At the Richmond and Peter street intersection in downtown Toronto, pedestrians are the players and the cards are the law.
Self-appointed “traffic referees” are handing out yellow and red cards to drivers that aren’t sticking to the rules of the road.
“If you’re blocking the whole 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,” said Martin Reis.
Reis is a performance artist that began the traffic referee project about four years ago when he noticed Torontonians struggling to safely get across roadways.
Now, the FIFA World Cup being in the city has revived the character.
“It’s all very good-natured,” Reis said. “We’re on the crosswalk, we don’t get in anyone’s way, we don’t try to wreck traffic. We’re just making sure everyone gets across and have a little fun along the way and celebrate soccer, football. That’s so universally loved and brings people together.”
Reis is joined by Pascal Murphy to regulate traffic as a refereeing pair.
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Together, they take on the characters of “Avery Goodcall” and “Collin Offside.”
“It’s a tiny little interruption in our lives which, I think, gives us the opportunity to create the world we want as opposed to the world that was given to us,” Murphy said.
“So, that little interruption is really beautiful. You see people just lighten up, enjoy it and share a smile. I hope that travels.”
The pair take their roles seriously and the rules are strict, but fair.
“If they have come into the crosswalk, they’ll be given a yellow card and if they block the whole intersection then they deserve a red,” said Murphy.
“If they get two yellow cards, that turns into a red. You never know, on occasion pedestrians get cards as well. 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 football field during the world cup, but on the streets of Toronto,” said one tourist from England. “A fantastic little touch.”
Innes Chalmers is visiting from Scotland as part of a FIFA World Cup trip and loved seeing the refs in action.
“I like seeing the community building around the World Cup in cities that it’s in and that’s what it’s all about, I think.”
Reis believes the pair gives out 30 to 40 yellow cards and 15 to 20 red cards in a given hour at the intersection.
The traffic referees can be found every Wednesday during rush hour at Peter and Richmond streets.
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