Politicians need roads to get around during Games

Does anybody else find it ironic that the most efficient way for athletes, officials, politicians and — yes — reporters to get around the GTA during the Pan Am Games is by road and highway?

I mean, why don’t they take public transit, which is what Games organizers are asking the rest of us to do during the competition?

The juxtaposition is delicious. While the never-ending debate about taking down a portion of the Gardiner continues, lines to create special HOV lanes on the 401, 427, Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkways are being painted so that VIPs can get around the city quickly and efficiently. I guess the TTC and GO just aren’t up to the job.

David Crombie, who was the mayor of Toronto 40 years ago, got into the debate over the Gardiner at the last minute and said he wanted the eastern portion torn down.

And that, in a nutshell, tells you everything you would ever want to know about this controversy.

Crombie was mayor of Toronto in the early 1970s. But Toronto was tiny, compared to now. In addition to Crombie, there were mayors of Etobicoke, York, East York, North York and Scarborough.

Most of the people who lived in the city of Toronto then — not all, but most — didn’t want to have anything to do with the suburbs. If you lived in the city, you were educated and sophisticated. If you lived in the ‘burbs, you weren’t.

Which is why the people in the city fought so hard against amalgamation back in the 1990s. The people in the city didn’t want to have anything to do with the suburbs. They looked down their noses at them.

Who uses the DVP and the Gardiner? For the most part, they’re people from the suburbs. Things never change around here.

OK, there’s some stuff going on, around and about, just about every weekend. Here are a couple happening this week and next:

Motorcyclists will be riding from the Fenelon Falls Fairgrounds through the Kawartha Lakes on Saturday to raise money to fight retinal eye disease and give the hope of sight to more than one million Canadians. The ride starts at 11 a.m. Canadian rock legends Honeymoon Suite will headline a concert Saturday night featuring many other great bands. Eric George has more info at egeorge@ffb.ca or 416-5169331.

The 22nd annual Gravenhurst Car Show sponsored by Canadian Tire will take place next Saturday at Gull Lake Rotary Park in the Muskoka community.

Go to gravenhurstcarshow.com for more details. nmcdonald@thestar.ca

Most of the people who lived in the city of Toronto then didn’t want to have anything to do with the suburbs