Recent comments

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    So I went to the article on the toronto star website and was looking at the interactive map and looks like the correct name is there but not the right area?! still says silverthorn in the background...

    http://www3.thestar.com/static/googlemaps/starmaps.html?xml=090120_shape...
    it says...
    "Neighbourhood: South Junction Triangle"

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    I heard longer the name, larger the property tax afterwords ;)

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    Dave and Ranajit:

    Kevin can probably answer this better than I can, so I might let him fill in the details when he's available....

    Right now, there's no list of names or anything like that. There's a community meeting being planned for sometime in April, where this project will be presented to everyone, along with some background of existing names, local history, the need for local identity, etc...

    The actual method for naming is still undetermined, and there is no list of names. This is totally up to the community to decide at the public meeting(s).

    I personally am rooting for The West Junctiondalecourt Village Triangle. ;-)

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    I like West Junction Village.
    More suggestions: Junction Village, Bloor Junction, South Junction, Bloor Dundas West Village, Dundas West Village.

    Ranajit

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    Hi there,

    I skimmed your notes. Pardon me if you've already responded to the following questions.

    First, does the FBG have a list of suggested names?
    Second, is there a formal (or even informal) method by which a name gets approved and takes hold?

    How about Junctionville? Junctiondale? Junctioncourt? West Junction Village? Junctionton? The Junc? The Junction Annex? Junctionvalles? The Triangle? St. Junctionton? Junction Park? Actually, I like the last one.

    Dave

  • Noise from the Rail Grade Separation Project   9 years 5 weeks ago

    let me correct this: the pile driving can be heard *consistently* even farther (i'm on merchant lane)

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    That would be a great help Scott. We are just completing arrangements for an event in late April with a local historian and someone who can speak about the value of neighbourhood identities.
    While the process has not been determined yet, there will be a way for all residents to make comments and suggestions about the naming process.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    Thats MY Parkdale pride speaking. : ) No offense but Parkdale is very improved and I was part of a few of the initiatives that helped. As I said I lived there for 23 years and retain many close relationships in the area. Now the complaint is that it is getting too popular! I would say that your comments on groups being not interested in Parkdale are not 100% accurate and reflect other groups trying to create their own niches and BIA's as Parkdale was such a large area. Its true in the past that groups, especially those in Sunnyside and Brockton wanted to distance themselves and I can understand why but these days Parkdale is pretty tame compared to other areas nearby and is as safe as others. Only somebody who lived there for a long time would know this but my thoughts on the other areas are anecdotal.

    If there is an opportunity to vote on or forward ideas for a new name I will happily submit and encourage other to do so too.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    This naming process is a community improvement project. At this stage the Fuzzy Boundaries Group is simply trying to create some interest and demonstrate the value of having a distinct identity.
    There are merits to the name Junction Triangle and a lot of confusion as well. It is important to get the facts on the table. It is incorrect to say "historically" that the area has been referred to as J.T. The name emerged in the mid-seventies, was used for a short time and subsequently fell out of use.
    While long term residents in the area are naturally familiar with the name because the environmental action committee actively used the term, newcomers have never heard it. Real Estate agents don't use it, major media outlets dropped it and the City has never reached a definitive idea about what to call the neighbourhood.
    At this point, we have an opportunity to discuss all the possibilities and are not beholding to any name because the area does not have one. We could revert to J.T. or maybe something new and better will emerge and the residents will choose to adopt it.
    While it's a small point, I agree that the reputations of Cabbagetown and the Junction have improved, I don't think Parkdale has gotten any better. Roncesvalles Village was created specifically to distance themselves from any Parkdale association. Liberty Village and the West Queen West Triangle on the fringes are making a concerted effort to avoid any association with Parkdale.
    So after your lengthy responses Scott, should we put you down as undecided?

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    In 2003 or 04 some residents talked about naming the area and Wallace Junction came up. But then it was realized that no junction had existed there (a siding did but Junction Siding is well, not that exciting). Then it changed to Wallace Station but that had been taken by the condo and there was debate as to whether a station had ever existed there (I don't think so). The bridge on Wallace had been built in 1907 in lieu of a road to get workers to work who were trapped in a rail triangle according to the West Toronto Junction Historical Society story in 1996 (that by the way called the area "Today's Junction Triangle" in a positive light as part of a story on saving the Wallace Bridge). Archive photos show no station at Wallace and Dundas either. It was around this time that Kevin Putnam started to envision a new name. I don't know why the City came up with Wallace Junction, I may be mistaken but that document may be the only time I have ever sen the City use that name.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    "All the references to Junction Triangle in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail appear in stories are about pollution, crime, poor neighbourhoods and economic decline."

