Simple thought on why the community needs the old 11 division lot

Has anyone else noticed, the amount of community happenings at the 3030 restaurant on Dundas St.W. at High Park Ave. what 2 in past week?

Which is great, but it tweaked the blog again on how much this area needs the old police lot in the Junction as a community place.

Conversion of the current building or demo and build of a new building - which is probably the least costly choice.

Councillor Gord Perks gets control by-law passed to mitigate impacts of the high concentration of restaurants and bars in Queen St area

 

This post is about the Control By-law for Queen Street West, between Dufferin Street and Roncesvalles Avenue, an Interim Control By-law for a period of one year to prohibit (new) restaurants and similar uses in the study area, to prohibit these uses above the ground floor of buildings, and to prohibit rear yard and rooftop patios associated with these uses.

the motion for the study

[caption id="attachment_13641" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Click Image to view full motion[/caption]

 

Below are highlighted text outtakes from the Now Magazine article on the ban,

click image to visit their site to read the entire article.

[caption id="attachment_13642" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Text outtakes from the Now Magazine article on the ban, click image to visit their site to read the entire article.[/caption]

 

Outtake text from the Motion without Notice as passed

Similar restaurant studies conducted further east on a portion of Queen Street West, on a portion of College Street, and on a portion of Ossington Avenue all identified conflicts between restaurants and the surrounding neighbourhood areas. All of these studies resulted in zoning by-law amendments that limited restaurant and related uses to the ground floor of a building and prohibited rear yard and rooftop patios in the study areas. As a result of these studies City Planning recommended that restaurants be restricted to the ground floor of buildings and that rear yard and rooftop patios should be prohibited in commercial residential zones in the former City of Toronto south of Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue within the enacted and repealed City wide comprehensive zoning by-law.

To view complete City final report about the issue click text  below.

Queen Street West – Interim Control By-law – Final
Report

Dream Bakery for the Junction

here goes...

While we have a Vegan bakery- Bunners for which the community is so lucky, and which many people consider a luxury, there are many of us that are not so inclined to vegetarianism nor always super healthy treats or breads.   We have lots of emtpy store fronts in the Junction even whole  buildings, many of which would be great spaces for producing   beautiful, naturally leavened whole-grain bread, delectable seasonal preserves, and granola for all of us (ok not this author) crunchy-granola types! say one with a milling room where we can purchase fresh milled flour own flour from local grower farms. Plus, a wood-fired brick oven that can also be fired with biomass briquettes manufactured from spent grain from one of the local micro brewery's that are opening in the area, such as the Indie Ale House.

Operationally for success this would probably have to be a licensed  commercial kitchen  so the operator will be sell at farmers markets, wholesale to restaurants and grocery stores.

Please do come!

Here are some facebook links to the type of foodie establishments that would be great , these are example from the Chicago area

• Chicago Amateur Bread Bakers
  


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  Three Sisters Garden
  

  
  

  
  


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  Kings Hill Farm CSA and Market Garden
  

  
  

  
  


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  Snookelfritz Ice Cream Artistry
  

  
  

  
  

 

Artists in the Hood fundraiser for the Town Square

Part proceeds to Wabash Building Society for the Town Square fund.

Budget with Councillors Perks and Doucette Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 from 7 pm - 9 pm at the Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton School (1515 Bloor Street West)

 

Councillors Perks and Doucette (Ward 1) are holding roundtable meetings hosting on the upcoming City of Toronto Budget.

The Councillors are saying the meeting is a workshop with residents and community leaders about how to protect and build the essential services which make Toronto great. Topics to include city services and delivering and funding same.

Date: Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 from 7 pm - 9 pm

Place: Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton School (1515 Bloor Street West), in the 3rd floor staff room.

They want people register though Councillor Perks' Office. by e-mailing councillor_perks@toronto.ca or calling 416-392-7919.

West End Food Co-op Cannery

Parkdale Residents Association AGM Thursday 1 December 2011 at 7 pm

The Annual General Meeting of the Parkdale Residents Association (PRA) is scheduled for Thursday 1 December 2011 at 7 pm in the May Robinson Auditorium at 20 West Lodge Avenue. At this meeting, the PRA customarily elects its Executive Officers and its Executive Committee for 2012. Any PRA member in attendance can put his or her name in nomination to join the Executive. We will also be presenting the annual President’s and Treasurer’s reports.

