Shocking activity by city council members and staff

 

The blog wanted to highlight a particularity worrisome point brought out publicly by the  Toronto Public Space  (TPSI) group in their report on unprecedented policies that will allow the city to sell off the names of public spaces and bring in aggressive advertising into them, including parks and playgrounds. (see this post - its below this one)

Yet they are bringing local business Improvement associations (BIA's) into the decision-making and planning activities about these changes. That is right, the local retail store owners across the city are being consulted and allowed into the fold to decide how local parks are named and what advertising will go into them, Yes, big advertisers are involved too and their ads in parks and parkettes are probably not welcome also. But residents and community groups such as residents associations are not part of the consultation process.

"the inclusion of BIAs in a consultation process to the exclusion of all other stakeholders" [1. Toronto Public Space  (TPSI)]

Simply,  1st importance of the what the parks are to the community of people who use them is being removed from the people.

Hopefully the ethical BIA's in Toronto with see the folly of of being associated with this. BIA's are structured and created to improve retail streets and businesses within their areas.

 

Bikeway Network - 2011 Update 1st consideration June 23 2011

 

This item will be considered by Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on June 23, 2011. It will be considered by City Council on July 12, 2011, subject to the actions of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.

The Acting General Manager, Transportation Services, recommends that:

 

1.         City Council endorse the direction and implementation of the Mayor's Bike Plan comprising a 100 km network of off-street bike trails and completion of critical on-street bike lane connections where the community supports them....

and where they do not impede traffic flow.

 

two areas where  they are in consideration in the greater wards 11,12,13,14 and greater Junction are...

 

3.         City Council approve modifications to the bicycle lanes on Dupont Street at the approach to the intersection with Lansdowne Avenue, to move the beginning of bicycle lanes from a point 30 metres east of Lansdowne Avenue to a point 70 metres west of Lansdowne Avenue.

 

4.         City Council provide direction regarding the installation of approved bicycle lanes on Bloor Street West, from Mill Road to Beamish Drive.

full report PDF link Bikeway Network - 2011 Update.pdf

 

Background Information

(June 9, 2011) Report and Appendices 1 to 7 from the Acting General Manager, Transportation Services, on Bikeway Network - 2011 Update (http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-38906.pdf)

Source: Toronto City Clerk at www.toronto.ca/council via Sarah Doucette @DoucetteWard13

 

 

An idea so great I cannot stop thinking about it bringing a farmers' market to Ward 13 of Toronto

 

 

 



 

 

so so happy this is happening and its a resident lead project.

a number of people have send in a request to post this and the blog thanks you all, I used Chris's text because it gave so much info...

 

from their site

About

The Ward 13 Farmers' Market Initiative is a group of local residents who are interested in bringing a Farmers' Market to Ward 13. With guidance from a community animator from LiveGreen Toronto, the group has been meeting regularly to develop and implement a strategy to have a market in the area as soon as possible. Committees include Market Models, Governance, Community Outreach, Location, Permits & Logistics. If you are interested on joining our efforts, please contact Whitney Crooks at 647-409-9448 or whitney@ecospark.ca or email us at ward13market@gmail.com.

 

An overview and survey info  from Chris a member of the initiative

 

An initiative that is working on bringing a farmers'
market to Ward 13 of Toronto. We believe that farmers’ markets work best
when they’re situated close to those who shop there. Local and fresh
produce, farmed in Ontario should be available to everyone without having
to make a lengthy journey outside of their own neighbourhood.

We’re currently in the planning stages of the initiative and need
community input into what kind of farmers’ market they would like to have
in their neighbourhood. I encourage you to fill out the survey below and
forward this email to your constituents. We’re trying to reach as many
people as possible and groups like yours are the perfect channel for
spreading the word locally.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.

It's farmers market season again! Wouldn't you love to shop at a farmers
market in your own neighborhood? The Ward 13 Farmers Market Initiative is
working on bringing that vision to reality.

Please take a few minutes and share your thoughts with us by taking our
short survey. Please go to our website at www.ward13market.com or click on
the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTTNJNB

Baby Point Gates BIA created

Ward 13 business efforts will be further enhanced by the creation of this BIA, a long and strong effort by some local business owners and local - "feet on the ground" city Councillor Bill Saundercook, who spearheaded the long effort to have this happen in the Jane St and the Annette St area.  The new BIA was formally approved at the June 8-9th meeting of Toronto City Council. Today, on June 23rd, Councillor Saundercook attended the first meeting of the newly established Baby Point Gates BIA Steering cmte.
The Baby Point Gates BIA is the 3rd BIA in Ward 13. The other two BIAs are the Bloor West Village and the Junction BIA.The inaugural meeting of the newly formed Baby Point Gates BIA.

Background material links (hosted here at the blog) Take a look at the timeline to see the long effort.

