Junction Triangle

Message from Ward 18 Councillor Ana Bailão, with meeting poster attached:

Dear Neighbours,

As you are aware, Metrolinx has been active making infrastructure upgrades to the Georgetown Rail Corridor. Among the upgrades are new sound walls which will run along various parts of the corridor and our neighbourhoods.

As there are a number of options for material and design of these sound walls, I have organized a public meeting for community groups to be informed about these options and be involved in this process.

I encourage anyone interested to attend a presentation by Metrolinx staff on April 30th to hear about available options and provide input into the final design.

Public Meeting
Date: April 30rd
Start Time: 6:30pm
Location: Shirley St. Public School, Gym
38 Shirley Street, Toronto

Ana Bailão

City Councillor
Ward 18, Davenport
councillor_bailao@toronto.ca (416) 392-7012 www.AnaBailao.ca

Ana Bailao delivered an enpassioned speech today in council, recalling her own life story, that brought applause from fellow councillors and the visitors gallery. I watch a lot of the council meetings online and Ana really hit a nerve that you dont often see at council with all the posturing and faux outrage that goes on. I will try to find the clip but it was mentioned in the Globe:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/ford-loses-key-vote...

The following update comes from Kelly at GO/Metrolinx. You can download the original update in PDF form here.

Georgetown South Project Construction Update

The West Toronto Diamond Grade Separation Project is an important rail infrastructure project that will eliminate a major bottleneck at the most heavily used rail crossing in Canada. When completed, GO trains on the Kitchener line will pass below CP freight lines, and this will improve service reliability, reduce noise, and allow for future service improvements to reduce congestion in the northwest of Toronto.

West Toronto Diamond Grade Separation
Extended work hours on Saturday April 7, 2012

What we are doing:

• We need to remove the tracks at the diamond crossing to replace two pipe piles. This work cannot be done during the week when trains are frequently passing through the area.
• In order to complete this work in one day, we will work from 10 a.m. until midnight on Saturday April 7.
• Pile extraction and replacement will cause noise and vibration to nearby residents. It will take place on and off throughout the day and night.

Update on Rail Crossing at Junction and Old Weston RoadsUpdate on Rail Crossing at Junction and Old Weston

South Perth and Sterling Cleanup: 2011-04-16. Photo by Philip Share

Saturday, April 21 2012 is the annual City of Toronto Community Cleanup Day. Residents across the city take some time to get together and tidy up litter, debris, and other junk that accumulated on our streets, in our parks, and other public spaces over the winter.

Below is a list of cleanup events scheduled in the Junction Triangle. Please feel free to organize a cleanup event in your own corner of the neighbourhood too. You can use the comments on this page to collaborate with others. I will add other cleanup events as they are planned (post below, or contact me via the web form).

• Spring Cleanup for South Perth & Sterling Road - 9AM
  The 11th annual spring cleanup of South Perth and Sterling Road is fast approaching, volunteers are needed as this year we hope to clean from the top of Bloor to the south end of Dundas.
  Rio Tinto Alcan, Castlepoint and The Church of the First Born as well as Nestle's and other Businesses will be participating, Bags will be provided, a Toxic Taxi has been arranged (time to clear out all those old paint cans and pesticides)
  For more info send an email to toward18@yahoo.ca
  We will start at 9am - (Rain date will be for April 22)

  Cheers,
  Philip & Brett Co Chairs of the South Perth and Sterling Road Resident Association

• West Toronto Railpath Cleanup - 10AM
  Meet at the Wallace Ave. entrance, 10:00am. Some bags and gloves will be provided, but bring your own too if possible. With enough people coming, we can spilt up and cover all parts of the path.
  Please RSVP below, if you can, or contact me via info@junctiontriangle.ca

Hi Campbell Community,
Campbell staff are having another campfire today. Enjoy an event at your local park.
Roast a hotdog, grab a drink, and chat with neighbours and staff about the upcoming season and what you would like to see happen in your local park :) Pay what you can and celebrate this lovely spring day with friends and neighbours.

Let us know how we can support you this spring, share your ideas or concerns and have some community fun.

Stay tuned for Jane's walk details.
Marina and Michelle

There will be a Castlepoint Community meeting upcoming. The notices are being sent out and I will update this as soon as I can confirm any other details. The location will be the usual one, The Church of the First Born on Perth just south of Bloor.

Details provided by Philip:

A meeting With Castlepoint has been scheduled for March 22, 2012 at the Church of the First Born, this will update residents on the progress, and anticipated timeline for the start of construction as well as provide insight to changes that have occurred since the last meeting.

Where: 72 Perth Avenue
Time: 6:30 pm- 9 pm

Hope this finds you well. The Davenport West Bike Project, a health promotion initiative working to build healthier communities, is launching a ToolKit to share community engagement experiences with others to apply similar models to their communities.

Join us on Tuesday March 20 to gather ideas on how we can work together to encourage and sustain cycling in Toronto today. Keynote speaker: Dr. Chris Cavacuiti, family physician and researcher on cycling health and safety. Free and open to everyone.

To register go to www.dpnchc.ca and click on the “news” button at the top of the page and click on the to link to register.
Thanks for your ideas and support for the project, we look forward to seeing you. Please distribute to others who may be interested in participating. Attached is a flyer with details of the agenda.

The following meeting info was sent in by Kelly from Metrolinx:

West Toronto Diamond Construction Liaison Meeting

This monthly meeting is an opportunity for residents meet the construction project delivery team to review ongoing construction and what is planned in the coming months. As always, you can contact our community relations team at any time with any questions or concerns. This is simply an opportunity for our neighbours to ask specific questions with the construction delivery team in attendance.

The next meeting will be:
Thursday March 22, 2012
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
West Toronto Diamond Community Office
18 Hook Avenue, Suite 204

For more information, please contact Kelly at 416-604-9582 or gts@gotransit.com.

Check out the March 8 2012 article in The Grid about the Junction Triangle's very own puppet shop, Open Door Designs.

While those involved in puppet-making and performance are no doubt aware of how to find the shop, the stretch of Dupont where Open Door is located is a bit off the beaten path. “Foot traffic is a challenge on this strip,” says Bigham. However, this was not always the case. “Evidently, in the early ’50s this was a very commercial street,” Bigham says. “People would get on the train and come down from North Toronto—it was quite a vital neighbourhood.” And, in some ways, with the current influx of young families to the area, Bigham sees it making something of a return to its former self, saying, “the neighbourhood is changing—it’s stroller city!”
In addition to doorway theatres, Bigham also produces larger theatres for schools and libraries—”the first one was commissioned by a grade 10 teacher; now, we’re five years on and we’ve shipped to Italy and all over the states”—and sells a wide assortment of puppets both new, many of her own design and “museum quality vintage,” with the oldest dating back to the ’30s.
She’s currently working on a proposal to take over a building just down the street from her shop to open what would be the city’s only full-time puppet theatre. “I’m hoping it’ll start in October,” she says, “There’s going to be seven performances, once a month on a Sunday. We’ve got this beautiful little venue over here. Five all-ages performances, one adult and one ‘puppet slam’—an open mic for people that are serious.”

You can read the entire article online here, and be sure to look at the gallery of puppet pics.

Keep your eyes peeled for a mail out from the City that is a new calendar for garbage pickups. In my case, and I suspect the whole JT, garbage day will become Fridays starting in April. The City's Solid Waste website does not mention this change.