the parking spots became benches, planters and patios spilling out onto the streets?” he said.

“How would you feel if you weren’t sucking in gas fumes?”

The mayor said this would see cars barred from the downtown either in specific areas or during specific times, and that some types of vehicles, such as deliveries, could be done as needed.

Speaking to potential pushback on such a measure, Guthrie said cities that have made the car-free plunge are now happier for it. "At first, nobody wanted to do it. They thought the sky would fall. And now, they say it’s the best thing they ever did."

As far as “sucking in gas fumes,” Guthrie pointed to the recent announcement that the federal and provincial governments would be chipping in millions of dollars toward electrifying the city’s bus fleet, and building a new depot to service and charge them.

He said the move is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 7 million kg, or just under 30 per cent of what the City of Guelph emits.

Following a question from an audience member after his speech, Guthrie said it is expected operational costs for the new buses will be 40 per cent below that of the current diesel-powered ones.

The question-and-answer session also yielded some answers on other major city projects.

On the Guelph Innovation District, Guthrie said it “looks like there is a purchaser for that land” and that the province is working to clean up the former jail lands and have them on the market in three-to-four years.

On the Baker District redevelopment, he said he met with provincial infrastructure minister Laurie Scott last week to discuss possible investments from upper levels of government, and expects to get an answer some time later this year.

While the crux of his speech was to look forward, Guthrie also took time to look back.

At the start of the speech, Guthrie recapped what he said at last year’s event that he had “failed as a mayor” to address homelessness and addiction issues in the city — “Not necessarily the headline I was looking for,” he said with a laugh — and how things have progressed since then, and plans are moving forward.

“Next week, I am reconvening a smaller group under the umbrella of the (mayor’s homelessness) task force to begin a discussion around permanent supportive housing,” he said, referring to a commitment he made in council chambers late last year.

“I am looking forward to having the task force spur government, agency and private sector commitments to start building supportive housing as soon as possible.”

He also pointed to council decisions made last year, including the approval of just under $1.2 million to help fund additional police officers and resources, and a commitment for $750,000 annually over the next six years to go toward expansions of Guelph General Hospital.