Enthusiastic pilgrims fill restaurants, TTC vehicles

Visitors enjoy lighthearted encounters, impressed by hospitality of Torontonians

By WALLACE IMMEN, The Globe and Mail
Thursday, July 25, 2002

"I am just joking," the priest from Paderborn, Germany, added quickly as a group of his young parishioners -- and the policeman -- had a good laugh yesterday.

Participants attending World Youth Day have had many lighthearted encounters that seem to have melted concerns residents might have had about the biggest and most traffic-disrupting meeting ever held in Toronto.

After playing his guitar and singing a gospel song to an appreciative group on Queen Street, Christopher Lamontagne said he has been impressed by how open non-Catholics have been to World Youth Day.

"This is bringing light to the city. It brings out the community," said Mr. Lamontagne, part of a group of 55 who travelled from Red Deer, Alta., for the Catholic gathering.

"I think it's great for business in general," said Rose Young, business manager of the Raging Spoon restaurant on Queen Street, which is featuring World Youth Day specials.

Crowds have been colourful, singing, and waving their national flags as they walk the streets. They include many nuns wearing habits -- a sight rarely seen in Toronto.

Payphones were at a premium as visitors queued to call home. Banks and money-exchange houses were faced with a bewildering number of foreign currencies.

"Residents and business owners have been very supportive," said Martin Maguire, the city's transportation planner for World Youth Day. Traffic has moved well, he said, even though several streets have been closed for events and there are more closings to come.

Toronto Police spokesman Sergeant Jim Muscat said aside from twisted ankles and cases of dehydration, there have been no problems with the gathering.

The only crime reported was of a 15-year-old from South America, who was caught shoplifting in a Wal-Mart store yesterday, he said.

"Everyone seems to like our streetcars," said Bob Boutilier, the Toronto Transit Commission's co-ordinator for World Youth Day. "I appreciate that, but I would encourage them to walk, walk, walk."

He said even though the frequency of the Bathurst streetcar has been increased to the maximum, the TTC has had to add buses. Elsewhere, buses and subway trains are loaded but there has not been any trouble so far.

The real tests will begin today, as Pope John Paul appears at a welcoming ceremony at Exhibition Place beginning at 4:30 p.m. Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed to traffic and the Exhibition grounds will be off limits to people other than those registered to attend World Youth Day and those on official business.

Even on Sunday, when hundreds of thousands are expected at Downsview Lands for a papal mass, the transit system should be able to handle the crowd, Mr. Boutilier said. There will be 160 extra buses in service on Sheppard Avenue and Keele Street, and subways will be running on a peak-service schedule beginning at 4 a.m.

All the walking required of the visitors is taking its toll on shoe leather. Rev. Craig Butler was shopping for a new pair of sandals after the straps of his old ones broke.

"The trouble is, they're selling too much fashion," the priest from Palmerston North, New Zealand, said as he emerged disappointed from one shoe store. "The hospitality of people has been wonderful," he added after getting directions to a shoe-repair shop.