Audio version

REMEMBER WHEN?

Walk this way

From a car-filled street to a green walkway, the evolution of Victoria Street started in the mid-’70s

Victoria Street in 1977

ELVINO SAURO, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, SCHOOL OF IMAGE ARTS, COURTESY OF RYERSON UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

BEFORE THE TREES, shrubs and bike racks, Victoria Street was a thorough fare for diverting traffic and a hotspot for illegal parking. Ryerson’s quest for a walkable, car-free campus began in the mid-’70s when administrators submitted a proposal to the city of Toronto to close Victoria Street between Gould and Gerrard Streets.

The goal of the proposal was to have the Ryerson campus be more appealing to visitors and enhance the downtown core. While the northern block of Victoria would be turned into a pedestrian mall, just to the south, trees, rocks, fountains and an ornamental pool/skating rink (Lake Devo!) were added to encourage use of the campus by non-Ryersonians.

Although Victoria Street was intended to be car-free, part of the proposal stipulated that the lane had to be wide enough to allow for emergency vehicles when needed. The strip was converted into a pedestrian lane/walkway in 1978 and renamed Nelson Mandela Walk in 2015.

Today, the area is part of the Campus Core Revitalization 2019 project to improve walkability, safety and accessibility of shared public spaces on campus.

—By Antoinette Mercurio

44 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2019