The special guests for this evening will be Superintendant Dave Vickers andSuperintendant Art Little of 14 Division (who have taken over on an interim basis for the recently retired Superintendant Ruth White) and Superintendant Peter Lennox and Inspector Brian Preston of 11 Division. They will be reviewing the changes in police service and responsibility resulting from the recent changes in divisional boundaries and specify how they affect Parkdale.

Also on hand will be Councillor Gord Perks who will review recent municipal developments and outline his priorities for the coming year. MPP Cheri DiNovo may also be on hand but has yet to confirm. I will be keeping you informed about the progress of this meeting and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

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.

 

TOTSTOCK Sunday June 19th, from 2-5pm, Sorauren Park YEA!

 

On Sunday June 19th, from 2-5pm, Sorauren Park, will be filled with the sounds, stories, food, games, and community-minded revelry of the third annual Totstock!

Last year’s Totstock! drew a crowd of about 3000 people. Given the high profile acts on this year’s bill, we expect an even larger audience this time around.

Sounds

Brent Bambury of CBC Radio will host a lineup on the Little Paper Main Stage that celebrates the variety of our city’s music scene: from indie-pop darlings, Hooded Fang, 11 year old Russell Rae Wellner, zany jazzers,Rambunctious, and under-aged rockers Eleven Toes, to the velvet tones ofOldies 990 and old-time-twang-with-a-modern-twist of Bellwoods Trinityand Hotcha!

Stories

Small Print Toronto will host a diverse array of local kids-lit heroes at theStory Tent. Don’t miss the creators of such wildly popular series asFranklin The Turtle (Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark) and Ninja Cowboy Bear (David Bruins and Hilary Leung), authors and performers Njacko Backo, Martha Jocelyn, Monica Kulling, Rina Singh, Heather Hartt-Sussman, Frank Viva and Nicola Winstanley, singer-songwriter Daddy Long Legs and a special appearance by Winnie-the-Pooh.

Super Cool Stuff

Want to create your own a kite? Dress up in a dragon costume? Build a grafitti city? Like to play games? Win prizes? You can do all this and more, thanks to the steadily growing number of local businesses and groups helping us out this year.

Proceeds from this year’s festival will be donated to the West End Food Coop.

 

Roncesvalles Av. concrete laydown for tracks

West End Food Co-op Community Cannery June Workshops

Community Cannery June Workshops



their invite....

You are cordially invited to the June workshops from the Preserving Parkdale Project, a joint community cannery project of the West End Food Co-op and the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre. The first two workshops are:

Preserving Fruit: Friday, June 18th, 5 pm to 8 pm

Preserving and Pickling: Friday, June 25th, 5 pm to 8 pm

The workshops will be held at the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre at 1499 Queen Street West. Please pre-register at www.westendfood.coop or at the WEFC booth at the Sorauren Farmers Market, Monday 3-7.

Registration is $25 for WEFC members, or $30 for non-members. For inquiries, please contact info@westendfood.coop.

Come join us to preserve!

Sally Miller/ WEFC Coordinator

from their site....

The West End Food Co-operative (WEFC) is a nonprofit multi-stakeholder co-operative – with consumer, employee, and producer/supplier members. WEFC is committed to the development of community food culture in Toronto’s West End, and acts as a catalyst for local food security. This is accomplished through coordinating community driven food initiatives, such as the ongoing Sorauren Farmers’ Market, Parkdale community food mapping, and the new Parkdale Processing Project.

It's happening elsewhere, can it happen in Ward 13

The new Luna Park opened in Coney Island this weekend, just look at it - this must have been what Sunnyside amusement park would have looked like in the past.

If new York can rebuilt it maybe we should?

Link to History of Sunnyside Midway From Above c. 1949

Parkdale Arts and Cultural Centre is offering a free 20-minute tour of Parkdale as part of Doors Open Toronto.

Parkdale Town Square Tour

The Parkdale Arts and Cultural Centre is offering a free 20-minute tour of Parkdale as part of Doors Open Toronto. On the Parkdale Town Square Tour, you will hear a brief talk on the fascinating history of Parkdale, look at the unique architecture of the buildings surrounding the Centre, and see some of contemporary Parkdale’s features.

The tour is offered four times on Doors Open weekend: Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30, both at 1 and 3 pm. Tours begin and end at Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen St W. at Cowan Ave., between Dufferin and Lansdowne.

