Ban buskers at Eaton Centre's Yonge-Dundas entrance, city councillor says
Motion before city council next week would suspend all busking along the intersection's busiest sidewalks
A Toronto city councillor wants to ban buskers from the busiest sidewalks around the intersection of Yonge and Dundas.
Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam proposes suspending all busking around the Yonge-Dundas entrances to the Eaton Centre, and around 10 Dundas St. E., home to the Yonge-Dundas Cineplex.
Her motion says busking on the streets around the Eaton Centre is "creating serious public safety issues." It's due to be debated at next week's city council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
In an interview with CBC News, Wong-Tam said buskers are making the busy intersection into a "dangerous pinch-point" by clogging the sidewalks
"It's become quite unsafe when people with mobility issues can't walk by the sidewalks, seniors who are carrying heavy bags are literally pushed and shoved onto the roadway," said Wong-Tam. "It's a condition that we cannot let exist for another summer."
She describes her proposal as a "moratorium" while city staff study how to tackle pedestrian congestion in the area.
'Yelling ... about Jesus'
Busker Kate Mior started performing as Marie Antoinette at Yonge and Dundas more than 10 years ago and agrees the intersection has become so crowded it often feels overrun. But she disagrees wholeheartedly that professional street performers are the root of the problem.
"I always make sure my crowd is a certain distance away from the doors," Mior said in an interview with CBC News.
She blames religious proselytizers.
"They're being abrasive and angry," she said. "They're abusing their freedom of speech to promote hate."
Mior said the proselytizers have changed the energy at the intersection so much that it's become uncomfortable both for her and for her would-be audience. "They just want to get into the mall and they don't want to deal with people yelling at them about Jesus."
She said that something needs to be done to better regulate the intersection but rejected Wong-Tam's ban.
"I don't think that would be a very wise decision on the city's part if they want to keep promoting Toronto as a socially and artistically progressive place."
Tory opposes ban
Mayor John Tory does not support the proposal, either.
"I can imagine there might be the odd time on a crowded day somebody finds that to take up space on the sidewalk ... but welcome to the big city," Tory told reporters Thursday
"It's part of life in a big city," said Tory "I'm not going to concern myself with any desire some people may have to ban this from any portion of the sidewalk anywhere unless they're literally obstructing the sidewalk completely."
Wong-Tam said her office has received numerous complaints from people who have had trouble getting around the Yonge-Dundas sidewalks. She said the city has tried unsuccessfully for three years to persuade buskers to space their acts farther apart and allow more room for pedestrians. She wants to encourage the performers to use other streets
"We have thousands of kilometres of sidewalks across the city," said Wong-Tam. "We're simply saying you can't all be congregated in front of these entrances."
Buskers already restricted
Buskers require a permit to perform anywhere in the city, and are already subject to restrictions around the Eaton Centre. They cannot perform weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Wherever they perform, buskers are required to "ensure that they and their audience do not obstruct the passage of pedestrians," says the city's website.
Other city rules stipulate that buskers ...
- Must leave at least three metres of paved and passable public space.
- Must not obstruct any transit stop, postal box, telephone booth, driveway, building entrance or exit, display window or fire hose connection.
- Must perform within nine metres from any intersections.
- Must not perform on any streets designated for street vending.
- Must operate at least 50 metres away from other buskers