At the intersection of Richmond and Peter Street in the city center Torontothe pawns are the players and the cards are the law.
Self-appointed “traffic umpires” are handing out yellow and red cards to drivers who don’t obey traffic rules.
“If you’re blocking the entire intersection — like a bike lane, crosswalk and the rest of the car lanes — you get an instant red card and you have to go home and hit the showers,” Martin Reis said.
Reis is a performance artist who started the traffic referee project about four years ago when he noticed Torontonians struggling to cross the streets safely.
Now, the FIFA World Cup being in the city has revived the character.
“It’s all good natured,” Reis said. “We’re on the crosswalk, we’re not getting in anyone’s way, we’re not trying to destroy traffic. We’re just making sure everyone gets through and has a little fun along the way and celebrates football, football. It’s so universally loved and it brings people together.”
Reis joins Pascal Murphy to regulate traffic as a pair of referees.
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Together, they take on the characters of Avery Goodcall and Collin Offside.
“It’s a little interruption in our lives that, I think, gives us the opportunity to create the world we want as opposed to the world we’ve been given,” Murphy said.
“So that little break is really nice. You see people just lighten up and enjoy it and share a smile. I hope it travels.”
The pair take their roles seriously and the rules are strict but fair.
“If they’ve entered the crosswalk they’ll be given a yellow card and if they’re blocking the whole intersection then they deserve a red,” Murphy said.
“If they get two yellow cards, it turns into a red. You never know, sometimes pedestrians get cards too. It depends.”
Pedestrians walking by offer smiles, chuckles and the occasional fist bump.
One even acknowledges that their efforts are addressing real safety concerns, thanking them for making crossing the road less dangerous.
“I think it’s great that the referees are not only taking care of law and order on the soccer field during the World Cup, but also on the streets of Toronto,” said a tourist from England. “A fantastic little touch.”
Innes Chalmers is visiting from Scotland as part of a FIFA World Cup trip and enjoyed seeing the referees in action.
“I like to see the community building around the World Cup in the cities it’s in and that’s what it’s all about, I think.”
Reis believes the pair issue 30 to 40 yellow cards and 15 to 20 red cards in a given hour at the junction.
Traffic wardens can be found every Wednesday during rush hour on Peter and Richmond streets.
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