A study of traffic in Leaside is on the mind of North York Community Council. John Parker (Ward 26) thinks one is necessary. Speaking at Council he cited the impact of the LRT. Certainly high-rise residential development on Eglinton and nearby the LRT has potential to create more traffic. People who live in condominiums cannot be expected to deny themselves cars, LRT or no LRT. Laird Drive will be busy with business and shopping traffic for years to come. It has parking, however, provided by the landowners both large and small. Bayview Ave., on the other hand, will almost always be congested and those who live there may wish to say a prayer of thanks about that. Why? A decision was made a long time ago to save the unique treasure embodied in our wide, wide sidewalks. Whatever else may vex this venerable business district, it would be a much less attractive place without those sidewalks. They constrict the cars to two lanes but so be it. Residential Leaside will no doubt see more traffic on its mostly very quiet streets. The planners who laid out the town lived in a time when it was clear that houses needed driveways and garages. Frankly, residential off-street parking is everything. That modern realization will save Leaside from the street parking that has turned many older neighborhoods into one-way wonders. Council has concluded that any study, when money is found, should be bounded by Glenvale Boulevard to the north, Leslie Street and the CP tracks to the east and south and Bayview Avenue to the west