    As was Cabbagetown, now one of the most sought after downtown addresses in Toronto and an example of renewal.

    As was The Junction, home of polluting industry and stockyards and economic decline, now a hot emerging neighborhood who have kept their formally bad name and incorporated it into things such as THe Junction Arts Festival.

    As was Parkdale, generally called Crackdale for the 23 years I lived there, and now Parkdale is hot and happening and reclaiming its Parkdillian pride with hats and t-shirts for sale with Parkdale on the front.

    Why not Junction Triangle?

    The Junction Triangle name then is at least 30 years old and I have heard many long time residents use it at meetings and events. So it exists on some level in the public mindset. That doesn't mean there has not been confusion since 1900 about where The Junction proper or West Toronto Junction are. We can see that from some of the comments and maps posted here. I suspect that Triangle entered the picture to help end the confusion or further pinpoint a larger area. While 30 years may not be as long as the other names, this area has been in one form or another under the Junction umbrella of influence in some form for a long time. Our area was very influenced by The Junction proper we often forget that it was a rail term and those lines surround us.

    In terms of crime and problems in the past it has not stopped lots of new residents from moving to the area, even those like me who lived south in Parkdale and knew about the issues of the late 70's. We came here because we saw the area changing and the name really had no impact on us whatsoever and in fact many of the new residents near me had never heard about any issues in the past. Whether those issues in the past bear much now is debatable but Toronto Life Magazine, which like it or not creates a lot of perceptions about the City and its hoods, was calling this area the Junction in 2005 but more importantly in their "Emerging Neighborhoods" story calling this a "Hot Spot". Most of the buyers who now move into the area were not alive when the worst issues of pollution and crime plagued the area. They, the future of the area probably do not have any negative connotations with any name. In my opinion saying that Junction Triangle is holding the area back is just not true any more especially with the newer generation that is moving in and renewing the area.

    Lets be clear though, I am not against creating or adapting a new name for the area (and trying to end confusion once and for all) but I think it is important not to just throw out or deny our history (whether 130 or 30 years) to cover up or change perceptions. And I am not a big fan off creating phony quant names that help real estate agents more than reflecting shared history and the pride it can create. The best way to change perceptions is via action and involvement such as RailPath or community gardens on Paton. The Junction and The Junction Triangle is part of the area history and could become a source of pride just as other areas have kept their notorious names. I have suggested elsewhere that rail was a very important part of the past until the late 70's in the area and now we see that rail will become an important factor in shaping the area in the future and that the word Junction has in fact a long history with this area that relates to rail, and predates the 1970's. Lets rethink the name but lets not throw out history because it is part of a brief uncomfortable past.

    For the record I have suggested some name ideas or themes to locals myself including the word diamond as in Junction Diamond or The Diamond as diamond denotes rail switches (such as the North Toronto Diamond) that have continued to operate in our area since it was developed. It’s too bad that our area has lost all the writers names (albeit British ones!) that once could be found here (although ironically the “Literary Guide to Toronto” implies that those names did nothing to create any local writers of note: that is changing). Lets hope that if a name is adapted or changed that it has some reflection of area history and I am at least confident that we will not end up with "Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson-Junction" which will die a quiet death.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    I think the tracks north of Dupont were the border of West Toronto Junction. Here's the map from the West Toronto Junction Historical Society:
    http://www.wtjhs.ca/jmap2.gif

    It's interesting that someone living at Jane and Bloor (NE corner) has more right to be called a resident of The Junction than someone who lives at Osler and Cariboo. :)

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    The City has also referred to this area as "Wallace Junction". See the "Wallace Junction Focus Area" / "Wallace Junction Community improvement Plan" announcement here:
    https://www.junctiontriangle.ca/WallaceJunctionFocusAreaMeeting

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    The city's use of the name Junction Triangle was short-lived. According to records filed in the Toronto Library system, the City of Toronto used the moniker Junction Triangle in published documents for seven years - from 1979 to 1986. The Planning department first used the term in three planning documents published in 1979. They used it again in 1980 for the revised planning document and for the last time in 1981 in a report about draft by-laws.
    The city's health department used the term Junction Triangle in a series of reports about the health of local residents beginning in 1982. Their last report using the name appeared 23 years ago (1986) in a study called "Junction Triangle historical cohort cancer study : a study of cancer incidence in an urban neighbourhood."