Proposed Baby Point Gates BIA Process & Timelines

11 DIVISION Police Move photo update

[caption id="attachment_5735" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="at the rear of the school the 1st outside of the teardown appear"][/caption]

When we last checked in on this school near the corner of Davenport Rd and Old Weston Rd the demo work, was only beginning to start with surveying being done.

Now it's looking like the finish line for the school  is in sight, though it doesn't seem as though the big machines will be arriving in the next month if Priestly Demolition Inc follows it;s normal timeline  of removing the building inter 1st of salvageable materials . As we noted a year ago, the school is being  demolished to make way for the development of the new police 11 division station.

Canadian Holiday Train comes to the Junction for the second year in a row.

Councillor Bill Saundercook hosted the CPR Railroad and local police in his office today making preparations for the evening  the train visits the Junction. Mr Saundercook spearheaded getting trains here last year moving it here from its downtown stopping place, which took him a number of years. The blog knows he does it for the community but we also think he like the people who attended last year that the  entertainment is great and that the trains are neat too.

about the train...

At each event, the Holiday Train provides a box car stage, a line up of great musical talent and a corporate contribution to the local food bank. The community, in turn, is encouraged to donate food and funds, all of which stays in the community.

This is the 11th year that the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train has been raising food, money and awareness for food banks in communities across Canada and the U.S. To date, we've helped raise $4 million and 2 million pounds of food with our Holiday Train program.

From the initial partnership with the National Food sharing program this was a new idea formed in 1999.That December, CP began running a freight train decorated with thousands of Christmas lights across Canada, to raise awareness of the issue of hunger prevalent in all communities. In 2001, CP launched a second Holiday Train in the United States.

The Canadian Holiday Train will be in the Junction as part of it's US and | Canadian tour Toronto – December 1st - 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., 87 Ethel Avenue, adjacent to RONA



Entertainers on the Canadian train include the Odds, an alternative rock bank, bringing their energy and full voiced harmonies to the Holiday Train stage for the first time. They will be joined by Shaun Verrault of the Canadian blues-rock trio Wide Mouth Mason.

CPR Holiday Train Photo Essay of last years visit (opens in new tab)

COMMUNITY MEETING - THE NEW 11 DIVISION

send in by blog reader Kevin, thanks Kevin

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

COMMUNITY MEETING - THE NEW 11 DIVISION
On Tuesday the 25th of August 2009, a community meeting will be held at
the Davenport – Perth Neighbourhood Centre.  This centre is located at
1900 Davenport Road.  The meeting will take place from 7:00PM –
8:30PM in Perth Hall at the centre.  The purpose of this meeting is to
present the draft designs for our new police station to the community,
and to answer any questions that may arise.  Present at this meeting will
be representatives from the Toronto Police Service, Stantec Architecture
Ltd, the design committee and the advisory committee.

This project is on schedule and actual on site work will begin in the
near future.
Our anticipated occupancy of the completed building is in November 2011.

Source: 11 Division Community Bulletin, August 2009
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/d11/20090817-d11_community_bulletin.pdf

Safety crash cushion as part of the Humber bridge rehabilitation?

During the Dundas Street West bridge rehabilitation over the Humber River, road improvements and streetscape enhancements are being done, in the   current design option,   transportation services does not include a safety crash cushion when travelling westbound on Dundas St West. and are about to enter  onto the bridge.

The blog looked up the specs for the device the transportation departments report states is not included, it looks like it would be a welcome addition. See this post for more info on this part of the project including plantings.



Performance criteria

A. For head-on impacts into the nose, a QuadGuard® System shall be specified which is capable of meeting the occupant risk criteria as recommended in NCHRP 350. For vehicles weighing between 820 and 2000 kg [1,810 and 4,410 lbs], the theoretical impact velocity of a hypothetical front seat passenger against the vehicle's interior (calculated from vehicle acceleration and 600mm [24"] forward displacement) shall be less than 12m/s [39.4 ft/sec], and the vehicle's highest 10 millisecond average acceleration subsequent to the instant of the hypothetical passenger impact shall be less than 20 G's.

B. The QuadGuard System shall be capable of redirecting 2000 kg [4,410 lbs] vehicles which impact the sides of the System at speeds up to 100 km/h [62 mph] at angles of 20° (angles measured from System's longitudinal centerline). The QuadGuard System shall be capable of redirecting 820 kg [1,810 lbs] vehicles, which impact the sides of the System at speeds up to 100 km/h [62 mph] at angles of 15°. (See Test Criteria below.)

C. The QuadGuard System shall be designed and constructed so there is no solid debris from the System which can create a hazard on the roadway after either head-on or side angle design impacts.

