Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford put forth a plan Thursday he says would ease crippling congestion in downtown Toronto but some are questioning the approach he used to deliver his message.
Standing in front of a podium with his name on it and the slogan “Get Toronto Moving,” the Beaches-East York councillor unveiled his proposal to temporarily suspend the transit corridor rules between King Street and Spadina Avenue for the next two months while construction forces streetcars onto other routes.
“This is as simple as putting some garbage bags over the signs that restrict vehicles flowing through, doing that on a temporary basis,” said Bradford, who plans to bring a member’s motion before council at next week’s meeting.
The campaign-style announcement, though, raised the ire of fellow councillors.
“That’s probably not a bad idea, Brad, but do you really have to deliver it like that?” was fellow councillor Paula Fletcher’s reaction, while also pointing out that the issue was discussed for months before council voted on it.
“Get off your high horse, you had two months to bring that forward, and then you missed the vote when we decided what we were going to do,” said Fletcher.
Mayor Olivia Chow, who is often at odds with Bradford, did not mention the councillor by name in a statement, saying the issue was repeatedly considered at city council.
“We extend our thanks to all councillors who attended and offered suggestions,” said Chow.
Bradford declined to talk about his mayoral ambitions even after it was pointed out that the announcement and the issue are not in his ward or his responsibility.
“I’m not making that announcement,” said Bradford. “What I do every day is go out and listen to Torontonians from across the city about practical solutions on how to make life in Toronto better for people. …Respectively, a lot of people from the east end of the city feel entirely cut off from the downtown core.”
