This building that i used to live in is now more or less empty; it demonstrates the extreme waste of all the totally suitable for living space around that is squandered in the name of speculation and the fabulous fun of making money, rather than building communities where everyone can have fun. This is, in a way the new video game for middle age boys. [the girls are evidently busy now with interactive onLine games.]
Sadly this meeting was poorly attended and like most Metrolinx events is a form of adult day care where Metrolinx comes with their minds made up, puts in enough time to make it look like they listen, and then they take their slide show home. Good to see the 2 GO 4 door trucks in the parking lot. Nothing like reducing cars on the road. Junction Triangle was well represented though.
Metrolinx only sees diesel even though the ground is shifting politically and technically about why electric trains are just a better commuter/taxpayer option. So they are proceeding with a sound mitigation plan that will basically put 5 metre walls along the entire rail corridor on both sides. That is higher than the Berlin wall by the way.
Whether diesel or electric, there will be noise issues for some people along the route. The question though is how much of the wall structures would be needed if the system was electric ? Why spend money that may not be needed? As usual MX did not include the difference between diesel and electric sound mitigation in their study. This even though the Province is making noises about electrification.( MX is leaving space in the corridor for future electrification needs.)
Why should people care? Well not only is it your tax money being spent on walls that may or may not be needed but 5 metres is 16 feet high and that will have a huge impact on Railpath and the feel of communities along the line. Sound mitigation is an important issue but I would suggest that so to is doing thorough planning and research. Something that MX is a bit sketchy on.
Sorry for the length of this but there is important info below from The CTC.
Hello again!
On Thursday, May 3rd a private members bill calling for electrification of the Georgetown corridor for the air rail link will be introduced at the Ontario Legislature by Jonah Schein, the MPP for Davenport.
We have just received word from Queens Park that this is moved up on the schedule and is now to take place at 1 p.m. on Thursday. You are welcome to attend and view from the gallery when the bill is introduced.
Right now, with a minority government in Queen's Park, we can win this vote by reaching out, once more, to members from all parties.
Please help us in this effort by contacting your MPP and cc Premier McGuinty. Tell them that they must vote in favour of this bill. Tell them we do not accept the plan to run diesel trains though our neighbourhoods, next to our schools, our parks, our houses and businesses. And we will not sit by while our air is further polluted. Rather, we will fight for what we know is right: clean, electric, accessible and affordable transit
Please, take a moment to email your MPP, and cc Premier McGuinty (dmcguinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org). The addresses of politicians along the corridor are below.
In addition to emailing, call Premier McGuinty (416-325-1941) and tell him yourself: Toronto demands clean electric trains, not dirty diesels!
The Clean Train Coalition has a long history of building cross-partisan support for our goals. We have worked productively with members of all political parties.
Thank you for your support. Clean Transit is possible.
The Clean Train Coalition
LIST OF MPPs along the Union to Pearson rail corridor
I would have to agree and despite the wonderful event on the weekend I dont know why they did not push the issue when they had the chance. One of the reasons they picked up a federal and provincial seat was this issue. Even floating it as a budget issue would have got it on the radar in a big way but alas private members bills are usually a bit of a cop out. I voted NDP and I am somewhat let down on how they have handled it so far as are many people. There will be more opportunities so lets hope this private members bill is a shot across the bow instead of a meaningless gesture.
Intruducing a private members bill is a nice gesture, but does nothing. I`m left wondering why the NDP did not make electric trains a budget issue and push the government when they had an opportunity. The Liberals need (at the moment) the NDP to maintain support in the legislature. Future support should only come after the NDP have really taken the fight to the government on our behalf instead of token efforts like private members bills.
The Clean Train Festival draws hundreds of citizens demanding greener and better transit for Toronto. Here is some of the news coverage. On Thursday our MPP Jonah Schein will be introducing a private members bill at Queens Park demanding electric trains.
Hi Darcy,
I can safely say for most of the people who work and play in this community that your track record in the industry along with the sounds of your vision are indeed a welcome addition the neighborhood and we can only hope more people like yourself view this part of the city as an area that is bubbling for these sorts of places. I wish you the best of success and can guarantee you will build a loyal following if your product matches the vision. Congratulations!
I was a little worried when I saw the "sports bar" sign, what with the track record of dirty sports bars in this area, so I am so pleased to hear you are bringing a little more style and class back to the neighbourhood! Looking forward to the big opening.
So this Saturday (tomorrow) is the Clean Train Festival and will have activities for kids, info tables and a lots of speakers and musicians. Should be interesting. NDP leader Andrea Horwath will be making comments at 1:55 pm.
