Torontonians Win Gold for Good Behaviour

On February 28th millions of Canadians watched our men’s hockey team win the gold medal on the brilliant sudden death overtime shot of Sidney Crosby.

At 1:30 PM that day after checking out six packed venues, I was fortunate enough to find the last table in a local pub with seven seats for my seven friends. Following the ‘golden’ goal, the bar poured out en masse to join the pandemonium on Bloor Street. Having lived out of town for the Blue Jays championship victories and the last Olympic Canadian hockey gold medal wins, I had never seen the city like this.

We, and everyone else around us, worked our way east towards Bloor and Yonge. On our way to the major intersection, I told my friend from out of town about the ‘scramble’ at Yonge and Bloor that brings all traffic to a halt and allows pedestrians to cross in any direction until the timer counts down. As we approached this intersection, high-fiving random people and watching pick up trucks drive by jammed with revelers wrapped in Canadian flags, we noticed the hundreds of people gathered on the four corners. All of sudden the timer began setting off the pedestrian scramble. Instead of everyone crossing from one side to the other, hundreds of people rushed to the middle jumping, dancing and cheering in victory. This is when things got, well, Canadian. The timer counted down to zero and every person ran out of the intersection to the overflowing corners. It was no longer their turn. They could not possibly delay the cars and trucks ready to pass through.

In any other major city around the world, I would expect to see people during such a celebration flaunt the rules and congregate in the middle of busy streets however and whenever they wished. We have certainly seen countless media reports of celebrations in other cities turning ugly, leading to injuries and massive vandalism. Not in my city. Not a chance. We may not have ever celebrated like this before, but first and foremost, we follow the rules.

There are a few people in Toronto who buck the trend. In June 2002 the local percussion group Samba Elegua and fellow Kensington Marketers spontaneously launched a party on Augusta Avenue. Ultimately this rule bending led to the creation of Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington and other communities around the city. This type of behaviour is clearly the exception and not the rule. I am left to wonder if we will have to change the bylaws and sanction parties, creativity and spontaneity to get Torontonians to let down their hair.

Do I ever wish we could break the rules in Toronto a little more? Sure. Still, on the night of the gold medal game all I could do was smile.

Jordy Gold is the OpenCity Projects Editor and is a sustainability consultant. He has worked and studied in Geneva, Lund, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Jordy learned from the Swedes how to cycle in all conditions and can be seen on his bike 365 days a year throughout the core of Toronto.

photo by Bonvoyagetohappy

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