Before eight, the tram tracks in Western District still belong to the cleaners
The city is easiest to understand when it is between shifts. The office crowd has not yet flooded outward, but the maintenance crews are already halfway through their routines. On Des Voeux Road West the tram stop signs looked too clean to be accidental, and the rails carried more reflected light than traffic.
By the time the first convenience stores had all lifted their shutters, the rhythm of the street had shifted from preparation to transaction. That tiny hinge between the two is my favorite time to walk.