South Perth Bloor U-Haul Property Development and Bluee22 Line
Hi there,
For those that dont know the site - its located at the foot of Perth Ave (south) at Bloor St.
Last heard this site is owned by the Union Pearson AirLink Group — owned by SNC Lavalin Engineers and Constructors.
"UPAG's proposed service, to be called Blue22, would deliver an efficient 22-minute ride between Union Station and LBPIA with an intermediate stop at the Toronto Transit Commission's Dundas West / GO's Bloor Station. The daily service would start early each morning and operate for 19 hours, with departures every 15 minutes for most of the day."
Link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/backgrounders/b03-a047e.htm
With this said the plan is still in the works. Environmental Assessments have been conducted, but plans have been stalled as UPAG is waiting for legistlation to pass so they can move forward with the proposal.
Recently, as of last week i noticed some construction crews digging a large hole on the U-Haul site - its quite noticable when walking by the property.
I approached the workers and asked what was happening with the site. They basically told me that they were instructed to demolish the remaining structures/building (2) and that the hole was created because they needed dirt/fill for another project on another site. They stopped work on it after hole was dug out but the two buildings are still up. Not sure when or if they will be returning demolish the buildings.
The unfortunate part is that residences never receievd any notice of construction and the dangers that arise from construction ie dump trucks every 1/2 hour rotating and hauling dirt off of the site.
Living right next to this site I feel we have been under informed as to the progression of this project (surprise, surprise)
Anyhow, please feel free to comment on any updates or thoughts about the new Blue22 line or the site in general.
Thxs,
Ran
EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm closing this thread because it is old and has veered off into many different topics. There are many other threads already about Blue 22 / Airport Rail Link / Georgetown South, and I have created a new thread about the Bloor-Perth development over here.
U-Haul building
Hi Irmina,
You can see the U-Haul building in this photo from the archives. March 23, 1923.
I also took lots of photos of it before they knocked it down, but for some unknown reason I don't actually have any from the front view! They're all from the Railpath / parking lot side, and even a couple of interiors. :)
http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2008-09-02
UHaul Building
That is very sad if those buildings were historical. Is there a way you can post up the old photos with the ones you took? Any more updates to what's happening on this site? So much drama!
i took pictures of the little
i took pictures of the little uhaul building and of its sister building near the church south on sterling. They had the very same roofing tile as in the pictures in the toronto archives ,,,those buildings were there when it was a coal yard ,,,,more of our Canadian history bulldozed down i guess ,,,,yes that little brick building on the corner was a icon in our community ...its a shame they couldnt save it and reopen it as a quaint little shop of some sort...it really had that old world village appeal to it...a smart developer would have capitalized on that i would think...
GO Transit Georgetown and Airport Rail Link
I am all for it. As it makes the neighborhood a central hub, however, I am not a huge fan of the noise pollution and the ground/house shaking when trains go by.
In my honest opinion they should bury the tracks, but I doubt that will happen - I use the TTC subway expansion as a evidence that this will never happen (too costly).
They should look into new trains which have new technologies to reduce the stress on the surrounding communities.
Brownstones - Moved to new forums
Hi,
I have moved the messages about the Brownstone developments to their own message threads:
Brownstones on Wallace
Brownstones on Bloor
Please use those message forums for discussing the Brownstones. You can keep using this forum for the U-Haul and Blue22 discussions.
Perth and Bloor U-Haul
This Property is owned by Tom Falus Group, they are the builders of the Standard condos at Lansdowne and Dupont, and the soon (really!!) soon to be built Bloor Street Brownstones.
U-Haul property demolition started
I noticed yesterday that the building on the south side of the U-Haul lot has been demolished. Haven't checked today if the cute little U-Haul building at Bloor and Perth is gone yet.
It will be interesting to see what they plan to do with this property.
Old U Haul Building
Yes, it's all been flattened out. I took some snap shots of it, I will forward it to you this weekend. Now comes the interesting part: the building at north east corner (Perth/Bloor) was the last building which was part of the original coal factory (circa 1920's). The building can be found in one of the archive photo's (from 1920's) which is labelled shot of Perth and Bloor (looking West). I have that image as well, so I will forward it along with the new snaps - to show I guess a short of now and then shot.
Glad to see they are clearing it out, now I can see bloor street, and the landscape looks like nicer from where i stand. Hopefully, the property is developed into something useful.