TTC hands Dundas West subway station alternate exit reponsibilty to Metrolinx and Go Transit

[email_link]

[caption id="attachment_4061" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Photo credit (adapted from ) onshi   http://www.flickr.com/people/pragmatic/"][/caption]

The Dundas St.  West subway station identified as a priority in a Fire and Life Safety Assessment Study completed in 2002, as requiring an alternate means of egress from the station platform has had the responsibility for this  second exit issue tranfered to Metrolinx and GO Transit by the TTC.

from the city report...

Dundas West Station:

The second exit concept was being developed by GO Transit as part of their plans for a new connection to the station. The concept included an automatic entrance to permit a direct connection between Dundas West Station and GO Station. The project has been recently handed over to Metrolinx and discussions are on-going with Metrolinx and GO Transit to pursue this option including cost sharing arrangements  [Full TTC report opens in new window from TTC ] [Full TTC report opens in new window from archive on this site]

Should the Dundas West Station have a proper - weather protected - traffic avoiding direct link to the the GO station? The new air link go rail effort will pass right though the area only 350 meters away.

the route now from subway to Go station  in the TTC's own text... (2004 numbers)

In order to transfer between the TTC Dundas West Station on the Bloor-Danforth Subway and the GO Bloor Station on the Georgetown line, customers walk approximately 350 metres along Bloor Street, between the two stations. Based on the most-recent GO passenger surveys, approximately 100 passengers per day, in each direction, use the GO Bloor Station, which represents less than 2% of the 6,900 total daily inbound passengers on the Georgetown line. Very few of these passengers currently transfer between TTC and GO services at this location.

also from their 2004 report

The proposed rail link between downtown Toronto and Pearson Airport, recently announced by the Federal government, would operate in the current GO Transit Georgetown corridor, and is premised, in part, on an improved connection with TTC at Dundas West Station.

Related info link to the city PDF file of the Bloor Dundas Avenue Study outlining the planning uses for the area of the subway. [link]

4187 Dundas Street West Private Tree Removal

4187 Dundas Street West and 567, 569 and 571 Prince Edward Drive – where a developer wants to place a 10 story condo, is undergoing study from the city regarding the amount of trees they want remove, to build their project. The staff report is an interesting read as to how they approach the issues concern link below (opens in internal window)

View staff report in inset window

Staff report download

Carlton Village Public school conversion to Division 11 police station update

The old  Carleton Public School at Davenport and Osler is going to be used for the new Toronto Police Division 11  station scheduled  for July 2011.   We drove by March 23 2009 to take a look for any signs of that the conversation has started of which there were none.

...see this post by Junction RA chair Louis, as to the design stage information

 

Green 13 starts blog

Welcome to Green 13

Green 13 is a new, grassroots community environmental group operating in Ward 13 in Toronto. The group was formed following a very successful Earth Hour candlelight walk through part of our neighbourhood in Bloor West Village last March. More than 500 people attended the walk and numerous businesses participated by turning off or down their lights for the hour.

Green 13 intends to educate and advocate for positive changes to ensure the protection of our environment. Some of the ideas we have been and will be focusing on include:

Organizing regular community meetings to discuss key issues impacting our environment both locally and globally
Participating in city-wide environmental events
Organizing support for Community Right to Know legislation
Creating a series of community events around Earth Hour 2009 to involve even more residents and businesses
Engaging schools to encourage youth involvement.

Green 13 blogspot

www.green13toronto.blogspot.com

Green 13 Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-ON/Green-13/21088804981

The main horizontal beams are now in place on the west bound lanes of the Dundas Humber River bridge.



The decking comes next and they already have a good start.

Submitted by Martin L.

Retrofit of the Dundas Humber River bridge

Construction is progressing on the westbound retrofit of the Dundas Humber River bridge.  Last week on the night shift the construction team began the installation of the large crossbeams.  Although this project is a year from completion progress has been steady.

Submitted by Martin L.

Local:EARTH HOUR PLANNING MEETING: Tuesday, January 27th

Green 13 met on Tuesday January 6th to begin planning for Earth Hour '09. There was much discussion on expanding public interest in Earth Hour, including organizing multiple events, providing forums to share information, and undertaking community initiatives that would extend beyond the one hour event.

Attendees at the meeting began to focus on the following specific ideas:

• A screening of  a film about climate change followed by a panel discussion at the Revue Theatre - MPP Cheri diNovo generously offered to help us organize this event.

• A town hall meeting in Swansea on the proposed expansion of nuclear energy in the province.

* Two Earth Hour candlelight walks - one along Bloor Street West and one along Dundas Street West in the heart of the Junction. With a possible community party/dance following the walks.

• Providing a tip sheet for "staying green" year round to Earth Hour walkers.

* There was also discussion on engaging schools and businesses in the community and participating in a family-orientated event in High Park.

So, clearly there is a lot of work to do!

