City
Morning Brew: Big Brother on the Net, Gardening the Gardiner, Leslieville TTC Yard, Animal Turf War
Photo: "towering over nature" by f. crouzat, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
A proposed new law could dramatically impact privacy and the way people use the internet in Canada. Currently, if police or other high level authorities want to connect an IP address to a person, they require a warrant to force your internet service provider to fork over your personal details. But under the new law, no warrant would be required. The potential for abuse of power and violation of privacy is clear, and in my opinion, outweighs the benefits of quicker access to suspected criminals' details.
Here's a wild idea that is likely nothing more than a lucid pipe dream - rather than tearing it down, add another layer to the the downtown stretch of the Gardiner Expressway, complete with bike lanes and concession stands. As if the aging, crumbling, raised roadway needs an addition that requires even more maintenance. And can you imagine how ugly and under-utilized this would be from November to April? [sarcasm]Maybe we could make it an ice skating path during the winter.[/sarcasm]
A wealthy developer is looking to take a huge gamble, and build a massive new Chinese-themed mega-shopping complex up in Markham, at Kennedy & Steeles (where three smaller but similar malls already exist). The timing seems way wrong, but who knows - maybe this guy is onto something. He's the 58th wealthiest Canadian for a reason, after all.
Leslieville succeeded in keeping the big box retailers out, but now the space that was in question is being eyed by the TTC as the new home for a maintenance and storage facility for the incoming fleet of new streetcars. Seems like a good location to me, strictly geographically speaking... just southeast of the core, where the most frequented route are. But down in the portlands makes even more sense, since it would be further from residential.
Ottawa really doesn't want Toronto to have a piece of the economic stimulus pie, to put towards the purchase and building of transit infrastructure, namely the new TTC streetcar fleet. Why not? Because the stimulus pie aims to feed local job creation in the short-term, and those 5700 long-term jobs would be up in Thunder Bay rather than in Toronto.
And there's a rough and tumble "gang" that hangs out at Bluffers Park, that are allegedly responsible for roughing up a passerby, and now the city is being pressured to remove them. Why can't the wild cats and domesticated dogs just get along?
Discussion
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This part of the article sums up this situation quite well:
Pett says he, too, was undecided about plans to build a big box store but "now they want to put in a streetcar yard? How is that residential? … We're regressing in this area. We're going back to an industrial area."
My question is, what on earth did residents opposed to the big box development THINK would happen? Oh right, they had no solutions of their own, just straight up, illogical opposition.
A small minority of residents in this community made the bed and now we all have to lay in it.
Thanks for ruining my community even more Paula Fletcher, you stupid b**ch!
It would have hurt local business and killed the hood.
There is no such case against the TTC, in fact it would boost the economy as the local eateries will have access to many TTC stomachs
NIMBY is the word here as far as people who oppose this goes.
I think it would be great here.
If the portlands were to be allocated for a maintenance facility, the TTC would have to build both the facility from the ground up, along with all of the infrastructure to actually get street cars there. It'd be far too expensive.
whoever came up with the idea is an idiot and retard..
RE: Mega Chinese Mall in Markham
Brilliant...that's how to grow the economy and create jobs, and collect tax...should do one in downtown Toronto too
The city didn't oppose the big box plans because it wanted residential to go in instead. The lands are designated for industrial or office uses and that's why the city didn't want thousands of square metres of retail. Streetcar repair facilities would fit in perfectly with that the city has wanted all along on the site.
The CBC article also makes it seem as though it was the residents' group leading the fight at the OMB, when in fact the city played a HUGE role, in fact a central role, in opposing the big box project.
As for building in the Portlands, the TTC would have to check with Waterfront Toronto first. They've got plans to build lots of residential in the area, thus the TTC would have to make sure that the site for the facility in the Portlands would be far enough away from Waterfront Toronto's planned communities.
Depress the site, put support pillars beside the tracks, put a roof on top with playing grounds (e.g. tennis courts) and/or green-roof space. The streetcars get a covered storage area, perhaps even with doors at either end for winter. Everyone's a winner.
http://www.thehighline.org/
A perfect solution for the Gardiner rather than tearing it down.
People who think the city can live without the Gardiner fail to realize that there are NO east-west routes in this city, other than the 401 that can handle any volume of traffic. Every time New York, SF or any other city is brought up, I want to throw up: they have 6 and 8 lane arterial roads and lots of one-way streets as compensation. What do we have?
Eastern Ave: bicycle lane
King/Queen St.: one lane, choked with streetcars
Dundas E: bicycle lane; W, choked with streetcars
College: ends at Parliament, almost works to Bathurst, then (you guessed it) choked with streetcars
Bloor/Danforth are a hopeless mess, as is Kingston Rd.
St. Clair used to work, but the TTC stopped that, plus it ends at Mt. Pleasant anyway.
Before all the jobs in the city leave, I suggest we leave the Gardiner alone.
Don't get me wrong. I agree with you on all your points. The city's road system is a dog's breakfast, which is getting worse by the day. The powers that be appear to be hell bent on tearing down the Gardiner. All I was suggesting, is if this is the fate of the roadway, perhaps there is another use for the road, similar to what NYC did with the High Line, rather than tearing it down. No matter what Toronto does, someone will be unhappy. Unfortunately, there never will be a happy medium. Some win and some lose.