Ranajit
U-Haul building gone
All of the buildings on the U-Haul site are now demolished.
I actually kind of liked that little brick U-Haul building, but it's nice to see that something will probably be done with that property sometime in the next couple of years. A development application will probably come through soon.
Go is a better way
I agree, Go is a better solution than this expensive private railway. I still doubt they would drop Bloor as it is such an obvious connector point and deflect critics who say that you have to go all the way downtown to catch the 22.
Will Bloor stop be sacrificed to pacify Weston concerns?
If today's Star story is true, it sounds like the Bloor stop is going to be dumped to pay for changes that will (they hope) pacify Weston residents, and/or to speed up the EA.
That seems stupid from the standpoint of the line's financial viability (a stop along the Bloor line would probably draw more riders), but this project has been motivated more by political expediency and international bragging rights than real need, from the time the former federal government proposed it.
This train will basically be an "expense account" service ($20 -- probably $25 by the time it is built -- each way ). People in our area can't afford to pay that to go to work or the airport, and we already have pretty good transit options, so I think the main issue for our community is really the noise and vibration.
But it is plain that Blue 22 would take priority over GO service on this corridor, and thereby subvert the supposed goal of GTA transit integration espoused by the province and Metrolinx. Theoretically, this is supposed to mean more options for people to travel across regions by transit, and from the 416 to the 905, instead of the mainly Union-station focussed expansion we have seen. So far, we have gotten the Barrie GO train rammed down the CN line on our East side, and now this executive-class service rammed down our West side.
But Davenport is a safe seat for McGuinty (while he lost the Weston seat in a by-election and regained it in the general election). Giambrone and Perks are supposedly more transit-supporting, so it will be interesting to see what they do, if anything.
Good Spacing Story about Blu22
http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/08/05/shoo-blue-22/#more-3370
Yes.....and there originally
Yes.....and there originally was some concern that Blu22 might scuttle the south end of Railpath south of Dundas. I am trying to get info as we speak.
Blue22 In The Star today
Here's the link:
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/472255
I still like the idea of the train to the airport, but it definitely needs to be more of a public transit service than a non-stop express train between Union and Pearson.
Some quotes from the article:
and
...and....
Could someone explain how
Could someone explain how this might affect the RailPath? Wouldn't the RailPath and proposed Blue 22 line be effectively running side by side?
Race Track and Blue22
Hi there,
As per my original linked article the plan was:
The proposed service would operate from LBPIA along a three kilometre (km) dedicated spur line to be built by the private sector, then along the existing 20 km Canadian National Railway (CN) Weston Subdivision line and connect onto GO Transit's (GO) Union Station Rail Corridor to its final destination at Union Station.
So once the existing track ends at Woodbine/Rexdale, they (as in private sector/SNC) would build the remaining distance to the airport.
I wonder who would pay $20 fare to go to the Race Track? Not me, I rather take the 37A.
Ranajit
race track Blue 22
I have wondered the same thing for years.
Bloor is part of Blue 22
Some aspect of a stop at Bloor has always been part of the Blue 22 plan. An image from Transport Canada.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/images/bigmap.jpg
The real issue is whether there will be stops north, especially in Weston,to make this a more useful of the billions it will cost. Personally I think that if it does not have more stops along the way that it is dead.
airport shuttle or racetrack/ gambling shuttle ?
Do you all notice in that picture that the track goes directly to the race track and not directly to the airport... people tell me they are wondering if the intended purpose of blue 22 was ever really for the low ridership volume that would be transported to the airport , but instead that it may have been secretly pushed by big influential players all along as a link to shuttle gamblers in downtown toronto out to the race track....???
It makes you wonder if there is any relationship between the builders, and developers that are now invading the area from keele to lansdowne on both sides of the Blue 22 station, and the Race Track owners......
Are these groups or parties tied together in some way????
I notice that NO mention is ever made of the race track, yet the Blue 22 goes right to the track and not to the airport, it seems you actually need to take a shuttle from the racetrack to get to the airport.. a very slick move indeed .
really does the city think taxpayers cant read a map...its all right there plain to see, a link from lansdowne, bloor, dundas area straight to the race track just as the map in the link above shows it..
