2.1.2 Enabling walking and cycling all year round energy generated through the pavement, equipment could be The second mobility project led by Sidewalk involved“connected to real-time weather forecasts,” and the heating implementing within the IDEA District a “fifteen-minute could be programmed to automatically switch on a few hours neighborhood” where residents could access all of their before a forecasted winter storm. Sidewalk anticipated setting essential daily needs within a walk of a quarter of an hour or a maximum heating temperature of around four degrees less. It was envisaged that the neighborhood would include centigrade—enough to melt fresh snow but comfortable enough essential education, childcare, and healthcare services. to walk on (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 52-53). To realize this vision, Sidewalk intended to expand the walking 2.1.3 Harnessing new mobility and self-driving technologies and cycling network using a people-first street approach. Part of the mobility plan designed by Sidewalk Labs for Toronto To ensure pedestrians’ and cyclists’ safety and comfort, an included integrated policy, design, and technology to harness adaptive traffic signal would have prioritized them when they the potential for car fleets and self-driving vehicles. It was hoped reached certain busy intersections. that this new mobility plan would account for roughly 7 percent of all trips taken via ride-hailing options (Sidewalk Labs, 2017). Sidewalk estimated that more than 16 percent of this area’s trips could be taken by foot, bike, or other soft mobility equipment This initiative, which would have pushed people to use more (Sidewalk Labs, 2017). It was hoped that by expanding public transport and not use a car, could have saved a two- infrastructure and improving personal safety, this percentage person household “at least 40 percent on annual transportation could have considerably increased and that households could spending, or roughly $4,000 per year” (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: have satisfied their daily needs without owning a car. 67) if it chose to go car free (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 55).12 CO emissions within the city would also have been reduced,2 To further encourage use of bikes or other low-speed vehicles, increasing people’s quality of life. Self-driving cars, meanwhile, at an early stage in the Quayside project, Sidewalk Labs was would have been much cheaper to operate; it was estimated planning to create parking for approximately 3,800 bikes (for that they would have cost between 0.23 and 1.27 dollars per residents and workers), 190 bike-sharing docks, and parking kilometer, a sum that is lower than the prices charged by taxi for sixty electric bikes and 190 escooters (Sidewalk Labs, companies (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 60). 2017b: 50). This would have represented a 20 percent increase in parking spaces (according to Toronto’s regulations), and However, self-driving vehicles represent an ethical issue dedicated spaces for ebikes and escooters would have cut down because of their implications for the transportation sector’s the length of time that users of these vehicles usually spend job market. Sidewalk had plans for an application that grouped looking for parking. all the transport options and allowed users to access real-time information, prices, and trip durations so they could identify the One of the Sidewalk project’s strengths regarding mobility was most efficient ways of making their journeys (Sidewalk Labs’10 the eighteen months that the firm spent analyzing residents’ self-driving principles; Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 59). feedback on the project to make the project fully correspond to citizens’ needs. One issue that residents raised was that people Lastly, self-driving cars would potentially reduce the amount who biked to work would arrive in a sweaty state. To overcome of public and private space required for car parking and also this issue, Sidewalk Labs planned to provide showers through reduce traffic levels. A self-driving fleet can in fact be directed agreements with fitness centers and sport recreation areas, or to a remote parking area and then distributed in appropriate at a dedicated bike center. volumes to meet real-time demand in local pickup areas. During winter, to ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, 2.2 Traffic congestion Sidewalk Labs aimed to deploy heated paving on some sidewalks and bike lanes. This paving had a modular design 2.2.1 Rethinking city deliveries and freight for easier access to the town heating system, reducing Nowadays, the increasing use of delivery services is putting maintenance costs and making it easier to take advantage more vehicles on roads. Although it looks easy to consumers, of new and efficient heating technologies. To conserve the the logistics system for deliveries is complicated. Every day, (12) Figures have been extracted from Sidewalk Labs’s reports and are based on analysis and report by UrbanMetrics. They are available in the “Sidewalk Toronto Economic Impact Analysis” section of the Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) Technical Appendix. (13) For details of the mobility options contained in the Sidewalk project see Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 60-67. 173 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021