[caption id="attachment_5243" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="If you're driving through Alta Vista, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair."][/caption] ____________ Three plaques went up on Toronto’ s Spadina Avenue last year celebrating the 1971 victory over the never-built Spadina Expressway: a victory over car-centric planning won 40 years ago. Meanwhile, Ottawa is marking a different milestone. We’re voting on whether to build our commuter expressway: the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor parkway, phase 1. The phased approach is making it hard for councillors to realize the gravity of their decision. On March 8-10 they will debate and vote on phase 1—the $55 million, 1.2 km AVTC hospital link. Councillor Hume is calling it a “standard city street.” The map in the budget document shows a simple black line linking Riverside Drive to the General Hospital. But have a look at the real plan. Note the similarity to the layout of the full parkway through the corridor. The $55 million price tag covers the underpass, bridge and loop necessary for a much bigger road.