Its starting to seem like all the city contracted planers/consultants are selling this areas development as some sort of important needed population density increase program when all that it is really turning out to be, is nothing more than a smoke screen to hide a direct link from our low income community out to a gambling venue,,,
is this all about making profit for a consortium of a few wealthy powerful developers, influential stake holders with strong political ties , and all at the expense of destroying existing old established neighbourhood communities ???...a citys neighbourhood intensification program or a casino costumer base intensification program..???
SERIOUSLY JUST LOOK AT THE MAP IT GOES RIGHT TO THE RACE TRACK NOT THE AIRPORT !
now people are telling me that Stronach may be involved in the race track, is that true can anyone verify that , if so then how does federal political influence on this matter play out, seeing that the stronach family has strong ties connections to a major federal party...
here read this link about stronachs dreams of making a network of racetracks and judge for your self if this is about a airport shuttle or a racetrack gambling network..?
read near the bottom of the article how his vision includes "property investment", entertainment destinations and casinos in the same sentence...
Toronto star article - http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/300779
Alot Going On, Everyone Needs to Get Involved!
Brett, I couldn't agree with you more on the last bit of your message. I am a bi-product of this neighborhood. I grew up on St Clarens Ave (Landowne and Bloor), I've been a residence for over 30 years. I plan on raising our family here, thats why we decided to plant our roots here.
As for the neighborhood, our demographics and ethnicity is dynamic. We have baby boomers to college/university students all living beside each other. I find the level of communication has to be beyond the internet. We need all residences old and new side by side building our community for the better.
I find there are too many separate agenda's i.e. interests from south of the neighborhood vs north of the neighborhood. We must all strive to get on the same page. This is a very critical time as we have a lot going on in our neighborhood in the coming years.
* Brownfield Remediation
* Rail Path
* TAS CONDO Project on Joe Mercury Site
* Castle Point (Old Tower Building)
* Munitions Factory on Sterling Rd (future redevelopment)
* Crime (from Davenport to Bloor)
* Bloor Dundas Avenue Study
* Blue22 Developent (Union to Pearson Airport)
* CN Rail Overpass (crumbling down)
* Parking in Neighborhoods
* Green Spaces
Let's get everyone involved old and new residences alike . We need to come up with some new innovative ideas in order for it to work. We need to unite.
Regards,
Ran
Blue 22 still up in the air, as of last nights meeting
Hi all , its me Brett Rycombel the man who started the south perth/ sterling residents group a few years back..some of you may remember me going through the neighbourhood asking people to sign petitions, and handing out community meeting notices back when Mario Silva was councillor and speed bumps , parking and people getting hit by cars at the bloor symington intersection was the big concern of the day...
Well I went to last nights dundas developement meeting and posed the question about the car rental lot / blue 22 excavation and the answer i got back from the city representatives was its still up in the air,,,,
Alot of people at that meeting were surprised when i informed them that the old uhaul lot was being considered as potentially becoming a blue 22 stop, It appears that officials at the meetings neglected to inform the citizens about this , at least thats what people at the meeting told me. And in a community that is already concerned about how the dundas developement will impact pedestrian and traffic flow in the area. So is this a case of our wonderful forthright government trying to slip the blue 22 in under the radar ???....When i asked if the blue 22 was still going to happen and pointed out the excavation is being carried out at uhaul I got a quick reply form an official who shrugged his shoulders and said yes its up in the air ....
many of the people at that meeting were totally unaware that on top of everything else thats happening, that a potential blue 22 stop was being considered for this same area ...you cant help but be suspicious as to why our area wasnt and isnt shown on the development map. At the least our area should have been shown if for nothing more than as a reference to make people aware of the potential of an added extra influx of people and traffic caused by a blue 22 stop.
In a development meeting about density and new buidings going up and how they may effect the area, you'd kinda think the new apartment buildings iin our area as well as the potential for a blue 22 in our community would have been included in the discussion ...
lastly to Gord Perks who i realize is new to the area and could not possibly understand the decades of history involved that prompted me to be a bit hard nosed with him last nite, I apologise, but Gord if you or Adam were in our shoes and seen what we and our parents and grand parents put up with over decades of political double talk then you'd understand why we get leary frustrated and a bit ticked off, ...sorry Gord....after talking to others last nite and today who think they got a handle on what your all about, i may have been a bit harsh, you were only following the appropriate procedure I cant hold that against you....
To Jack and many of the other community organizers, I have this very important thing to say. Computers are all the rage, and alot of us are taking advantage of their ability to quickly share info with one another.
