The Bellwoods bonanza, which was too big for police and bylaw officers to reasonably ticket all rule breakers, raises questions about how Canada’s largest city can convince people to follow the rul…
Social media furor was swift after photos emerged of thousands of 20-somethings playing catch, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on colourful picnic blankets and cheers-ing their beers at Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park, a large green space frequented by young professionals living in the city’s downtown core.
The Bellwoods bonanza, which was too big and boozy for police and bylaw officers to reasonably ticket all rule breakers, raises questions about how Canada’s largest city can convince young people to follow the rules, what limits it can reasonably place on access to the public outdoor spaces craved by people without the privilege of having private backyards or balconies, and how it will enforce distancing rules as quarantine fatigue sets in.
After a day being “so impressed” by citizens respecting social distancing rules in other parks and beaches, Tory said he went to Bellwoods to see whether the city had failed to get the message across to some people. But the several large groups he spoke to were made up of smart people with good jobs and a clear understanding of the pandemic.
While Tory said he understands the frustration of being cooped up in apartments without green space, he was deeply disappointed and frustrated by the lack of personal responsibility given the potential spread if just a few asymptomatic carriers were in the crowd. The debate over park access highlights the socio-economic divide between people who have access to private outdoor spaces and those who don’t in a city of high-rise dwellers. While Trinity Bellwoods is in an affluent part of town, lockdown restrictions have made it more difficult to get outside for residents in lower-income neighbourhoods where it’s harder to get to green space. Toronto eventually responded by creating a network of quiet streets to make more room for pedestrians and cyclists.
About 600 Torontonians have received tickets of up to $1,000 for disobeying distance laws since the pandemic started, for sins like doing chin-ups on park amenities or sitting on park benches. Those behaviours seem quaint compared with partying in large numbers, perhaps an explanation for the social media reaction.
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