After suffering through one of the worst winters in recent memory, Toronto’s runners are out in droves. The City of Toronto has the highest population density in the country but still boasts of being “a city within a park,” with 600 km of trails and the parks system covering roughly 13 per cent of the city’s land area.

So why are so many runners taking to Toronto’s busiest streets and running in and amongst pedestrians and young families on already crowded sidewalks?

On a recent Saturday afternoon at the corner of Bloor and St. George Sts., as families with strollers and tourists walked slowly along the sidewalks, no less than 25 runners were spotted in half an hour. It’s not uncommon to see runners bump into pedestrians at high speeds without proper observation of running etiquette, fuelling squestions about who has ownership of the sidewalks.

The city states on its Park Etiquette and Rules website that on trails “Pedestrians always have the right-of-way,” but the question of who has the right-of-way on sidewalks is a much greyer area.

Tracy Mercier, who lives and regularly runs on busy downtown sidewalks because it allows her to maintain momentum, stopped on her run at the corner of Bloor and St. George. She admits she has concerns about running on downtown streets but doesn’t plan on changing her route.

“There are other things to consider,” she says. “I could run along the water at the CNE but there’s so much pollution from cars on the highway. That grosses me out.”

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Ward 20 Councillor Joe Cressy (open Joe Cressy's policard), whose ward runs from Dupont St. in the north to Lake Ontario and includes Bloor and College Sts. and Spadina Ave., understands the concerns of downtown runners.

He believes the city needs to provide those living in the downtown core with more places to run.

“In the entertainment district, where we’ve had immense population growth over the last 10 years we haven’t at the same time built a community centre or swimming pool in the community centre,” says Cressy.

“We haven’t built a new park,” he says. “Where do we expect people to go outside unless we’re providing the social infrastructure and green space to support them? We need to do a better job as a city to provide that social infrastructure.”

And it’s not just runners on their own causing issues for pedestrians on busy sidewalks. Running groups often take up the entire sidewalk, causing delays for both runners and walkers and putting young children in strollers at risk.

Jonathan Hughes organizes the Toronto Running Rats run community, whose routes include Spadina, University and College Aves. He admits that as a running group, fighting for space with pedestrians is a challenge the group often faces downtown. He says that while the group tries to stick to side streets and run single file, it’s not always possible.

“We don’t want to run through pedestrians any more than they would want us charging by them,” he says.

The rules of the sidewalks may be unwritten with walkers and runners, but to avoid any injury or frustration there are steps that can be taken, says Michael Brennan of the Toronto Running Club. Brennan admits that there are runners who occupy busy streets with a brazen attitude and sense of ownership.

“There should be a sense of courtesy when they’re running,” he says of runners who run in packs on sidewalks and don’t move for pedestrians. “I’m amazed how many runners are oblivious to the fact that they’re forcing someone off the sidewalk.”

With runners training for upcoming marathons, including the upcoming Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon on May 3, the risk of injuring bystanders due in part to faster speeds may only increase.

The steps Brennan takes to avoid accidents aren’t followed by all runners and aren’t foolproof.

“If I’m running behind someone I give them a warning. ‘Passing left.’ But you scare the crap out of them and they maybe move into you. You have to give as much warning as possible so they can process it,” he says.

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The growing concern, even amongst runners, is that with heightened adrenalin and a focus on finishing runs with strong times, there is little care to be shown for others on the sidewalks.

“It’s an attitude thing,” says Michael Arnold, whose running routes include St. George and Dundas Sts.

“Runners seem to think they own the street. If they aren’t slowing down you can see other people get upset. For certain people it’s a matter of ‘Hey, look at me, I’m running, get out of my way.’”

It’s that kind of attitude that is fuelling frustration and Brennan admits runners who employ that sense of ownership on the sidewalks are “annoying to all of us.”