Can Sewer and road work Repair Work Damage The weak (most of them) Junction houses?

 



A while back a reader of this blog in the Upper Junction town-homes posted a comment about the retaining wall construction at the 30 Weston Rd development. The comment was concerned about " vibrations that are a regular feature of our day here at Weston road townhouses affect the structure of our houses".

This concern also was great when the West Toronto Diamond project was pounding large round steel piles in to the ground. Sewer and road repair work that involves digging up the street can harm the most Junctions block’s residential houses. If it does, what recourse house owners have.

Emergency road, sewer and water main repairs occur all around the greater Junction area almost every few weeks. An area that bordered in many areas by train tracks and many of the homes are over 100 years old, resting on rubble and field-stone foundations

City and private ontractors regularly cut through the asphalt or break up concrete surfaces streets, using large hydraulic diesel-powered backhoes  to break up the asphalt and concrete component of  the street  requiring excavation, pound steel supports into the trench and dump excavated dirt into trucks used to haul it away. House holders believe that this severe shaking is causing irreparable structural damage to their historic homes.

Often this pounding is so severe that it severely shakes houses.

As an alternative, many people we would like to have the contractor push and not pound pilings into the trench and  slowly lift into the trucks and onto the street so that they do not experience the excessive vibrations in our houses that we are now being subjected to. This would prevent our homes from being harmed structurally without delaying the needed repair to the sewer line.

People are often told they can file for damages after the completion of work. That is not a satisfactory response, why must there be a wait and see model.  Why not a regulatory mandated and technically monitoring system used? An industry exists  to deliver testing, monitoring and work methods advise, simply the elected person need to create tighter legislation so all companies doing such work have a equal starting point to  achieve the goal.

 

ELSEWARE ...winners of high speed rail comp

ELSEWARE is going to be a part of the blog  posting links to articles with similar happenings in the Junction.

This one is about a completion to discuss and provide ideas about high speed rail as as the  West Toronto Diamond project.

 

Click on the image to go to the site.

[caption id="attachment_8364" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="click on the image to go to the site, this author really enjoyed the HOU(S)TATION configures a new suburban morphology founded on the logics of high-speed rail. article and the The Effect of High-Speed Rail on Six Lives proposes an ad campaign aimed at the high-speed rail public. By demonstrating the diverse set of people who could benefit from HSR, the project reminds us how personal transportation really is article."][/caption]

West Toronto Diamond – Overnight Work Temporary Change in Working Hour

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junction Arts Festival Activity Map

This is the latest activity map of the 2010 Junction Arts Festival.

www.junctionartsfest.com

At 11am today the blog will post text overview a text overview of the content of the festival.

Legend...

Note some items may change before the festival.











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Location:McMurray Ave,Toronto,Canada

UPDATE ON HAND WELLS! …electricial manhole shocks from last year

Right now along Dundas St West Toronto Hydro is replacing the electric hand wells with new fiberglass non conductive hand wells in respond to last years electrified sidewalk  plates

Within the span of three months in early 2009 two dogs where electrocuted when they stepped on metal plates at the base of hydro poles in the Junction.

Both events took place on Keele street close to Annette. Apparently water seeps into the hole covered by the metal plate and if the sheathing that normally covers the wires has separated (due to our ageing infrastructure,amoung other factors) it can complete a circuit between the subterranean devices and the metal plate above.

Transit, Politics blog on Transit, Politics talks about the Junction and Go Transit

outtake...

GO was so preoccupied with opposition in Weston that it failed to take account of the quickly growing population around the rail corridor south of West Toronto Junction.  Aside from the question of daily train movements, GO further alienated residents with a proposal for the Strachan Avenue grade separation that would have created a major barrier within the new King West / Liberty Village community.  This matter was not resolved until intervention by Metrolinx and a compromise solution acceptable to the City of Toronto was adopted.

GO runs popular services, and as a provincial agency it is used to getting more or less what it wants.  Public participation and accommodation have not been GO’s strong suits.

Full article

Go Transit - Electrification Study Update Meeting – Georgetown Corridor

[caption id="attachment_6777" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Train passing over an area of the diamond project where the overpass will be."][/caption]

The update meeting will be held Thursday, May 27^th 2010 from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. at the Lithuanian House, 1573 Bloor Street West. The purpose of the meeting is to provide an update on the Electrification Study progress to date.  The meeting format will consist of a presentation by the Electrification Study Team, followed by an opportunity for participants to ask questions and offer feedback on the work completed to date.