Our next meeting is scheduled for 7 pm, Tuesday, January 27th, at West Toronto Baptist Church, 3049 Dundas Street West. The meeting location is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know if you are able to attend, or if you are part of a group, if a colleague will be able to attend. We are striving to make Earth Hour 2009 as inclusive and successful as possible, and we need your help to do it!  We hope to see you at the next meeting. If you have any questions, comments, and to RSVP please contact me via this e-mail ( chris_holcroft@yahoo.com ) or at 416-760-8557

Thank you!  Christopher Holcroft on behalf of Green 13

submitted by Rita Bijons on behalf of Green 13

Green13 Earth Hour Saturday March 28th 2009

West Toronto environmental action group Green13 is holding a earth hour on Saturday March 28th 2009.

...also they are having there next meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 6th at the West Toronto Baptist Church, 3049 Dundas Street West.

Below is their information notice. (Please Note they would like people to RSVP contact info listed below)

Greetings,

Green13 would like to invite you and members of your organization to attend a meeting to discuss Earth Hour 2009, planned for Saturday March 28th. As you will hopefully recall, Earth Hour 2008 was a tremendous success, particularly so in our community as an estimated 500 people participated in a candle-light walk through Bloor West Village. We would like to make this year’s event an even greater success!

Some ideas that have already come up include further involvement of youth and schools, additional participation from local businesses, incorporating an advocacy component into Earth Hour and organizing a town hall meeting to discuss ongoing environmental initiatives and community participation.

We would very much like to hear your thoughts on how we can expand Earth Hour to include a number of events and reach even more members of our community.

We are holding our planning meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 6th at the West Toronto Baptist Church, 3049 Dundas Street West. The meeting location is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know if you are able to attend, or if you are part of a group, if a colleague will be able to attend. We are striving to make Earth Hour 2009 as inclusive and successful as possible, and we need your help to do it!

If you have any questions and to RSVP please contact Chris Holcroft at Chris_Holcroft@yahoo.com or 416-996-0767.

Thank you!

Green13

Speculation about the lot next to the Wal-Mart at St. Clair Ave. W. at Jane St.

Back in August in a post it was mentioned that a car dealership is seeking approval to open next to the Wal-Mart on the south side of St Clair Ave just before Jane St. Well after watching tidbits of information gleaned here and there, it is a strong possibility that the car dealership will be Old Mill Pontiac Buick Cadillac Limited. This GM dealership has long been operating at 2500 Bloor St West but they have sold their current site to a developer.

From the city's backgrounder

Proposal

The applicant, KLM Planning Partners Inc., has submitted an application to permit the
development of the 3.6 hectare site with 6 commercial retail buildings, including
restaurants, and a car dealership with a motor vehicle repair shop. The portion of the site
located west of Jane Street, is proposed to be used as a parking and storage area for the
car dealership’s vehicle stock. The site is to be developed in Phases, with Phase I being
the dealership, Phase II - the three building on the east portion of the site and Phase III -
the middle portion of the site. All three phases will be connected by and have access to
the internal driveways. Canadian Pacific Railway has indicated that Phase III will likely
not occur for approximately five years as the environmental remediation for the middle
portion of the site will take that long to complete. The Application Data Sheet
(Attachment 6) provides all the relevant project information.
Site and Surrounding Area
The proposed development will be located on a portion of the CPR lands on the south
side of St. Clair Avenue West at Jane Street.

CP Railway Lands – St. Clair Avenue West and Jane
Street – Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning
Applications – Final Report

Full report [opens in new window]

Take a small house & lot and build big and new

Draw a sqaure kilometer around the intersection of Dundas West and Islington Ave, and you will not find a street where a major house expansion or complete tear-down and rebuild isn't taking place. The entire community is under an intensive build big, built new boom. The example house pictured above is built on a lot that had a house half this size on it a few weeks ago. While people see a need for more interior space and  societal norms are changing to bigger houses and smaller yards in WTO, this area will change in character very much over the next few months.

Posted by Robert

James Club - Kingsway neighbourhood - opens dirt

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A new condo building by the people who have in past built those nice looking condos on Bloor  St. West by Old Mill - Old Mill Terraces is building a "club” condominium at 1135 Royal York Road which they are calling The James Club. In the past few weeks they have opened dirt to the sun in beginning their building.

Their description of club condo project…

As with any exclusive club, one would expect a grand list of amenities. At The James Club, one would be right. Here’s a run down of that list: Designer lobby with gallery lounge, 50 ft. indoor pool and whirlpool spa, fitness centre outfitted with today’s modern work-out equipment, aerobics room, men’s and women’s saunas, billiards lounge, outdoor garden and sun terrace, private screening room, golf practice room and a special events room with private dining room and caterer’s kitchen.

With a unit price starting at a price of $192 -a wondering is started about how they can build these amenities into the building. Are they funded off future fees for the use of the amenities?