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    The name Junction Triangle emerged in the mid-seventies when local residents formed a group to fight pollution from the area factories. Major Toronto media picked up on the name and it first appeared in the Globe and Mail in a November 23, 1976 column by Dick Beddoes. The Globe and Mail used the term periodically for the next decade and a half. It was last used by the Globe in a 1993 article about factory closings in the area.
    Junction Triangle first appeared in the Toronto Star in a June 1979 ad placed by the City of Toronto about a local planning meeting. It was first used in an editorial context in August of the following year in a story about toxic smells in the neighbourhood. The Star did not use the term from 1992 to 2002 and last published it in a 2003 article.
    The moniker was never used in a positive context in either paper. All the references to Junction Triangle in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail appear in stories are about pollution, crime, poor neighbourhoods and economic decline.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    Official City of Toronto Neighbourhood Map - Christie Pits is included in this area! This map is a bureaucrats product and doesnt reflect real communities.

    BlogTO neighbourhood listing - Obviously a hipsters map as Ossington is now a community on its own. South Parkdale is not in Parkdale because there are no lounges on Springhurst Avenue and sadly Garrison disappears in favor of the condo Gods, Liberty Village. Can Drake Village be far away?

    Toronto Neighbourhoods book/website - This book and website incorrectly name our neighbourhood "West Toronto Junction". They are partially correct as the area north of Dupont historically was called West Toronto Junction, as opposed to The Junction. I have maps of this but alas they did botch our area but then oddly got thing like Carleton correct (most people below the tracks at our end have never heard of it so tracks do separate).

    Toronto Real Estate Board -They know what they are doing.

    MyHood.ca - They some help with spelling too.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    That Silverthorn thing just started appearing a day or so ago. I tried to find the place to send Google a message about the mistake but man you just go in circles.

    I would add that the Junction Triangle is found in many places as a reference to this area. The City itself calls it that on many documents. The "Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson-Junction" name I think was the result of amalgamation budget cuts more than anything else as all three names were distinct before.

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    It's pretty interesting that no matter where you go on the 'Net, there are different names for this neighbourhood. Here are all the neighbourhood maps I could find, and they all name this area differently, or not at all!

  • Toronto Star Neighbourhood Map, v2.0   9 years 5 weeks ago

    Hey Vic,

    Good find. Saw that in the morning, but never noticed the Silverthorn part, looks like someone fell asleep at google maps.

    Interesting as it maybe but some of the locations just refer to a park or something else in the neighborhood, which is a good reference. But not sure if it defines the neighborhood. But I guess naming a neighborhood will not keep everyone happy, I use The Beach as an example.

    Anyhow, hopefully they will add us to the map - I emailed them already and referred them to this site :)

    Ranajit

  • West Toronto RailPath   9 years 6 weeks ago

    Here is a sample letter from a local resident that really captures what is going on....

    "I understand you are Metrolinx' executive lead on the environmental assessment of the GO rail-link to the airport...
     
    I live along the route of the proposed Westend Railpath Park - in fact, I reside along the nearly-completed Stage 1 section between Dundas and Dupont. I wanted to send you a note from a citizen's perspective regarding the positive impact of these two plans (both excellent, by the way) co-existing - in particular, regarding the proposed Stage 2 Railpath development south from Dundas to the City's core.
     
    I'm in full support of the too-long-awaited rail-link to Pearson. For me, it goes without saying that any major urban centre requires vital infrastructure (especially "green" initiatives) like rail transportation to its major airport...
     
    In the meantime, the Railpath also represents a "link" for Toronto west-end citizens. While rail-lands are important transportation arteries, communities like mine (South Junction Triangle) have historically been "cut off from the rest of the city" by rail-lands. This neighbourhood is a prime example.
     
    That's why I'm delighted by the near-completion of Stage 1 of the Railpath project and just as excited about the proposed Stage 2 extension. It represents an opportunity to connect citizens, neighbourhoods and communities with each other. It represents an opportunity for progressive, sustainable (pedestrian and cycling) travel routes to and from the downtown core. It represents an opportunity to improve urban livability and aesthetics in the form of always-welcome green-space.
     
    In short, The Railpath Park is, much like your project, an opportunity to extend sustainable travel options for people. It seems to me that the two systems should (and indeed MUST) co-exist in the spirit of each other's complementary goals toward the fulfillment of citizens' sustainable travel-needs.
     
    I hope your environmental assesment considers thoughts like these... and I hope that the Pearson-link project and the Railpath extension(s) are planned and executed simultaneously.
     
    Thanks for your consideration."