[caption id="attachment_6778" align="alignright" width="500" caption="The construction and the train"][/caption]

Metrolinx drops West Diamond appeal

The Toronto Star is reporting....

In a major victory for Toronto’s Junction community, Metrolinx has agreed to drop its appeal of a decision that limits the amount of noise it can make in the west-end neighborhood.

In December, the CTA ordered GO to limit work hours and use quieter methods at the rail crossing. GO had already implemented quieter technology and shrouds over the pile drivers to try to reduce the noise.

About 85 per cent of the 2,400 piles required have been completed, Thomas said. But the project, which was to have been finished last year, now won’t be done until the end of this year.

link to full story at TS

Thanks to blog reader Helen for bringing to the blogs attention

Federal court denies GO/Metrolinx the ability to bypass a federal CTA decision

Toronto Star article

Court upholds order for GO to halt heavy hammer use - thestar.com Court upholds order for GO to halt heavy hammer use: Ruling is a victory for residents of the West Toronto Diamond..

February 4, 2010

DiNovo Congratulates Local Residents over Pile-driving Victory

Parkdale-High Park—NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo is sending her heartfelt congratulations to the citizens of the West Toronto Diamond in Toronto’s historic Junction neighborhood.

Last night, the federal court denied GO/Metrolinx the ability to bypass a federal CTA decision stating that Metrolinx’s pile-driving project was causing undue harm to residents of the West Toronto Diamond.

“This is a clear victory for the West Diamond citizens,” said DiNovo.

“The federal court has stated clearly that Metrolinx must listen to the legitimate demands of citizens. Metrolinx has lost their game of using tax dollars to go after tax payers," added DiNovo.

DiNovo is now calling on GO/Metrolinx and Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne to stop the noise up the line and to settle damage claims without wasting more tax dollars.

– 30 –

Media Inquiries: Charles Smith (647) 405-1425

Toronto West Diamond grade separation enters onto changing industrial streets

Monarch Road at Junction Rd as it is now, ripped up and fading from view the roadpath of Weston Rd to the road had been closed for years yet the sidewalk was there so you legally walk along it to the Monarch Rd.  Now with the sidewalk ripped up and the pile driving crew  working right up to side of old flour mill offices the change is permanent and drastic.

Bill Davenhall: Your health depends on where you live

Today we have a post sent in by a blog reader (Patrick), I watched the video, it is quite interesting.

Heres the text he sent along with the link

As a Junction resident (Mulock Avenue), I'm obviously VERY concerned about the pile-driving and destructive plans for the rails.  Today I happened to watch a fantastic presentation on "geo-medicine", which makes the case for attention to where you live, being as important as your genes, your diet, your exercise, etc.



Not especially damning for the project, but definitely useful in explaining the situation:

http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_davenhall_your_health_depends_on_where_you_live.html

Canada Bread Junction plant to close as company plans to builds new state of the art plant elsewhere

[caption id="attachment_5873" align="alignright" width="473" caption="Inside the factory"][/caption]

1st this author believes this is not good, and is  really not willing to accept the loss of another Junction industrial business, not that I deride the Canada Bread decision to have a state of the art plant and work their business assets to their needs.

Yet local jobs and the industrial commercial viability of the Junction is at stake presently.



Just last year the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) wrote the following about the community, giving its understanding of the value of mixed use community. Hopefully the cities economic development team will work hard to attract a new business to the building.

Toronto West Diamond grade separation class action lawsuit meeting

MPP Cheri DiNovo's  class action lawsuit  at her office at 3136 Dundas Street West 7pm  tonight

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Now

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Junction related articles in other media today

1)

Toronto Star article by Joe Fiorito

Fiorito: Metrolinx diesels are dirty,

ugly and NOISY

 full story link

2)

Residents have say on day nurseries

Toronto City Council enacted the bylaw in May of this year, which will remain

in effect until May 2010. During this time, city staff is conducting a study

 of the area bound by Glenlake Avenue to the south, Dundas Street West to the

 north, the rear lot lines of properties fronting the west side of High Park Avenue

 to the west and the rear lot lines of properties fronting the east side of High Park Avenue to the east. The study's purpose is to evaluate appropriate standards and regulations for transforming residential homes into day nurseries.

