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Toronto: The Good?

May 30, 2007
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Sometime two weeks ago I was driving to work on Lakeshore when I noticed a large set of double T's. It took me a day or two realize what was going on; I finally realized where I had seen this logo before. Audi had vandalized our public space, the beaches that line Lakeshore Drive. My first concern was that Toronto would let a corporate sponsor pollute our public spaces with their propaganda. I was quickly reminded that perhaps the City didn't know about it, but that really doesn't put me in a better frame of mind. Doesn't being "The Good" include being proactive about cleaning up our city spaces?

Reading up on some of the blog services, it turns out that the City did know what was going on, at least to some degree. Audi applied for filming permits and is parking their statues in the locations even tho no filming is going in. It's a sleazy move and Audi definitely gets a growl of disapproval for that, but where is the city's responsibility in this. When assigning filming permits, especially long term ones, shouldn't a city inspector come by and actually make sure they are within the confines of the agreement? Advertisers manage to skirt around Toronto laws, and reaction from the City was painfully slow.

Upon the heels of this stumbling, today I noticed parking ticket printers on what used to be the free parking lots along the beaches lining Lakeshore. Toronto, in past years, has had enough issues with making it's public beaches available due to pollution issues in the lake; by removing free parking they are making it even harder for many people to enjoy the area. Having biked out to the area in question, I can say for those of us living downtown, this is not the most pleasant news. Even TTC is quite a bit aways from, and a long ride.

In short I wonder about how the City's doing. The home of innovators like ATi and Redhat. A city that obviously feels a strong sense of community, both online with half a million Facebook users and offline with city wide events that take place throughout the year. In this city of people supporting and caring for people, where does the government stand? Apparently, behind money and corporations, not the residents. While I feel saddened to say, I think "The Good" needs to be temporarily removed from Toronto until city councilors can get their acts together and think about the people.

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Toronto, Audi, Do no evil