  • West Toronto RailPath   9 years 6 weeks ago

    Hello Everybody,

    I wanted to pass on some important information regarding the West End RailPath and ask you for a few minutes of your time. The great news is that stage 1 should open on June 20 and we are planning a party or something. The even better news is that already people are using the path. If you don’t know what Railpath is then head to Railpath.ca . In a nutshell Railpath is the conversion of old Weston Rail Corridor land to a linear park that will have a bike path, indigenous plants, and seating---stretching from north of Dupont to the lake near the CNE.

    In terms of stage 2 which would take the path south from Dundas to the Lakefront by the CNE there is some work to be done and Railpath Volunteers are very busy in this process. As you may know there is currently a public consultation and an Environmental Assessment (EA) being done by the MetroLinx that entails plans for an rail link to the airport and expanded GO service in the rail corridor that runs along side Railpath. Many people were startled to discover that Metrolinx seemed to know nothing about Railpath (!) and there was some alarm about seeing stage 2 built if there was going to be new rail traffic in the corridor.

    To its credit Metrolinx has quickly met with Railpath and City officials and there are more meetings coming up. To keep the story brief, there has been a good exchange of information and it seems a real interest on the part of Metrolinx to see stage 2 of the Railpath built. Yes there are a few technical problems that exist in the last few blocks of stage 2 but at least the plans are out and people are trying to find solutions. It may turn out that we can only get stage 2 to Sudbury street which is still pretty good but at this point everybody is working on a full to the lack solution. Metrolinx has become very receptive to Railpath issues and is trying to make sure room is left for completion to happen.

    Here is where a few minutes of your time would be of help. Metrolinx got a fairly large amount of feedback from the community in the stage 1 AND in stage 2 areas stating that people wanted completion. It would still be good for them to hear from as many people as possible about how valuable people feel a COMPLETED Railpath would be to the entire West End of the city. Remember, a completed Railpath and expansion of the use of the rail corridor are NOT exclusive of each other; they should and can co-exist. In fact Railpath augments or compliments the increased use of rail instead of cars. It will just take them making sure that some space is left for stage 2 to happen. The City has already sent a letter expressing the importance of a completed Railpath so there is “official” support in place. If you could, could you take the time to send an email, even if it is brief, to Brian Peltier the Executive in charge of the EA for Metrolinx to let him know that you feel completion is important and that you would like to see Metrolinx be part of this completion. All emails to him will be noted and recorded as part of the EA and remember that Metrolinx has been receptive and helpful. THIS MUST BE DONE BY MARCH 15. (Include your address in the email)

    Brian Peltier, Executive Lead
    brian.peltier@metrolinx.com
    416-874-5959

    Metrolinx has a very detailed look at the EA and what they want to do on their website ( http://www.metrolinx.com). Railpath.ca is not the best website ever made but you can find some good info and pix if you dig deep. As we get closer to opening stage 1 look for the site to finally get revamped.

    If you have any questions let me know and the whole West End will thank you for helping completion happen. We are really close and every email will help. If you know people who live in the stage 2 area (think Dufferin and Dundas/Queen/King Dovercourt, Lansdowne, Parkdale) pass this email on and encourage them to email as well.

  • Nonna's Place and C-Store   9 years 6 weeks ago

    I just moved into the area, and happily discovered Nonna's Place. The food, tasted like my own "Nonna" was cooking for her family's Sunday Dinner. The aroma alone, made me feel nastalgic, and the friendly owners topped it off. The food was fresh, delicious, and very very well priced. The chicken cutlet sandwich is to die for. My husband ordered the Eggplant Parmigiano, and was in Heaven. There were lots of meat/vegetarian options. This place is great for a quick bite, the food made to order and authentic, and I left feeling satisfied. If you have not tried it, you don't know what you are missing

  • Campbell Park Skating - Last day of the Season   9 years 7 weeks ago

    see you there Sunday afternoon!

  • Favourite things in our neighbourhood   9 years 8 weeks ago

    I have a few oldies and new ones:
    Wallace Emerson's Community Pool (closed)
    Campbell Park
    High Park
    Ciro's
    Joe Mercury (closed)
    King Slice
    Ali Baba's
    West RailPath
    West Toronto - Track
    Ethnic peeps - very diverse
    Perth Water Park
    Two Beer Stores (Dundas + Symington)
    TTC/GO

    Im sure there are several i'm missing. Hopefully this list grows and grows.

    Ranajit

  • Issues with Winter Parking   9 years 10 weeks ago

    I noticed this morning that at least some of the snow on the west side of Symington Ave. was cleared out of the parking spaces. Not sure when they did it, but it would have been sometime on Wednesday or Thursday.