“STOP SPADINA SAVE OUR CITY”
Title
“STOP SPADINA SAVE OUR CITY”
Description
For many people, the Spadina Expressway was necessary for Toronto to adapt to modern needs. For others, it promised only the destruction of home and parks, more traffic congestion, and pollutants from automobile exhaust.
Citizen-led efforts against the expressway grew into the “Stop Spadina Save Our City Coordinating Committee” in 1969. This committee argued that the negative impact of the expressway and its soaring costs were not justified by a faster drive to and from downtown Toronto – itself a short-term gain because increasing traffic from suburban and urban growth would soon overwhelm and clog the expressway. The committee argued instead for better public transit.
The Stop Spadina committee could not convince Metropolitan Toronto Council to cancel the expressway, and then lost a legal challenge in 1970 to cut off funding for its completion. A final appeal to the Government of Ontario, however, was a stunning success. Amidst great controversy, Premier William Davis cancelled the Spadina Expressway on June 3, 1971.
HERITAGE TORONTO 2010
Citizen-led efforts against the expressway grew into the “Stop Spadina Save Our City Coordinating Committee” in 1969. This committee argued that the negative impact of the expressway and its soaring costs were not justified by a faster drive to and from downtown Toronto – itself a short-term gain because increasing traffic from suburban and urban growth would soon overwhelm and clog the expressway. The committee argued instead for better public transit.
The Stop Spadina committee could not convince Metropolitan Toronto Council to cancel the expressway, and then lost a legal challenge in 1970 to cut off funding for its completion. A final appeal to the Government of Ontario, however, was a stunning success. Amidst great controversy, Premier William Davis cancelled the Spadina Expressway on June 3, 1971.
HERITAGE TORONTO 2010
Creator
Sarah J. McCabe
Date
March 4, 2018
Files
Collection
Citation
Sarah J. McCabe, ““STOP SPADINA SAVE OUR CITY”,” Historic Plaques of Ontario: An Omeka Demo Site, accessed May 12, 2024, https://ontarioplaques.omeka.net/items/show/114.