A great idea

More like this please.

A local architect thinks it is a good idea to add a roof to the Gardiner Expressway that could be turned into a park with trees, bike paths and concession stands – while cars would zip along underneath....

"I've been appalled at the folly of taking down the Gardiner," Klein told the Star in advance of his speech. "It's about thinking innovatively, keeping it, adding on to it, renovating it, and renewing it. That's the fundamental part of the organic growth of cities."

His idea, dubbed the Green Ribbon, calls for the addition of a new level about 8 metres above the highway's elevated section from Dufferin St. to the Don Valley Parkway. Columns would be added to the side to anchor a new level, which would become a linear park stretching for 7 kilometres. The estimated costs range from $500 million to $600 million.

This would go a small, small way towards beginning to level the amount of transit space devoted to pedestrians and cyclists. If you could do the same thing to the DVP, and link it to the railpath that's being built in the west end of the city, you would have something close to a cyclists and runners highway, analogous (and in some cases, literally on top of) the motorists highways that bring them in to the city.

One thing you'd want, given the height of the Gardiner, would be a pretty roomy elevator system to bring cyclists and pedestrians up to the top.

Cars don't need pretty places, humans do.