Toronto's Church St. Pilot: Car-Free Zone for Summer

0:00It's April 30th, from your city to your ears. This is Canada News today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Toronto's eyeing a nine-week pilot to shut down cars on a short stretch of church tree, from Wellesley to Alexander to breed new life into the Church Wellesley Village. Counselor Chris Moise put forward the motion, asking city staff to check it out. That 250-meter section has no buses or street cars, so it's straight forward to close off to vehicles while still letting east-west, traffic cross. The ideas to boost road safety, make the area more accessible, and spark more business activity. Church streets are already a hotspot for big events like Pride and Halloween, drawing huge crowds. Officials see this as a test run that could shape bigger pedestrian-friendly plans across the city if it works out. Word is, they're moving quick on this to make summer pop in the village keep an eye on how it rolls.