Clean Trains Festival Agenda
1:15pm Welcome with Andrew Cash and Jonah Schein (10 minutes)
1:25pm Wayne Petti to set up (10 minutes)
Wayne Petti play set (20 minutes)
1:55pm Jonah to introduce Andrea Horwath (2 minutes) Andrea Horwath to speak (5 minutes)
Jonah to Introduce MPPs to speak (2 minutes)
Cheri DiNovo and Rosario Marchese to speak (3-5 minutes each)
Jonah Schein to do call for action (5 minutes)
2:20pm Andrew Cash to play set of Train Songs
2:45pm Andrew to Introduce MPs to speak (5 minutes)
Peggy Nash and Mike Sullivan to speak (3-5 minutes each)
Clean Trains Coalition & Friends of West Toronto Railpath to speak (3-5 minutes each)
3:10pm Alberta Darling to set up (10 minutes)
Alberta Darling to play set (20 minutes)
3:40pm Introduce City Councillors to speak (5 minutes)
Sarah Doucette, Gord Perks, and Mike Layton to speak (3-5 minutes each)
The thing about Sterling is I dont understand how it was ever considered a bike route as A) it is one way and B) it is very narrow and C) if you are commuting then Railpath gets you to Dundas faster.
I suspect that behind the scenes some people are thinking that Railpath can take the place of Sterling especially given that Castlepoint will create at least 2 new good access points and Tom Fallus might provide one at Bloor (If he ever builds anything there!). Depending on what Metrolinx and the Official Plan folks say, Castlepoint might be able to create even more access via Dublin Avenue (although that is a long shot at best). Railpath south of Bloor is on the Mayors priority list for expansion so at least we know that the RP south will happen.
I wanted to add that too many cars cause congestion. There are bike lanes on Annette and zero congestion. There are no bike lanes on Bloor in JT and its is congested. There is no magic idea that gets rid of congestion; it is part of urban life in every city on earth and finally people decide that good public transit options are better than wasting your time stuck in traffic. As I said before cars pollute when they are moving too so all the talk about idling is somewhat moot.
To follow up my previous post... Despite Google showing Symington as a bike friendly route, the city of Toronto has removed that designation from Sterling and Symington now.
While idling is not great, any incremental idling, if there actually is any, on Lansdowne, represents only a tiny, tiny, portion of emissions in the city.. Fast moving traffic, especially going uphill, emits more GHG's than slow moving traffic, so emissions might even be reduced on Lansdowne.
The congestion on Lansdowne, by regulating the flow of traffic, may actually cause traffic to move more smoothly on other streets connected to it. As well, it is only for a few blocks. If even a few people switch to cycling, this will reduce emissions by more than any amount that might be caused by increased idling.
99.999% of congestion, idling and emissions are caused by too much driving.
My name is Darcy MacDonell and I'm the owner of FARMHOUSE tavern. I'm pleased to see all the talk about my new place. I'm hoping it's a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.
Here is the 411
FARMHOUSE tavern: Serving farmhouse hospitality. Rooted in the charming influences of the rural Ontario farmhouse. A little bit country/ A lot rock & roll. Cooking a blackboard menu of farm driven food. Pouring Ontario craft brews + VQA juice.
I'm shooting to open on June 1st. I'm taking it slow to start to ensure we do it right. We will serve dinner Thursday through Sunday 5pm-12am and Brunch on Saturday + Sunday 11am-3pm. Come July we wil aim for some weekday patio lunches.
I was the opening GM of La Societe on Bloor. Not that the owner. I cut my teeth at Oliver & Bonacini. I was the GM of their Blue Mountain location for 3 years before opening their location in Oakville.
This is my dream come true. 15 years in the making. It's gonna be lots of hard work and lots of fun.
Hope to meet you all very soon!
Cheers,
Darcy
@FARMHOUSEtavern
This is not a Falus production so it wont take 10 years to get built. : )
Does anyone know who the developer is for this? Gosh I hope its not another Robert Falus development.
Sounds like a reasonable suggestion. The area is going to need some new schools soon.
This building that i used to live in is now more or less empty; it demonstrates the extreme waste of all the totally suitable for living space around that is squandered in the name of speculation and the fabulous fun of making money, rather than building communities where everyone can have fun. This is, in a way the new video game for middle age boys. [the girls are evidently busy now with interactive onLine games.]
No surprise here. Traffic and other issues aside it will good to see more people around on the street at that corner.
That's a prime spot that I've coveted on numerous occasions sitting on Boo's patio. I'll be very interested to see the details.
Sadly this meeting was poorly attended and like most Metrolinx events is a form of adult day care where Metrolinx comes with their minds made up, puts in enough time to make it look like they listen, and then they take their slide show home. Good to see the 2 GO 4 door trucks in the parking lot. Nothing like reducing cars on the road. Junction Triangle was well represented though.
Metrolinx only sees diesel even though the ground is shifting politically and technically about why electric trains are just a better commuter/taxpayer option. So they are proceeding with a sound mitigation plan that will basically put 5 metre walls along the entire rail corridor on both sides. That is higher than the Berlin wall by the way.
