Relax, Toronto, all is not lost; the wheels of change grind no slower here than in any other city.

So says Dutch landscape architect Adriaan Geuze, whose firm, West 8, is now redesigning the central waterfront in partnership with Toronto's DTAH.

"Bureaucratic resistance is normal," he says, smiling reassuringly. "It's the same everywhere."

Geuze should know; he's worked in cities across Europe and North America. Still, he admits he has his work cut out for him in Toronto.

Geuze and his team won an international competition last year to redesign the waterfront between Bathurst and Parliament Sts. It is a huge project, including the narrowing of Queens Quay from four lanes to two, the planting of thousands of trees, the construction of a boardwalk along the water's edge and bridges across various slips.

"Today it feels like the pedestrian is a guest on the waterfront," Geuze says. "But in the future the car will become the guest. We're going to restrict traffic to one-half of the street, but we're not going to torture it. We'll keep the flow and create a more readable situation. It's not that we don't like cars, but we need more balance."

As Geuze explains it, Europeans love their cars every bit as much as we North Americans. The difference, he argues, is that we have gone too far.

"Devotion to the car is the same here as in Europe," he says. "But in Europe there are some guiding cities. And we're not talking about medieval cities, but modern urban communities with large commercial centres – Strasbourg, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Zurich, Copenhagen. ... There's a competition between cities now."

Geuze makes it clear he's not advocating the complete abolition of the car; he feels a certain amount of traffic is healthy. Besides, he adds, large pedestrian zones can "become scary places at night."

The intention, he insists, is to establish a state of equality between cars and people: "People will be happy, shop owners will be happy, and police will be happy."

He sees Toronto's waterfront as a perfect example of the vast potential of the city, but also of how much needs to be done. "North America is about the car," he says. "But Queens Quay can mark a revolutionary change. It will be a magnet for anyone who wants to walk, jog, cycle or stroll. It will be a place for merchants to make a living, and that will attract people."

In this respect, one can only hope the post-Geuze waterfront will become a model for the rest of the city. Though there has been much debate in recent years about the car, it's clear that Toronto has a long way to go before it catches up with Europe. Indeed, we are falling further and further behind. Worst of all, we have allowed public transit to deteriorate. For many Torontonians it is not an option; they have no choice but to drive.

Which brings us back to the waterfront and why it's so critical to the future of the city. It has the potential to transform Toronto, both as the completion of the city and as a template for future development.

"Toronto is ready to have a waterfront with its own identity," Geuze asserts. "It's a marvellous site, a south-facing waterfront. What more you could ask for?"

The answer, many might say, is greater public access. As well as controlling the car, we must ensure the waterfront is as inviting as possible. That's not to say people won't be living and working on the lake – they definitely will – but as Geuze likes to say, it's a question of balance. The point must be that we won't have to live on the waterfront to feel at home there.

While it's estimated that 85 per cent of commuters in the GTA drive to work alone, Smart Commute is out to change that. Created in 2004 with the financial backing of Transport Canada, Smart Commute is a partnership linking the cities and regions of the GTA and Hamilton. Essentially a matching service, employers are encouraged to sign up for the program, which in turn allows commuters to co-ordinate work schedules, locations and personal preferences in order to share the commute. The public is also free to sign up at the Smart Commute website, whether they drive or not.

For Sean Ballaro of Hamilton, there are many more factors involved than just managing his 85 km trek to work every day. As supervisor of traffic operations for Peel Region, his job entails everything from traffic engineering to environmental and planning services.

"Nearly all the complaints I field every day – and I field a lot of complaints – are about gridlock. Taking cars off the road is a huge deal," he says.

Since 2004, Smart Commute says it has removed 10,000 cars a day from local roads. This translates into 1.3 million saved trips by lone drivers, and Smart Commute's project director, Ryan Lanyon, estimates the organization gets 60 to 80 new people registering every week.

The air pollution removed since 2004 is no small consideration either – 100,000 kilograms, with greenhouse gasses reduced by 17,400 tonnes.

So how do our carpoolers handle holidays? Illness? Money? There's that "marriage" word again. In Sparham's case, he drew up a spreadsheet (he's a technical analyst in infrastructure management and planning – Excel is his friend), which delineates all the combinations and permutations for himself and his two carpooling partners. While most carpoolers interviewed took turns driving, there are instances where a non-driver simply pays for the convenience of a ride to work every day.

Smart Commute's Lanyon aptly points out that carpooling is like any other social situation. Courtesy, consideration and a mutual desire to find a better way to get to work unite people. It was difficult to find any stories of trauma or drama; driving partners drift away as situations change, but for the most part, carpooling situations are counted in years.

Some workers require their vehicles for their job, necessitating a single driver scenario. But in places like Peel Region, a fleet of cars will soon be available to access should they need one on the job, but be without one that day.

For Sparham, his employer gets high accolades. "Corporate supports what we're doing, and definitely goes the distance to make it feasible. They recognize the importance of a work/life balance, and the environmental impact of getting cars off the road."

Smart Commute agrees, and last month named The Region of Peel its Employer of the Year.

So what are those people talking about as they zoom past you every day in the coveted HOV lanes? Well, there's only one way to find out.

What happens in the car, stays in the car.

http://www.wheels.ca/printArticle/47646