Mayor hopes for 'balance' on ActiveTO program after Blue Jays CEO writes letter on road closure

Toronto Mayor John Tory says he hopes city council can strike a "balance" on the issue of a pandemic program that allows residents to walk and bike on a major road in the west end for hours on weekends.

At its next meeting on June 15, council will receive a report on the program, ActiveTO, from the city's general manager of transportation services. The report is expected to look specifically at the closure of Lake Shore Boulevard West.

One piece of correspondence to be considered is a June 6 letter from Toronto Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro, who asked council to scrap the closure of Lake Shore Boulevard West for ActiveTO because he says it makes it more difficult for baseball fans, particularly ones from out-of-town, to get to games at the Rogers Centre on weekends.

Tory said Saturday that council will take a hard look at the benefits and impacts of the program and of that particular closure.

"Council is going to receive a report which will indicate the benefits of the ActiveTO program, how many people have cycled and walked and skateboarded and strollered down those roads that we've made available on certain weekends," Tory told reporters.

"But they'll also receive information about the impact that it's had on traffic, on some neighbourhoods, on some businesses, which the Toronto Blue Jays are a business that are in operation now again after two years." 

ActiveTO involves the closure of many major roads for recreational purposes. According to a city description of the program, major roadways next to popular trails are closed to create more space for walking and cycling while residents are able to keep physically distant.

Since the city launched the program in May 2020, thousands of residents have enjoyed the wide open space that the program has provided.

Tory expressed sympathy for Shapiro, saying the online response of many people to his letter was hateful and he found that unfortunate.

"I really found it so sad that that Mr. Shapiro should write a letter simply setting out the views of his business and the fact that he has 30, 40, 50,000 people coming to a game and the abuse he took from people online for daring to state his opinion," he said.

"My job is to sort of take all the evidence of people who love ActiveTO as I do. And I understand why people like it and those who have to get a vote and those who have neighbourhoods and those who have businesses and balance all of that and the right answer. That is what we are doing," Tory said.

"Mr. Shapiro simply wrote a letter indicating his view. And I think in our country, we should welcome people who do that and take their responsibility seriously. Doesn't mean we have to accept his point of view. It means we have it and we can listen to it as we will listen to all the others."

In his letter, Shapiro asked council not to vote in favour of extending ActiveTO on Lake Shore Boulevard West.