On a clear evening in late May, the same day that criminal charges against former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant in the death of a cyclist were withdrawn, an unlikely display unfolded at the corner of Avenue Road and Bloor Street. With sunlight slanting across Toronto’s premier crossroads of money and power — close to the scene of the August 2009 accident — 20 or so police officers on bicycles rolled into the intersection, halting traffic in all directions. It was the height of rush hour.

The bike squad created a human crescent that curved through the centre of the intersection, building a traffic barrier with their bikes and bodies. Bystanders had little clue as to what was unfolding: an elegantly dressed woman, sporting pricy sunglasses she could easily have purchased in the Yorkville shops immediately to the north, had a thought: “Are you doing a calendar?” she joked, grinning at the lineup of uniformed guys in shorts before dashing off.

If only. A raggedy group of cyclists then silently pedalled north from Queen’s Park, toward the intersection. There was no hooting, no banners, no loudspeakers. As the cyclists rounded the corner onto Bloor, one played a lonely solo on a trumpet. Everyone was quiet while they glided onto the patio beside the Church of the Redeemer on the corner. Rest in peace, Darcy Allan Sheppard, the 33-year-old bike courier who died after his enraged, booze-fuelled assault on Bryant and the open convertible he was driving.

Some say the famously cocky Bryant has gained in maturity over the past year — and that could be said of his city as well. The capitalist capital of Canada is in the midst of a long overdue upgrade while grappling with various economic woes, and it’s obviously struggling. The multimillion-dollar renovation of the luxury shopping corridor on Bloor Street, which the mourning riders had to avoid, is besieged by cost overruns and tales of incompetence. Premier Dalton McGuinty has suspended crucial funding for the expansion of Toronto’s public transit, just when the city’s struggling inner suburbs need it most.

The horizon doesn’t look all that promising either. The crew running to replace Mayor David Miller in November range from the ultra-conservative (Rob Ford) through the invisible (Joe Pantalone) to the inane (Giorgio Mammoliti). Even those who support George Smitherman, former deputy premier and the hope of many who think that some history of accomplishment should be a prerequisite for leading Canada’s third-largest jurisdiction have been, so far, disappointed.

Miller makes a lot of people angry. He has been accused of inflating public payrolls, mismanaging last summer’s infamous garbage strike and hiking property taxes and user fees. But here’s a short list of his accomplishments: he cleaned up the mess of corruption and mismanagement left by the embarrassing Mel Lastman; expanded Toronto’s revenue streams and powers through the new Toronto Act; made a priority of clean streets and well-designed buildings; mended relations with the police; used private funds to kick-start the long-stalled new waterfront development and renovation of public housing; got Ontario to commit billions for a new transit system; overhauled garbage collection on environmental principles; came to a collective agreement with city unions that legal experts on both sides say was the best deal possible in the circumstances; and balanced the budget following a deep recession. Miller did the tough, unsung work that’s often out of sight but crucial to creating a foundation for future growth, and he did it without side-swiping the most vulnerable or catering to power on either side of the political spectrum.

Maybe it’s time for Torontonians stuck on their soapboxes to get real, instead of clinging to the notion that a city of 2.5 million can operate like a small town. No one group, like cyclists, is always in the right. Renovating a main drag that pumps millions into the city involves temporary inconvenience. Chronic municipal deficits caused by a province that shortchanges its biggest taxpayer can’t be solved with household-style budgeting tactics.

Toronto has made significant progress in these areas under Miller’s leadership, as shown by the nuanced co-operation of police and civilian cyclists when it came to marking Sheppard’s tragic death. Miller’s successor needs to keep the momentum going.

IE