The purpose of Monday night's meeting at Annette Recreation Centre,

 said Senior Planner Philip Carvalino, was to get feedback from community members 

"so we have a better understanding of the impacts felt or perceived."

full story link

The Village by High Park, shows it's street presence

The options for homes condo building closest to Keele St. is  showing what the new buildings shear scale will mean to the stretch of Keele St. directly in front of the development.

No real setback from the street appears to be present that will allow for stop and talk on the Keele St. side, which could be a good thing as Keele St. in this area is really becoming a pass through arterial road in a big way. Hopefully the new east - west alignments of the  two new building fronts will  result in a new role for "hill road" that existed on the site for so long. If new retail at the base of the building is put in it could help bring the area directly into the community.

Canadian Transportation Agency finds GO Transit to be rude

From the Bulletin GO Transit has 14 days to respond

GO Transit is in breach of its obligation under section 95.1 of the Canada Transportation Act to cause only such noise and vibration as is reasonable, in relation to GO Transit's pile-driving activities at the West Toronto Diamond. The Agency found that, in the circumstances, the prolonged exposure of the local citizens to the noise and vibration generated at that location is unreasonable.

The Agency's proposed measures are:

1. Vibratory hammer:

Use a vibratory hammer to completely install the piles by modifying the hammer's frequency settings and, where this is not possible, drive the piles to the maximum depth possible considering soil conditions and then finish the pile-driving with an impact hammer.

1. Giken hammer:

Extend the use of the Giken hammer in conjunction with vibratory hammer use, as discussed in the Decision, for the entire length of pile-driving activities and not just until the scheduled 250 piles are installed, especially in the more sensitive areas.

1. Impact hammer and related mitigative measures:

a) Use an impact-vibration hammer which switches automatically from one mode to another depending on soil resistance. Alternatively, use the impact hammer on the project only in conjunction with a vibratory or Giken hammer and only where it has been demonstrated that no other method is technically or commercially feasible;

b) De-power the impact hammer and decrease the hammer energy wherever possible and use shrouds, skirts and rubberized chasers. Any opening in the shroud should always be positioned down the tracks and not toward any residential area;

c) Employ moveable noise barriers to deflect noise away from nearby residential areas by moving them to current pile-driving locations and by setting them up around the shrouds to deflect noise from the fourth, open side of the shroud.

1. Limited hours for pile-driving activities:

a) Restrict the hours of work for installing piles to 40 hours per week from between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays;

b) Negotiate an agreement with the City of Toronto to allow for road closures during the weekday hours to complete the required work at that location between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays;

c) Negotiate agreements with other railway companies to allow for train blocks during the weekday hours to complete the required work at that location between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Information on the Agency's process for dealing with rail noise and vibration complaints is contained in its Guidelines for the Resolution of Complaints Concerning Railway Noise and Vibration.

full text file hosted at this blog download here

An interview with ROB PRICHARD, METROLINX PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The Globe and Mail online has a interview with ROB PRICHARD online here

Two local relevant section outtakes from the article

On meeting the Tier 4 emissions standards on its Georgetown corridor trains

GO Transit has ... an enviable record of adopting the best available diesel technology and the cleanest available diesel fuel in every stage in its evolution as an organization. We are known to the manufacturers as eager to see technological advances and open to embracing the best technology as it becomes available. So there's no change for GO. We think it is a price worth paying, whatever the price is. It is not our expectation that it will dramatically increase the price of the locomotives. The locomotives we are acquiring now, while Tier 2 certified, are in fact compliant with the Tier 3 standards already and we just are very much in favour of these further technological improvements to reduce the pollutants from the emissions from the vehicles and we're happy to pay the market price of that technology as it becomes available over the next few years. We do not believe it will double it, but we are happy to pay the increased costs to have a cleaner environment and less emissions.

