Getting Real with Cars in the City

Most phenomena that permanently alter the landscape – whether literally or figuratively – happen as a result of a confluence of circumstances. In the case of the rise of the suburbs, those included post-war prosperity and its subsequent housing boom/car boom (Ford and GM both produced their 50 millionth vehicles in the 1950s, following the slower periods of the Great Depression and the Second World War). People had money and they were eager to spend it. Assembly techniques had evolved to the point where homes could be put up faster than ever. Couples who had been kept apart throughout the war were ready to raise their young families, and they wanted a nice green lawn on which to do so.

Where once two-thirds of the population lived in rural areas, by the time the 1970s dawned, two-thirds lived in towns and cities. The march to the new ‘burb began; in Toronto, it began with Don Mills, started in the early ‘50s by E.P. Taylor, the owner of the O’Keefe Breweries. Apartments would house the working class, and middle-class commuters would take up residence in its tidy little bungalows and split-levels along curvy master-planned roads; ironically, the roads that would soon teem with commuter cars were originally conceived to foster community.

Car + house = prosperity, right? We didn’t mind the long commutes as long as we had big homes surrounded by green lots, big box stores and meandering crescents, all facilitated by the ever-present automobile and a whopping helping of available parking.

Now, the pendulum is swinging and the migration has started back the other way. These days, high immigration to the city, swelling gridlock, and the desire for a culturally rich, more carefree lifestyle are driving people back into the city. And yet, we don’t want to give up our cars.

While Toronto is easily a walkable, transit-able, cab-able city, many people who are snapping up urban condos are reluctant to let go of the freedom afforded them by their vehicles. Even if they don’t need to use them every day, many urbanites want to head out of town on the weekend, or simply like the convenience of having a car at their disposal. In spite of access to better public transportation, StatsCan says that the proportion of people who go “everywhere” by car actually rose from 68% in 1992 to 74% in 2005.

Anytime anyone in a position to make changes even hints at making a street more pedestrian-friendly or, say, levelling a new user tax, they are met with hyperbolic cries of “the war on cars.” We simply aren’t prepared to deal with the reality of urban living – that one of the compromises for the adventure of city living may be giving up your car.

The city isn’t even car-friendly and still we won’t give them up. We make people pay for permits that don’t guarantee them a spot. You’re not allowed to park on that grassy patch in front of your East York bungalow, and if your car has no driveway, well, good luck. We let car owners buy homes in the city without a second thought about where their cars might go; in Tokyo, residents have to show proof of a parking spot before they can even buy a car, a regulation that’s gaining traction, pardon the pun, in other Asian centres as well. Can you imagine the hue and cry if we tried something similar? We treat auto ownership as a birthright.

If you’re a die-hard car owner in the urban jungle, you have few options. One is to rent a space. Both Kijiji and Craigslist feature ads from individuals who own spots they aren’t using, in driveways or underground, which they’ll cheerfully rent to you for between about $50 and several hundred dollars a month, depending on the area and the surrounding amenities.

You can buy a permit for street parking at a charge between $15 and $50 a month, depending on whether it’s your first car and whether you have access to other parking but just want something more convenient. Not all streets even allow permit parking.

What is there to entice you out of your car? Your feet, of course, which are a fine alternative if the weather’s decent and you’ve got the time. A bike, perhaps, although they can be dangerous in the downtown core. Traditional car rentals for occasional use, although they quickly get expensive. Public transit, which can be inconvenient and time consuming, depending on your route – Toronto is years from having train service worthy of its population.

The one that’s most viable seems to be car sharing. Companies like ZipCar, AutoShare, and Car2Go let you pay a reasonable fee for access to cars parked in lots throughout the city. Some newer condos, like Chaz.Yorkville, actually have car-sharing spots designated on site. It’s reasonably priced compared to a traditional rental but charges can still be substantial.

In the end, the best solution is probably another confluence of circumstances: transit for getting to work, car-sharing for out of the core trips, rentals for specific uses (like needing a pickup to haul home some balcony furniture), and your feet for when the weather is good and the trip isn’t too long.

What’s your take on cars in the downtown core? Do we need to simply admit defeat and make going car-free mandatory within a few downtown blocks? Do we build high-rise parking structures to go with the high-rise condos? Are we prepared to make car-ownership the purview of the wealthy, as we seem to be making city living? Do we need more regulations or fewer?