As the Battle of the Bloor Street Bike Lanes winds down, a new front in Toronto's Road Wars has opened up. This one, on Yonge between Sheppard and Finch, is being fought over the same issue, namely, who “owns” the streets.

In theory, of course, city thoroughfares belong to all Torontonians. But as we know, they were long ago handed over to drivers. Recently, however, pedestrians and cyclists, newly empowered, have started to press their claim to the public realm. As usual, drivers have not reacted well.

In North York, the struggle to civilize the street has become especially vicious. Sketchy neighbourhood groups have sprung up to fight change and even the mayor has tried to derail an environmental assessment, Reimagining Yonge, now underway.

This stretch of Yonge is a six-lane expressway that also functions as an extension of Highway 401 even though it wasn't designed as such. In the meantime, dozens of towers — residential, commercial and corporate — have remade what was once a lowrise borough north of Toronto into a density hub where thousands live, work and play. These people are now demanding more than a life confined to the edges of a traffic torrent that degrades their community as it divides it in half.

“It's essential we start to think of Yonge as a main street not a highway,” insists Councillor John Filion, whose Ward 23, Willowdale, encompasses much of Yonge between Sheppard and Finch. “Right now it has very little in the way of character or soul or connective tissue. Can you think of any other area in Toronto where you'd go for a walk along a six-lane highway? People are looking for a place that has more of a community feel to it. I think that's vital to the future of the neighbourhood.”

According to Filion, the problems go back to the days of Mel Lastman, mayor of North York from 1973 until 1997, when he left to become first chief magistrate of the amalgamated city. Lastman was the first to promote the idea of a North York downtown. During his rule, enormous growth occurred along this part of Yonge — office towers, hotels, condos, the usual. But that's as far as it went.

“Mel Lastman got it half right,” Filion argues. “He was ahead of his time in terms of creating a subcentre, but there was no thought given to what it was going to be like to live there or to how it was going to work. The streetscape has been deteriorating for years and we can't attract new business without cleaning up the area. My primary aim is to expand its pedestrian focus.”

In "The Streets of Toronto" Christopher Hume takes an in-depth look at how our city's streets have evolved. For almost a century we've been told they belong to cars and trucks. But that's all starting to change.

The root of the problem lies in this confusion of roles. While Lastman was busy encouraging massive development, Yonge was turned into a highway and entrance ramp to the 401. Every weekday morning, southbound traffic waiting on Yonge to turn left onto the eastbound 401 backs up for blocks.

“It's absolutely ridiculous,” Filion says. “I would say it will be the main local issue in the next provincial election. The province has dragged its heels on this for years.” For its part, Queen's Park rejects any suggestion that it's responsible for what happens on Yonge. Building a flyover from the right lane would cost $40 to $50 million.

And don't even think of bike lanes. As Filion notes, “They aren't terribly popular except with cyclists.” Circumstances are different downtown where streets are narrower and densities higher. But as he rightly points out, bike lanes that don't connect with other bike lanes are unlikely to attract commuter cyclists. It's the same on Bloor, despite much higher numbers.

Though Official Toronto has chosen to fight urbanization, street by street, lane by lane, it's a lost cause. Earlier this year, the Reimagining Yonge Street was dealt a blow when Councillor David Shiner (Ward 24, Willowdale), egged on by Mayor John Tory, convinced council to kill funding for the plan. But the exercise is part of a bottom-up process that can't be stopped.

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As always, opponents never get beyond details; in this case, their only concern is what's going to happen on Yonge with two lanes gone. They never see the larger picture. Reimagining Yonge is about transforming Toronto from a half-formed car-dependent conurbation into an unapologetically urban city, a place where people live, not one simply pass through on their way somewhere else.

Toronto's Road Wars continue, but there's no doubt who must win.

Christopher Hume’s column appears weekly. He can be reached at jcwhume4@gmail.com