Ban buskers at Eaton Centre's Yonge-Dundas entrance, city councillor says

A Toronto city councillorwants to ban buskers fromthe busiest sidewalks around the intersection of Yonge andDundas.

Coun.Kristyn Wong-Tam proposessuspendingall busking around the Yonge-Dundas entrances to theEaton Centre, andaround 10 DundasSt.E., home to the Yonge-DundasCineplex.

Hermotion says buskingon the streets around the Eaton Centre is"creating serious public safety issues." It'sdue to be debated at next week'scity council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

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In an interview with CBC News, Wong-Tam said buskersare 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, seniorswho are carrying heavy bags are literally pushed and shoved onto the roadway,"saidWong-Tam."It's a condition that we cannot let exist for another summer."

Shedescribes her proposal as a "moratorium" while city staff study how to tackle pedestrian congestion in the area.

'Yelling ... about Jesus'

BuskerKate Miorstartedperforming as Marie AntoinetteatYongeandDundasmore than 10 yearsago and agrees the intersection has become so crowded it often feels overrun. But shedisagreeswholeheartedly that professional street performers are the root of the problem.

"I always make sure my crowd is a certain distance away from the doors,"Miorsaid 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 uncomfortablebothfor 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 supporttheproposal, either.

"I can imagine there might be the odd time on a crowded day somebody finds that to take up space on the sidewalk ...butwelcome to thebig city," Tory told reporters Thursday

"It's part oflife in a big city,"said Tory"I'm not going toconcern myself with any desiresomepeople may haveto ban this from any portion of the sidewalk anywhere unless they're literally obstructing the sidewalk completely."

Wong-Tamsaidheroffice hasreceived numerouscomplaintsfrom people who have had trouble getting around the Yonge-Dundas sidewalks. Shesaid the city has tried unsuccessfully for three years to persuadebuskersto space their acts farther apart and allow more room for pedestrians.Shewants toencourage the performersto use otherstreets

"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."

Buskersalready restricted

Buskersrequire a permit to perform anywhere in the city,andare already subject to restrictions around the Eaton Centre. They cannot perform weekdaysfrom9 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 cityrules stipulate that buskers ...

• Must leaveat least threemetres of paved and passable public space.
• Must not obstructany transit stop, postal box, telephone booth, driveway, building entrance or exit, display window or fire hose connection.
• Must perform within ninemetres from any intersections.
• Must not perform on any streets designated for street vending.
• Mustoperate at least 50 metres awayfrom other buskers