TORONTO — My introduction to sidewalk rage came a couple of years ago. I was walking along a sidewalk near Dupont and St. George in Toronto when I saw a jogger coming in the opposite direction, with a weighted backpack, furrowed brow and set jaw. He chose a route that headed straight for me. As he got closer, with no intention of slowing down, he barked, “Move.” When I halted in the middle of the sidewalk, he cursed and jostled me with his bellicose elbows.
Until recently, sidewalk etiquette wasn't an issue in Toronto. Urban sprawl made sure that our congestion was limited to the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway and that our mostly narrow sidewalks were sufficient for the number of people who used them.
But ever since the current condo boom began a decade ago, our downtown has been straining under the foot traffic – and so has our civility. As the city core gets more crowded, and adds more and more amenities to draw us out onto the streets, we need to adapt.
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