The tour will be guided by Parkdalian Clair Culliford.

Toronto,
Canada

The west local gap and rights of access to the waterfront

[caption id="attachment_6780" align="aligncenter" width="473" caption="The west local gap at Parkdale"][/caption]

This author has had the opportunity to walk west and then back again from St Josephs hospital in the past months quite a bit. What really struck during the walks was the what the blog is naming the west local gap - the west ends  portion of a problem that extends across the city.  The gap of continuity of place and neighborhood the Gardiner expressway and the QEW  as well as the Lakeshore Rd create between the west commnities and the waterfront.

The view above taken from the hospitals front is right across from one of the west waterfronts most beautiful areas. To arrive at this area one must walk almost three blocks east past the TTC yards to Queen St - cross to reach a pedestrian bridge, or walk about 4 blocks to the west and cross at 2 sets of lights traveling south.

Should these roads be moved underground?  Yes it would cost but the benefits would out weigh  the cost.

All in on with Roncesvalles Ave and it's retailer signs

Roncesvalles Ave and it's retailer signs.

Talking a walk down the now non obstructed Roncesvalles Ave roadway, you may enjoy looking at mix of signs both advertorial and the placemarking ones (such as the wall mural above.

Combined with a whole lot of retailers who push out onto the street with flowers and veg, a spring walk along the st is quite enjoyable. The area is more rushed with walkers than the Junction but less than Bloor West Village.

Spring Fever Coming To Ronces May 15!

Come celebrate Spring on Roncesvalles Avenue!

All-day Sidewalk Sale from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Fun for the whole family from noon until 4:00:

Local musicians
Face painters
Craft Table
Bouncy Castles
Balloon Clowns
Flowers for mom
and a special Roncesvalles Village Treasure Hunt: win fabulous prizes!

Our police station is leaving... can this happen?

Toronto Police Division 11  is relocating, and the city owed building will be empty.  This building would make a wonderful mixed use centre for the community.

And just to let everyone know this can happen, here is the story of an old Parkdale police station that has become a mixed use centre for the that community.

Although this author believes the community can ,manage and run a centre without the assistance of the Parks department or Artscape, not that those are not fine groups, it's just the Junction is the Junction.

During doors open you can visit this centre



From the doors open site

1313 Queen St. West was constructed in 1931 as City of Toronto Police Station Division 6 . It remained a police station until the early 1960's . It then became emergency housing with the city of Toronto for about 14 years . The building then became a Metro property until it was turned over to Artscape for a 20 year lease at $1 /year . This came about with the support of the community and many individuals with the vision that the building would become a community venue for organizations and also house 9 live /work artist studios managed by Artscape . Today the building is full of activity and artists are now living in the original stable house.

Event information:

Learn the history of this former Police Station. Exhibition curated by Christopher Hume which displays works by Toronto artists inspired by local architecture.

Photography permitted: No tripod: No Filming permitted: No tripod: No

Getting there: Click here for map.

TTC (nearest station) Lansdowne /Dufferin & Bus to Queen St. W Bus/streetcar: Brock Street

Parkdale BIA seeks info on more flowers in Parkdale

http://www.parkdalevillagebia.com/

Princes' Gates at Exhibition Place restoration update photo post

Working with funds from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund major work is being done restoring the gates.

PRA’s May 1st Parkdale Village Walk

from the Parkdale Residents Association...

Parkdale Village Walk: A Sense of History and Community

The Parkdale Residents Association invites you to join us in an exploration
of Parkdale on Saturday, May 1st, starting at 2 pm. The walk will begin
outside of the Parkdale Library at 1303 Queen St W.

This walk will be as diverse as the neighbourhood of Parkdale. Walkers will
be given a brief history of the Village of Parkdale as we begin in the Village
Square. From there, we will walk a small section of this “unique village
within a metropolis,” looking at and exploring the history, architecture,
green spaces, spiritual places, cultures and people that make this a true
melting pot. The walk ends back at the Village Square with light
refreshments in what was the Fire Hall and is now the Masaryk-Cowan
Community Recreation Centre.

A Parkdale Village Walk is one of the international Jane’s Walks, named in
honour of the late urban planner, Jane Jacobs.

The walk will last approximately 1 and 1/2 hours. The rain date is Sunday,
May 2nd, at 2 pm.

You may email info@parkdale.to or call 416-533-0044 for more
information.