
Toronto Public Etiquette Guide was published by spacing magazine and contained articles written by various authors covering appropriate behaviour that should be exhibited in many situations such as riding public transit, smoking, waiting in line, or–deserving a sizable chapter in this small book–riding a bicycle.
Toronto residents display and expect a degree of decorum that is not exhibited in other Canadian cities. The editors included spacing magazine reader submissions which noted the impressions of newcomers to the city, who were often surprised by the way we do things. Stated early in the book:
“Torontonians are, in general, non-confrontational. While there are always exceptions, most will go out of their way to avoid conflict with strangers. This avoidance may be one of those inheritances from the city’s British past, or, it may be a way of operating in a city of many different cultures. Whatever the cause, Torontonians most often respond to breaches of etiquette with passive aggression.”
I agree that we do seem to know how to manage crowded situations where there are no lines or take-a-number systems. For example, while gathering around a bus door waiting for it to open, there is always a calm and civil sense of order where the people seem to know who was waiting there the longest. I for one, even if I am standing close to the front door of the bus, will let others enter before me since I am aware of who was there before me.
I had a laugh over the definition of the “Canadian standoff”. This occurs “when one person holds the door open, but two other people are each waiting for the other to go through first, resulting in general paralysis.” Has this happened to me? You bet it has.
Cycling on Toronto roads is dangerous, and the local news is filled with reports of rider injuries. I consider myself a supersafe cyclist, stopping for red lights and slowing down at all stop signs (okay, so I don’t come to a full and complete stop at each red octagon). While I wait at red lights, I give a high thumbs-down to cyclists who speed through. Delinquent cyclists like that give law-abiding riders a bad reputation. That said, the writers of the articles in the cycling chapter did acknowledge those riders who obey the law and, like me, frown upon the violators. Yet they also wrote about the motorists who don’t show the proper etiquette to cyclists, such as not looking before opening car doors or parking in bike lanes. I was happy to see so many articles devoted to bike safety and proper etiquette on both cyclists and motorists to ensure safe transit for all.
Other chapters included proper etiquette for dog owners, snow clearing and hanging out in a park. I found some of the advice to be repetitious, and thus boring, as “be aware and respectful of others” seems trite after repeated reads.