Torontonians are calling for more pedestrian-friendly streets during major events after a Canada Day fireworks show left thousands of people navigating through a sea of stalled traffic.
A resident in a high-rise building around the Harbourfront Centre area recorded swarms of people leaving the waterfront venue, which hosted fireworks on Tuesday night. In the video posted to Reddit, pedestrians are seen weaving through cars at a standstill, and the person who posted called the chaotic scene just as entertaining as the fireworks show.
@nowtoronto After the Canada Day fireworks lit up Harbourfront Centre, thousands spilled into traffic-jammed streets. 🚶♀️🚗 Do you think parts of #Toronto's ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
Other people in the city who attended the show chimed in on the online thread, with many alarmed at the amount of vehicles in such a high-volume area.
“It was crazy, saw frustrated motorcyclist lurch into crowds, engine over-revving, also an impatient car driver zoom so close to the crowds,” one person said on Reddit. “Surprised that no one was hit.”
“Just walking by the parking lot and seeing folks trying to get out was crazy,” another Redditor shared.
Other viewers were shocked that the traffic was allowed in the area, given the busyness due to the holiday.
“Weird that the street wasn’t closed off,” one person observed.
“The city needs to start closing off streets for pedestrian traffic during major events,” another said.
“The City closes off traffic after major sports games at Rogers Centre and Scotiabank Arena because each game holds 20,000+ people. Perhaps the City wasn’t expecting so many people at this fireworks show,” the Redditor who posted the video wrote. “This video shows that Queens Quay should’ve been closed off.”
The Waterfront BIA says that the foot traffic on Canada Day has positively affected multiple businesses in the area, highlighting it as one of the busiest days it has ever seen at Harbourfront Centre. However, it plans to offer feedback to city officials on how to better manage crowds in the future.
“We do expect that the City of Toronto and Harbourfront Centre will re-group to determine how crowd management could function even better next time,” Waterfront BIA Executive Director Tim Kocur told Now Toronto on Friday.
“There’s always a massive crowd for fireworks, and each year we see City divisions and transit agencies improve how they manage the crowds afterward based on learnings from previous years,” he added.
Deputy Mayor of Toronto and City Councillor for Spadina-Fort York Ausma Malik tells Now Toronto that plans for next year should “better consider how people get home in a smooth and reliable way.” She says past firework shows in the area have demonstrated that with the right planning, safe and efficient crowd movement is possible.
“The City has experience planning its own waterfront fireworks for New Year’s Eve with appropriate road closures, and can work with organizers to improve preparations next time,” Malik said.
CAREFUL PLANNING LEADS TO BETTER SAFETY
President and CEO of the Ontario Safety League Angelo DiCicco points to annual events like the Canadian National Exhibition and marathons as evidence that the city can safely close roads for an extended period of time with no issues for pedestrians. However, he says that it takes careful planning on the city’s part, and that drivers have to anticipate major delays.
“If you’re taking it away from somewhere, it is going somewhere else,” DiCicco explained.
“By closing a major roadway, you have to think about where you’re offloading the consequences, and it’s going to be in other residential areas that weren’t designed for that high volume of traffic.”
He urges that the city should take a proactive approach to planning and communication, emphasizing the need to manage both pedestrian safety and the impact on surrounding communities.
“This is where safety communication comes in, the more you can encourage people to leave their vehicle somewhere and using public transportation that helps.”
“We all want to go to the show, the concert, the parade, the fireworks, and we all really want to get home safely, and that’s going to take all of us working together as a society.”
