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What does a complete street look like?
The City of Toronto invited photographers to submit pictures of what they believe complete streets look like, both at home and abroad.

TheStar.com
Sept. 9, 2016
Luke Simcoe

Whether it’s bike lanes on Bloor, sidewalk patios on the Danforth or a reimagining of what downtown King Street could be, the City of Toronto is looking for ways to make its streets a bit more complete.

City staff are preparing a set of guidelines aimed at making Toronto’s roadways more inclusive for cyclists, pedestrians and transit users. The policy will go to council in the winter.

As part of the process, staff invited photographers to submit pictures of what they believe complete streets look like, both at home and abroad.

“Streets are places we experience with our senses and words can’t always express that. So photos are a great way to see how Torontonians think,” said Adam Popper, manager of the complete streets project.

Over 780 photos were submitted, and a panel of three judges has narrowed the list down to ten finalists. There’s also a separate shortlist for photographers under 18.

“Youth are an important group to engage. It’s the city they’re inheriting,” Popper said.

The public has until Sept. 20 to choose their favourites. The winners will receive an array of prizes, including their own City of Toronto street sign and gift certificates for the Spacing Store.

The images range from shots of sidewalk cafes and suburban bike lanes in Amsterdam to pics of the new Union Station market and Queen’s Quay.

Matthew Blackett, publisher of Spacing Magazine, helped judge the competition. He said many of the local photos illustrated how few streets in Toronto are truly complete.

“I think it’s still a foreign concept to a lot of us. What does a complete street look like in the Toronto context?” he said.

Blackett said the city is “moving in the right direction” on complete streets – evidenced by the protected bike lanes on Richmond and Adelaide streets – and he hopes the photo contest will keep that momentum going.

“Our offices and the store are right on Richmond. Cycling traffic rivals car traffic in terms of sheer numbers,” he said. “We need to recognize our streets are being used in different ways and allocate that space more equitably.”

Have your say

The public has until Sept. 20 to pick their favourite images from the city’s complete streets photo contest. Voting can be done online at cityoftoronto.fluidsurveys.com/s/complete-streets-photos/ .