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Wouldn’t it be nice if the city did more than state the obvious – that “it’s really hot and the air really stinks” – and actually did something about the problem?
Like charging the single-occupant mobile furnaces an entry fee to the city core and paying cyclists to ride on smog days? Or making an emergency bike lane along Bloor during heat or smog alerts? Or enforcing a maximum heat standard for sweltering tenants in their thermal slums?
Sure, heat is part of summer, and it’s great sometimes.
But record heat, drought and bad air are making Smogtown a brutal place to live for those who can’t afford air conditioning, patios and enough cold drinks or whose options are limited by a cheap landlord.
But we value the freedom to consume prodigiously. And because we’re too “carrupt” and won’t put conditions on driving, those who don’t burn so much pay the price.
Cycling is the most energy-efficient way to get around, and there’s a lot of sustained bull about how the city supports it. Some bike lanes do exist and there are a lot of bike lockup rings, but many urban cyclists fear becoming a vegetable and always wear a helmet, a practice that may soon be mandatory under Bill 129.
But forcing bike-riders to encase their heads, even in vented helmets, when the road temperature is egg-fryingly hot isn’t fair. Add the exertion of pedalling and the heat generated by the “carcooned” for their own selfish climate control, and a great inequity is truly being borne – or breathed in – by non-drivers.
The harm from cars extends to urban trees, too, many of which will surely suffer harm this year unless there’s an emergency watering program.
The city won’t likely be able to save them, since it’s so broke. Too bad our tree advocate, Councillor Jo Pantalone, likes the Front Street extension so much when transit solutions to car congestion have reached the critical point. The good news with the extreme heat, bad smog and drought is that maybe we’ll take those damned greenhouse gas emissions, which are up 20 per cent over 1990 levels, more “seariously.”
But the odds aren’t good that we’ll get our heads out of the tailpipe long enough to realize that things could be different. And so the heat goes on. Get used to it.
news@nowtoronto.com