Whether diesel or electric, there will be noise issues for some people along the route. The question though is how much of the wall structures would be needed if the system was electric ? Why spend money that may not be needed? As usual MX did not include the difference between diesel and electric sound mitigation in their study. This even though the Province is making noises about electrification.( MX is leaving space in the corridor for future electrification needs.)
Why should people care? Well not only is it your tax money being spent on walls that may or may not be needed but 5 metres is 16 feet high and that will have a huge impact on Railpath and the feel of communities along the line. Sound mitigation is an important issue but I would suggest that so to is doing thorough planning and research. Something that MX is a bit sketchy on.
Sorry for the length of this but there is important info below from The CTC.
Hello again!
On Thursday, May 3rd a private members bill calling for electrification of the Georgetown corridor for the air rail link will be introduced at the Ontario Legislature by Jonah Schein, the MPP for Davenport.
We have just received word from Queens Park that this is moved up on the schedule and is now to take place at 1 p.m. on Thursday. You are welcome to attend and view from the gallery when the bill is introduced.
Right now, with a minority government in Queen's Park, we can win this vote by reaching out, once more, to members from all parties.
Please help us in this effort by contacting your MPP and cc Premier McGuinty. Tell them that they must vote in favour of this bill. Tell them we do not accept the plan to run diesel trains though our neighbourhoods, next to our schools, our parks, our houses and businesses. And we will not sit by while our air is further polluted. Rather, we will fight for what we know is right: clean, electric, accessible and affordable transit
Please, take a moment to email your MPP, and cc Premier McGuinty (dmcguinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org). The addresses of politicians along the corridor are below.
A complete list of MPP's contact details can be found here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/member_addresses.do?AddType=QP&locale=en
In addition to emailing, call Premier McGuinty (416-325-1941) and tell him yourself: Toronto demands clean electric trains, not dirty diesels!
The Clean Train Coalition has a long history of building cross-partisan support for our goals. We have worked productively with members of all political parties.
Thank you for your support. Clean Transit is possible.
The Clean Train Coalition
LIST OF MPPs along the Union to Pearson rail corridor
Jagmeet Singh
Brampton Gore Malton
jsingh-qp@ndp.on.ca
Queen's Park: 416-325-1784
Constituency: 905-799-3939
Shafiq Qaadri
Etobicoke North
sqaadri.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Queen's Park: 416-327-6611
Constituency: 416-745-2859
Laura Albanese
York South-Weston
lalbanese.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Queen's Park: 416-212-9790
Constituency: 416-243-7984
Jonah Schein
Davenport
jschein-qp@ndp.on.ca
Queen's Park: 416-325-0014
Constituency: 416-535-3158
Cheri DiNovo
Parkdale-High Park
dinovoc-qp@ndp.on.ca
Queen's Park: 416-325-0244
Constituency: 416-763-5630
Rosario Marchese
Trinity-Spadina
rmarchese-co@ndp.on.ca
Queen's Park: 416-325-9092
Constituency: 416-603-9664
AND...
Premier Dalton McGuinty
dmcguinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org
dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
416-325-1941!
Legislative Assembly of Ontario| Members (MPPs)| MPP Addresses and Contact Information - Queen's Par
www.ontla.on.ca
Ubisoft hopes to replicate Montreal success in Toronto
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/05/01/ubisoft-hopes-to-replicate-...
I would have to agree and despite the wonderful event on the weekend I dont know why they did not push the issue when they had the chance. One of the reasons they picked up a federal and provincial seat was this issue. Even floating it as a budget issue would have got it on the radar in a big way but alas private members bills are usually a bit of a cop out. I voted NDP and I am somewhat let down on how they have handled it so far as are many people. There will be more opportunities so lets hope this private members bill is a shot across the bow instead of a meaningless gesture.
Intruducing a private members bill is a nice gesture, but does nothing. I`m left wondering why the NDP did not make electric trains a budget issue and push the government when they had an opportunity. The Liberals need (at the moment) the NDP to maintain support in the legislature. Future support should only come after the NDP have really taken the fight to the government on our behalf instead of token efforts like private members bills.
The Clean Train Festival draws hundreds of citizens demanding greener and better transit for Toronto. Here is some of the news coverage. On Thursday our MPP Jonah Schein will be introducing a private members bill at Queens Park demanding electric trains.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120428/Horwath-calls-fo...
It may be a small & slow opening. I wanna do it right. But thank you!
Thank you for the welcome & enthusiasm
Thank you
Thanks for the enthusiasm & encouragement.
Welcome Darcy! We are thrilled to have you in the neighbourhood.
