City council voted unanimously Monday to keep portions of Gould and Victoria streets closed permanently.

Ryersonian File Photo

City council voted unanimously Monday to seal off portions of Gould and Victoria streets to cars and trucks, a historic victory for the university following a decade-long student campaign to keep the campus streets closed permanently.

Council voted to approve a recommendation by the Toronto and East York community council that will see Gould Street between O’Keefe Lane and Bond Street and a section of Victoria Street, between Gould and Dundas Street East closed permanently.

“(It) speaks to the hard work and open collaborative process that city staff and Ryerson took to make sure this would happen,” Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam said.

“Now it’s up to Ryerson to work with the City of Toronto to beautify the street.”

The new term will designate Gould and Victoria streets a pedestrian-only zone for five years with annual reviews to evaluate its maintenance. 

“In my mind it has happened so dramatically and so quickly…that it’s hard for people who are new to the university to remember that in fact, (Gould Street) was like a major street,” said Sheldon Levy, Ryerson’s president.

“One of (Ryerson’s Master Plan’s) primary goals was that people would come before cars and that meant that our community would be safer.”

“The fact that it’s happening allows that street now to be permanently closed and used by everyone in a way that makes it feel more of friendly campus.”

Sean Carson, the Ryerson Students’ Union vice-president of operations, said the feat is the result of nearly a decade of advocacy by the students’ union and Ryerson students.

“This is concrete evidence that student action works,” he said. “When Ryerson students came together, we were able to close down a street.”

Prior to the closure, city permits were required to temporarily close the stretches of streets for events — some of which to advocate the closing of Gould and Victoria streets.

In September 2009, as a part of the city’s Car-Free Day, a 2,100 square-foot patch of grass covered Gould Street to mark the day and campaign the closure.

“A permanently closed Gould Street will be the hub of activity for Ryerson students and all of the student groups and campus groups that are here,” Carson said.

“It’s been a student victory through and through.”

A one-year pilot project that created pedestrian-only zones at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto’s St. George campus in September 2010  — where a portion of Willcocks Street between St. George Street and Huron Street was closed — was set to expire Sept. 30, 2011. But both projects were extended by six months to March 31 pending a permanent resolution.

Initially, there were two closings at U of T, but one on Devonshire Place was withdrawn after a few months because of little pedestrian traffic.  

Since its closure, Gould Street has been used for Week of Welcome, Ryerson Farmers’ Market and disOrientation Day. 

Fourth-year fashion communication student Robyn Woytiuk hosted a mini fashion show on Gould Street.

“I like the space because you can actually use it to your advantage,” she said, noting greater safety when walking on Gould Street.

Like many students who started at Ryerson in the last two years, a closed Gould Street is the only way first-year business management technology student Ambrose Recoskie knows it.

“This is considered a ‘win’ for Ryerson students,” he said. “Just to think (of) Gould Street being re-opened [to] traffic is absurd.”

First-year business management student Jason Kraemer said the closed streets add to cohesive campus.

“It’s as close to a campus as we’re going to get in downtown Toronto and having the space for various events is great,” he said.

“When you’re walking on Gould, it really feels like you’re in a university.”