On the electrification of the line

Our current estimate of the cost of electrifying the Georgetown line only is $1.5-billion. We estimate the cost of electrifying the GO system, including Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West and the other lines, to be somewhere between $7 and $10-billion. So those are our current estimates. We have announced a thorough study of the benefits, all the benefits, and costs of electrification of the GO system and its individual lines. We began that study in June with a community advisory council of scientists, environmentalists, community representative, engineers and others to advise us on how to properly scope a thorough study. That work is coming to a conclusion over the next two weeks. We expect to get the approval of our board of directors to then proceed with the full study pursuant to that scope of work and complete it by December of next year. as a result of that, we'll have a very clear case made of the health benefit, the environmental benefit, the transit benefits, the community benefits of electrification, and we'll have a clear view of the financial costs of electrification and of the engineering costs. That is, to electrify the corridor will require transmission lines. Do we bring the power to the corridor through some communities? Then we need to be frank and open about that. It requires putting wires above all the tracks which are going through communities, and we need to be frank about that. So we need all the costs and all the benefits on the table so that an informed decision can be made. We'll make all that work public and then, following public debate, the province can make a decision as to whether or not to make that investment, and if so, at what pace. Because you can't electrify the entire system at once, because we would have to do it in some sequence, and we want to make sure we do the most urgent lines first and then do it in the right sequence as well. So we think given the magnitude of the public investment required to electrify, we think it's prudent to spend a year doing a very thorough study of the issues before making a commitment to it. In the meantime, we're confident that using the Tier 4 diesel technology, we can expand services on the Georgetown line and do so in a way that's consistent with improving air quality.

The Junction Represents at Clean Train Coalition's Human Train

The Junction Whistle stop at the Junction City Square on Saturday was a big success.  Thanks to Bill Heffernan and friends, who kept the crowd of over 100 entertained with their rousing and original train songs.  Thanks also to Neil Ross of the Junction Historical Society for theatrically educating those present about the history of the Junction and trains, Videoscope for donating the PA system and Agora Cafe for providing great and organic coffee, tea and cookies.  The Clean Train Coalition organized a great walk that culminated in a powerful rally at Sorauren Park, where over 1000 people attended and where politicians from every level as well as community organizers, including the Junction Residents Association, addressed the crowd.  The Junction banner stole the show, and may be on display in our neighbourhood doon for those who didn't get a chance to sign it.

[caption id="attachment_5305" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Junction Banner at Sorauren Rally"][/caption]

Here are some links to Tweets and news from that day:

Twitter

Toronto Sun Video

Toronto Star

Photos

McBride building site open house Sept 16th 2009

[caption id="attachment_5104" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="From The Ruins by x3nomik Site of the former McBride Cycle... now a vacant lot filled with broken masonry"][/caption]

Photo credit - x3nomik Site

A meeting with Gord Perks and a  city planner at Indian Road Public School on 9/16/2009 @ 7.00.

A COMMUNITY MEETING TO

DISCUSS

the Proposed Car Wash @

2803 Dundas Street West

(at the old McBride site)

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

7 - 9 pm

Indian Road Crescent Public School

285 Indian Road Crescent (at Humberside)

Should you have any questions, please contact Meri Newton at 416-338-5178, by email at

mnewton@toronto.ca

HOSTED BY

THE WEST BEND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

E-mail: info@thewestbend.ca Website: www.thewestbend.com

Come out and

• Hear from the developer and the architect

• Talk with City Planner Chris Dunn about this

proposal

• Share your thoughts on this development.

...post submitted by Jay and Martin L

A COMMUNITY MEETING TO DISCUSS the Proposed Car Wash

2803 Dundas Street West (at the old McBride site)

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009   7 - 9 pm

WHERE                                                                   Mr Perks, Poster Link

Indian Road Crescent Public School 285 Indian Road Crescent (at Humberside)

Should you have any questions, please contact Meri Newton at 416-338-5178, by email at mnewton@toronto.ca

HOSTED BY THE WEST BEND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

E-mail: info@thewestbend.ca Website: www.thewestbend.com

Come out and • Hear from the developer and the architect • Talk with City Planner Chris Dunn about this proposal

• Share your thoughts on this development.

post submitted by Jay and Martin L

Only Three More Days to Raise Your Concerns About Diesel Trains

This post was taken from Cheri DiNovo  Newsletter of July 27, 2009

Only Three More Days to Raise Your Concerns About Diesel Trains!

The deadline to submit your concerns to Metrolinx about their West Toronto Diamond Rail Project and its Dirty Diesel plan is July 30th. Please submit all your concerns to info@metrolinx.com, and don't forget to send a copy to Premier Dalton McGuinty! More information on the Dirty Diesel project and its consequences can be found at www.cleantrain.ca .