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To help enforce road safety some cities in the USA and the city of “West” Vancouver are giving optical illusion a try, might it deserve attention here?
They’re must be designed to gain your attention long enough to quickly cause you totobey the speed limit.
These optically created speedbumps, or “virtual humps” are written about in the above linked NYtimes article.
Really love this one below.
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During 2011 new councillors aimed and accomplished the reduction of their office budgets of their old counter parts, while returning councillors greatly reduced their spending. Is this all simply political thrift, that has come about by the seeming dissatisfaction with the politicos running the city, or do the people really want their elected people saving ten to twenty thousand dollars of their office budget.
Considering that these budgets are used by the councillor to service their electors. Is there simply grater loss than the saving of the funds.
below the blog has captured the 2010 and 2011 spending amounts of the area councillors.
Descriptive text from City web site…
Each Councillor has an office expense budget to pay for expenses that are allowable under the Councillor Expense Policy. City Council, at its meeting of April 15, 2010, approved a 5% reduction in the office expense budget for each Councillor. The annual budget of $53,100 has been reduced to $50,445. As 2010 is an election year, Councillors are allocated 11/12ths of the approved office expense budget until the end of the Council term, November 30, 2010, therefore each Councillor has an office expense budget of $46,241.25. The remaining 1/12th of the budget is allocated to December for returning Councillors. New Councillors also receive 1/12th of the allocation, $4,203.75 for the month.The Mayor has an annual operating budget approved by Council. Expenses disclosed relate to non-salary expenditures from this budget.
This is your post template. Shouldn’t you add a little more?
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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
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.
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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
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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
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
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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.
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at the rear of the school the 1st outside of the teardown appear
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.
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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.
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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
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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 1, 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.
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Culture Works at the BIG on Bloor festival promises to be one the best organized and even more important, the best arts programed festivals in Toronto this year.
The people organizing this have developed a excellent model a re- imagining how best to support a community – both the businesses and the residents though the arts. Given the challenges in the community today their layered involvement program model has succeeded in archiving a great amount of inclusiveness. The organizations have succeeded in developing a real appetite for all concerned parties to work together. Big on Bloor and Dig in have always been wonderful at defining and combining different perceptions and the relieving the difficulty of communication and partnership that often occur in the planning and running of community events.
Attending this event will provide lots of thoughts stimulated by a hugely enjoyable experience.
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Click to enlarge
CULTURE WORKS – a feature event of the BIG on Bloor Street Festival is a precedent setting street fair celebrating the arts and bringing the best that Toronto has to offer to Bloor and Lansdowne. Major cultural institutions and organizations like the AGO and the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art sit alongside local Garnet/Abrams, annhomanART, Funktion Gallery and many others to offer unique and interactive programming for young and old.
Labels: Big on Bloor, culture works, festival
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The Recreational Infrastructure Canada program is a federal infrastructure fund that will invest $500 million in recreational facilities across Canada over a two-year period – starting this spring. Created to provide a temporary economic stimulus while renewing, upgrading and expanding recreational infrastructure.
The City of Toronto outlined in a recent staff report on March 20, 2009, it’s intention to explore the use of this fund to find cost effective ways the City of Toronto can finance the construction of new or expanded recreation facilities for multi-sports activities.
Their statement contents two important directional indicators, the city appears to want to take concerning recreation facilities.
1) To increase the move to multi-purpose recreation facilities instead of stand alone, single-purpose facilities.
text outtake from staff report…
In such facilities, rinks, pools, gymnasiums and tracks may be accommodated in one single building, providing economies of scale in terms of staffing, parking and utilities.
2) “to replace it’s aging infrastructure and to provide economies of scale and increased revenue opportunities“
Eligible projects under the federal governments fifty-fifty cost share initiative
…will also:
Staff report City of Toronto [opens in new window]
Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program [opens in new window]
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[email_link]
Photo credit (adapted from ) onshi http://www.flickr.com/people/pragmatic/
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]
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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)
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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
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