Interested in Wallace and Elsie Lane area...
October 15, 2011 - 2:31pm — Anonymous
Hi all, I recently visited the junction area to check out some townhomes on Elsie Lane. The area struck me as quite clean and quiet. Is that the case? Does anyone live on Elsie or near the west end of Wallace? If so, could you comment on the area in general, the train tracks/noise, and could someone tell me what is located (or perhaps what is going to be) at the empty area on the north side of Wallace at the west end of the street? Thanks in advance!
I live in the Elsie Lane
I live in the Elsie Lane development. Just thought I'd add to the bit about 'noise' ... keep in mind that there is a scrapyard adjacent to the property that can get a bit noisy (they usually start around 8pm and finish up by 4pm, usually monday through saturday).
Thank you and...
Many thanks, Vic and anonymous. It's nice to see that your community is quite involved and cares about the neighbourhood, as evidenced by this website.
I'm very interested in the area, but since discovering your website I've been reading up on two things which give me pause; 1) the major expansion of train services along the Georgetown corridor including the airport link (http://www.cleantrain.ca, http://www.gotransit.com/gts/en/default.aspx), and 2) the potentially contaminated state of land in the area as a result of years of operation of the Gildden Paints and Varnishes factory site. As the former looks like an inevitability and the latter a potentially dangerous mystery, what do you guys as residents of the area think about these issues?
There's always a hope that
There's always a hope that the gov't will move toward electric trains sooner than planned. If noise is your concern, the units on Elsie Lane are pretty well buffered by the Lofts next to the bridge, I only hear it as background noise when the windows are open.
The issue with the Glidden site, in my opinion, is not a huge concern. The soil went through a full remediation about 2 years ago and while that doesn't guarantee there are no lingering contaminants, the new development would have to prove the soil was clean for their bank before they could start digging. That might be overly optimistic to some, but, the reality is that large numbers of city houses sit on lands that were occupied in a past life by something environmentally unfriendly. If that were the standard for determining where to buy a house, living in the city wouldn't be an option for you. The reality is that there are a number of other things in our daily lives that would affect you more than the soil on those lands.
For what it's worth, the neighbourhood is developing, the people are friendly and the convenience provided by the amenities within walking distance all make it a great place to live.
Major Improvment
The City does not do soil tests because in general most homes in the city were at one time sitting on land that had pollution or were next to it (air pollution doesn't always stay on site). Some of Toronto's priciest areas are built on polluted industrial fill or consider Harbourtfront.For former brownfields like Glidden it is the MOE who regulates and sets standards when a zoning conversion happens. Remediation is a far better step than mere maintenance which means that the Glidden site and the Rio Tinto site to the south are in much better shape today than they were 5 years ago. Rather than just filter out pollutants, they are being nullified without creating toxic landfill to be dumped somewhere else. Two of the major issues in the area up until the early 80's were illegal chemical spills into the sewer system and air pollution but those issues receded as industry moved away.
Residual groundwater contamination, while a bad thing, does not directly affect homes (who dont use wells) if the ground cover to the water table has been cleaned. So yes there will probably be some contamination deep down for some years to come but the soil that effects people above ground will have no impact. In fact the soil at the Glidden site, which had a very involved cleaning, is probably cleaner than the soil in my backyard.
As you say, there are many more pressing health issues that may affect people in the city such as background pollution (not from one single source) that creates more and more smog days and noise. Junction Triangle though is undergoing a renewal that you can see pretty much where ever you look.
Scott and Anonymous, you both
Scott and Anonymous, you both make very good points regarding the state of the former commercial lands. With regards to the trains - I've lived by the Lakeshore West corridor for over a decade and am very much used to GO and VIA noise, however it seems that the increase in traffic being proposed for the Georgetown corridor will be something on a much bigger scale (7 trains an hour, etc.). The diesel vs electric issue remains unresolved and in fact it seems that we will not see the electric trains that so many people, including residents of your community and campaigning for. It's both encouraging and concerning to see how hard people are having to fight on this issue (The 'Bending the Rails' documentary/campign, the protest walks held in your community). What do you guys think will be the impact of these impending changes and do they worry you, especially from a a pollution perspective?
Minority Opens A Window
I was in Bending The Rails. Overall the problem is that the ARL plan is a bad plan from a commuter and taxpayer point of view. I sat tonight with a rail consultant who said that governments never think long term, they always think that somebody else will pay/deal with mistakes down the road. Its the way they operate. So instead of taking a bit more time to build a system that serves more people and generates more revenue and pollutes less we will get a system that will need to be redone within years. Metrolinx's own documents and studies show this so it really comes down to government. This consultant said that a minority government might be the only factor that can come into play. I suggest continued pressure on the federal and provincial members, they got elected on this issue.
Train noise
One thing about the ARL trains that Cleantrain/etc. neglect to mention is that these trains are MUCH smaller than a GO train, and should therefore be much quieter. It's not like we'll have 7 GO trains passing by every hour (though GO service will be increasing too....)
I'd be curious to hear noise level stats about each type, actually. Especially when it comes to acceleration from the Bloor GO/ARL station.
train noise
The ARL trains will be smaller self propelled cars (DMU's) but the unknown factor is the Tier 4 technology. When it becomes available (another unknown) there is speculation that it will be much louder than the current Tier 2 units and it will also make the trains heavier. It's the large GO locomotives that will be the bigger polluters (per engine) and noisemakers that the ARL trains, regardless of which Tier they are. Both pollute far more than electric of course.
Jeff
Wallace developments
Hi,
The area across the street from Elsie Lane (362 / 370 Wallace Ave.) has a development proposal being worked on right now. A mix of stacked towns, and some commercial properties along the western edge / Railpath. There's a discussion forum about that property here and some notes from the July 26th meeting here.
Cheers,
Vic
Hello I live on Elsie Lane
Hello
I live on Elsie Lane and have been there for a year the train noise is minimal I cannot hear the trains with the windows closed. The area is clean and quiet and we've had no issues since moving in. My understanding is the grass area oppisite is due to be another set of townhouses but I did hear they are from a highend builder which would only add to the areas development.
We love the area everything is so convenient and within walking distance and the residence at Brownstones are very friendly
Hope that helps