(@cybershaz)
Hi Darcy,
I can safely say for most of the people who work and play in this community that your track record in the industry along with the sounds of your vision are indeed a welcome addition the neighborhood and we can only hope more people like yourself view this part of the city as an area that is bubbling for these sorts of places. I wish you the best of success and can guarantee you will build a loyal following if your product matches the vision. Congratulations!
Welcome Darcy and FARMHOUSE Tavern!
I was a little worried when I saw the "sports bar" sign, what with the track record of dirty sports bars in this area, so I am so pleased to hear you are bringing a little more style and class back to the neighbourhood! Looking forward to the big opening.
Here's some info on their site:
http://farmhousetavern.tumblr.com/
According to their Twitter feed, they are planning a June 1st opening. They are @FarmhouseTavern on Twitter.
So this Saturday (tomorrow) is the Clean Train Festival and will have activities for kids, info tables and a lots of speakers and musicians. Should be interesting. NDP leader Andrea Horwath will be making comments at 1:55 pm.
Clean Trains Festival Agenda
1:15pm Welcome with Andrew Cash and Jonah Schein (10 minutes)
1:25pm Wayne Petti to set up (10 minutes)
Wayne Petti play set (20 minutes)
1:55pm Jonah to introduce Andrea Horwath (2 minutes)
Andrea Horwath to speak (5 minutes)
Jonah to Introduce MPPs to speak (2 minutes)
Cheri DiNovo and Rosario Marchese to speak (3-5 minutes each)
Jonah Schein to do call for action (5 minutes)
2:20pm Andrew Cash to play set of Train Songs
2:45pm Andrew to Introduce MPs to speak (5 minutes)
Peggy Nash and Mike Sullivan to speak (3-5 minutes each)
Clean Trains Coalition & Friends of West Toronto Railpath to speak (3-5 minutes each)
3:10pm Alberta Darling to set up (10 minutes)
Alberta Darling to play set (20 minutes)
3:40pm Introduce City Councillors to speak (5 minutes)
Sarah Doucette, Gord Perks, and Mike Layton to speak (3-5 minutes each)
3:55pm Closing remarks (10-15 minutes)
The thing about Sterling is I dont understand how it was ever considered a bike route as A) it is one way and B) it is very narrow and C) if you are commuting then Railpath gets you to Dundas faster.
I suspect that behind the scenes some people are thinking that Railpath can take the place of Sterling especially given that Castlepoint will create at least 2 new good access points and Tom Fallus might provide one at Bloor (If he ever builds anything there!). Depending on what Metrolinx and the Official Plan folks say, Castlepoint might be able to create even more access via Dublin Avenue (although that is a long shot at best). Railpath south of Bloor is on the Mayors priority list for expansion so at least we know that the RP south will happen.
I wanted to add that too many cars cause congestion. There are bike lanes on Annette and zero congestion. There are no bike lanes on Bloor in JT and its is congested. There is no magic idea that gets rid of congestion; it is part of urban life in every city on earth and finally people decide that good public transit options are better than wasting your time stuck in traffic. As I said before cars pollute when they are moving too so all the talk about idling is somewhat moot.
To follow up my previous post... Despite Google showing Symington as a bike friendly route, the city of Toronto has removed that designation from Sterling and Symington now.
http://bikelanediary.blogspot.ca/2012/04/spot-dfference.html
While idling is not great, any incremental idling, if there actually is any, on Lansdowne, represents only a tiny, tiny, portion of emissions in the city.. Fast moving traffic, especially going uphill, emits more GHG's than slow moving traffic, so emissions might even be reduced on Lansdowne.
The congestion on Lansdowne, by regulating the flow of traffic, may actually cause traffic to move more smoothly on other streets connected to it. As well, it is only for a few blocks. If even a few people switch to cycling, this will reduce emissions by more than any amount that might be caused by increased idling.
99.999% of congestion, idling and emissions are caused by too much driving.
Hi Neighbours!
My name is Darcy MacDonell and I'm the owner of FARMHOUSE tavern. I'm pleased to see all the talk about my new place. I'm hoping it's a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.
Here is the 411
FARMHOUSE tavern: Serving farmhouse hospitality. Rooted in the charming influences of the rural Ontario farmhouse. A little bit country/ A lot rock & roll. Cooking a blackboard menu of farm driven food. Pouring Ontario craft brews + VQA juice.
I'm shooting to open on June 1st. I'm taking it slow to start to ensure we do it right. We will serve dinner Thursday through Sunday 5pm-12am and Brunch on Saturday + Sunday 11am-3pm. Come July we wil aim for some weekday patio lunches.
I was the opening GM of La Societe on Bloor. Not that the owner. I cut my teeth at Oliver & Bonacini. I was the GM of their Blue Mountain location for 3 years before opening their location in Oakville.
This is my dream come true. 15 years in the making. It's gonna be lots of hard work and lots of fun.
Hope to meet you all very soon!
Cheers,
Darcy
@FARMHOUSEtavern