A casino on Toronto's waterfront is not a promising idea
Today we’ll be talking about a couple of hot button issues in Ontario and Toronto – whether a casino should be built in downtown Toronto, and what to do with the city’s main drag – Yonge St.
Gambling on the waterfront
Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) head Paul Godfrey visited the Star editorial board recently to make the pitch for a casino on Toronto's waterfront. The pitch is pretty slick and includes plans for a whole entertainment complex, with shops and restaurants, as well as the casino itself. There's no doubt that casinos have a social cost, but statistics suggest that most Ontarians want gambling in some form or another. But the other issue is what kind of structure we'd end up with on Toronto's prime real estate, because the track record for casinos in North America is not promising.
Closing down part of Yonge St.
There's a proposal before city council to restrict traffic on a downtown stretch of Yonge St., to make it more walkable. Are we too preoccupied with driving in Toronto, at the expense of pedestrians and cyclists? Anyway, making Yonge St. one-way could actually make it easier to get around by car.
Editorial page editor Andrew Phillips is joined by editorial board members Gordon Barthos, Kerry Gillespie and Leslie Papp.
More on these subjects:
Casinos
- Toronto is unlikely to profit from a waterfront casino
- Polls: Narrow majority favours casino
- Olive: Why a Toronto casino is a crapshoot on the waterfront
Yonge St.
Comments