But those of you who are younger or new to this area should realize that a large number of the people who live in these older communities are of a generation that dont use computers, and also dont forget that these are multicultural communities aswell , so english itself can be a barrier to many...i think some of you myself included are taking emails and websites for granted and thinking just because something is posted on a website its a good enough notice to all...
Well its not, lets not exclude those who have lived and paid taxes in this community for decades, lets not exclude them from the information simply because they are not fortunate enough to be computer literate or speak the language, They are Canadian citizens, Tax payers and long standing members in this community too...please lets all do our best to keep that in mind ...
This is a great community and i am proud to have lived , and grown up here with many of you over the last 44 years...everyone who comes to this area is always shocked at how everyone seems to know everyone else, well after a few decades or generations of us living here ya kinda get to know one another :) ....
take care all
yours
Brett Rycombel......
Blue22
The reason it came back is simple: they were waiting for the new rules to kick in for the Environment Assessment. Under the new rules the process is faster 6 months vs 2 years. The new legislation also makes it easier to get passed resistance from the communities oppose to the line.
They are not stupid. The political climate is presently suitable for them to push through their agenda on Blue22.
Im all for better transit, but not the kind that is this frequent going through residential communities.
blue 22 A waste ?
I don't know why Blue 22 has come to life again all of a sudden, especially since the Olympic bid was its original reason to be and GO had a competing vision that included more stops.
Only 17 % of people come from downtown to the airport as it is so without extra stops to service Bloor and Weston this is a very expensive train set. Personally I don't see the demand for a train every 15 if it is airport only.
I would also add that Blue 22 may screw up the south end of Railpath so we need answers about that too.
I am for increased traffic in the corridor (of which I am one block away) but it has to provide some transit solutions along the whole route and not cut Weston in two.The Weston area group: http://westoncommunitycoalition.ca/ seems to be having website problems.
Tom Fallus
Tom Fallus Group of 351 Wallace and other "fame". People should start bugging Adam about it NOW as on Wallace the City Planning (?) Department was asleep at the wheel and we ended up getting something that is less than harmonious with the area. We have ben plagued by jr. level planners in our area because the Planning (?) Department is short of planners.
U-Haul Site
Chris Gallop and Mr Giambrone need to get their info right. I was surprised when seeing their response, as it was news to me.
I like the idea of Blue22, but strongly oppose it going through this highly dense corridor. Trains every 22 mins, 19 hrs of day - i know the details are preliminary and premature, but its sounds noisy already.
Anyhow lets see how this progresses.
Blue 22 rises from the dead?
The Toronto Sun is reporting in today's paper that Blue 22 might be moving forward again.
U-Haul
Thank You for the followup and clarification. I can confirm a few things since I live very close to the site.
1. Rail Path Construction crew is using the site to access the rail way area, especially the overpass on Bloor.
2. the hole has been dug and is partially fenced off. Hate to see a car drive into it at night time, looking to park there.
3. The construction worker's who i spoke with told me they were demolishing the building. I guess they are awaiting approval from the city to demo.
As for Blue22, im glad its dead because trains every 19-22mins would have taken toll on my nerves and sound would have been non-stop. My last understanding of it was they were waiting for legislation to pass so they can speed up the environment asesstment process.
Well at the end of all this I just hope they develop site for something useful that the community will appreciate.
Now what to do with the other two properties vacant beside (south) U-Haul...
Saga continues,
Ran
U-Haul site update
I emailed Councillor Giambrone's office and got a reply from his constituency assistant, Chris Gallop (see below).
In short, the site is owned by the Tom Fallus Group, who are now doing an environmental cleanup of the soil, will be demolishing the existing buildings, and probably submitting a development application soon. The City is also using this land as an access point during Rail Path construction. None of this has anything to do with Blue22, which is pretty much dead.
From Chris Gallop:
U-Haul site
Hi Ran,
Have you tried contacting Councillor Gimabrone's office to see if they know what's happening here?
I also noticed the hole etc., but have no idea what's they're actually doing.
I haven't followed the Blue 22 issue lately, but my understanding is that the current idea is pretty much dead. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes ahead in a different form though. I didn't like the idea of a direct non-stop rail link between Union Station and Pearson, but a rail line that provides frequent links to other points along the way might be a fantastic addition to the transportation network.
-Vic