Imagine your house without a driveway or your apartment building without a parking lot. Life without permanent access to a car is commitment that some 315 people may soon be making if the City of Toronto passes a motion to build a downtown condominium without parking. The proposed project is a 42-storey condominium, composed mainly of one-bedroom units, to be built on the site of the Royal Canadian Military Institute. The condominium would have zero parking spots, but includes 315 bicycle spots and nine car share spaces. Private companies operate car shares by selling memberships and renting cars hourly. Although this innovative project from Tribute Communities has many benefits for its future residents there is doubt that it will generate enough interested buyers. Could you, your family, your friends, or even your world survive without individual car ownership?
Supporters rely on the economic, physical, and environmental benefits of this system. Economically, the price of a condominium is quoted as approximately twenty thousand dollars less expensive without a parking spot. The comparative cost of an hourly car share is less expensive than car payments, gas, insurance, and maintenance. With less car usage, roads will be in better conditions and money previously budgeted to maintenance can be allocated elsewhere. There are also individual physical benefits. Replacing car usage with walking, cycling, roller blading, or any other form of alternative transportation will increase daily physical activity amounts. Environmentally, the benefits are more self-less and long term: less traffic congestion and cleaner air. In the long run, less traffic will deem road development unnecessary leaving more green spaces.
- Creating a car-free condominium in downtown Toronto is a great step to innovative thinking, which allows for citizens to incorporate actively protect their environment, into their daily lives. Picture credit to source.
Skeptics argue that this development goes against expertise. Although car-free households exist in the downtown core, it is unrealistic to expect them to conglomerate into one housing structure. Simply put, 315 car-free units will not sell. Adding to the argument is the question of whether 9 car share spaces are enough for 315 condominiums, which may house more than one person each. Residents may be left without access to a car when it is needed.
The success of this project depends on Toronto’s ability to be a car-free savvy city. In the downtown core, walking distance amenities generally surround condominiums. For example, the proposed site is only 6 blocks away from a mall and 3 blocks from major hospitals. Anything further away is easily accessible through public transportation. Alternative transportation is abundant in bicycles, taxis, or car shares. In the unlikely event that all nine cars in the condominium are being used, the four block radius around the Dundas and University intersection has 15 other cars belonging to zipcar within it. Walking distance amenities, public transportation, and alternative forms of transportation make downtown Toronto a great location to explore a car-free lifestyle.
Odds are that you are not one of the 315 people who will choose to go car-free and make a down payment on this innovative condominium because of factors like age and finances. However, you can begin to embrace the innovative philosophy behind this green lifestyle. Opt to make your own or your family automobile a last means of transportation. Consider the distance of the trips that you are making. If the mileage is manageable, commit to using the power of your body by walking to your friend’s house, cycling to school, rollerblading to the mall, or skateboarding to the movies. If distance and timing become an issue, opt for public transportation and take the bus, streetcar, or subway to your destination. If a car is absolutely necessary, choose to car pool rather than driving solo. Do your part to embrace green transportation to allow projects like this car-free condominium to have the support that they need to flourish.
By Aleksandra Sagan
Blog Writer 2009-2010, Change Tomorrow’s World
