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Ban cars from Gould

Opinion by Eyeopener Staff

Crossing Gould Street can be like a game of Frogger.

Dash in front of the oncoming pick-up truck, step backwards to avoid the cab, only to be tattooed by the Firebird.

Mmm, Ryerson roadkill.

Gould Street, arguably the heart of campus, has the most pedestrian traffic at Ryerson. Lake Devo, the library, the bookstore, Oakham House and the Rogers Communication centre are all there.

Cars should not be on Gould.

Not only would removing the horsepower from the roadway reduce the chances of having to scrape some poor student from the front grill of a minivan, it would make Ryerson feel more like a university campus.

Having Gould Street closed for part of last week showed how successful turning the street into a pedestrian mall can be. There was actual “people traffic” on the street.

People wandering through the streets, mingling or having snowball fights will give us a fighting chance of losing a wee bit of the “stuck in the middle of downtown” feeling.

How hard would this be to do? Not hard at all.

Block traffic at Church St., at O’Keefe House on Bond St., and the east corner of Gould and Victoria Sts. and it’s done.

The only trick is emergency vehicle access, but the city should be able to figure it out.

Closing Gould Street is especially important now because the area is going to become much busier — and soon.

A huge $150-million development at Dundas and Victoria Sts., including 30 movie theatres on top of Ryerson’s parking garage, a huge hotel and new store is set to begin construction. The new complex is expected to bring six million people to the area annually.

Before Gould turns into an expressway, the street must be closed down — for the sake of the campus and to prevent a Ryerson student from becoming grill meat.

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