Junction Triangle

Photo by Martin Reis, in the Junction Triangle photo pool on Flickr.

I mentioned this briefly yesterday: The "Suit Stencil" mural by Joel Richardson in the railway underpass on the south side of Dupont St., between Campbell and Lansdowne Avenues was whitewashed by the City this week.

This is a bizarre twist in Toronto's recently-escalated "War on Graffiti", as Joel worked with the City to install this mural, in addition to his other mural on the north side of the street.

David Rider has an article about this in the Toronto Star. A few key quotes:

Artist Joel Richardson says the city has painted over a popular Dupont St. mural that it paid him $2,000 to create, an apparent misfire in Mayor Rob Ford’s war on graffiti.

A city spokeswoman says the railway underpass wall was returned to drab grey because Richardson’s artwork was unauthorized, uncommissioned, political and may have “referred to (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper.”

The painter and filmmaker kicked off work on the new mural last Sept. 25 with a community party. He had spent at least 30 hours on it, with about another 10 to go, when he learned Monday the city had used grey and white paint to completely blot out the mathematical formula incorporating Morse code symbols and grim-faced businessmen with yellow halos.

Elyse Parker, a director in the city’s transportation services department, said the artwork was erased after a resident complained it was political. City records suggested the older north wall mural was commissioned, but not the one on the south wall, she said.

“This was not approved by the city and we would not endorse any kind of mural with political messaging,” she said. “There was some discussion that the mural referred to Stephen Harper. That’s the suggestion, that’s what it looked like to us.”

Richardson says the mural “had nothing to do with Stephen Harper” — while it is “subversive and anti-freewheeling capitalism” — and his friend Benjamin Blais was the model for the businessman.

Vic Gedris, who runs the Junction Triangle website and led the Jane’s Walk that saw participants question Robertson about his mural, said the city recently painted over graffiti by “Posterchild” in a different, nearby underpass depicting Harper in riot gear.

CBC Radio's Metro Morning did a segment about Rail Trails today, with Mary Wiens interviewing Ken Greenberg while on a bike ride along the West Toronto Railpath:

"The CBC's Mary Wiens spoke with author Ken Greenberg about why our city's rail trails are an indication that Toronto is going to get even better. His book, "Walking Home", is published by Random House Canada."

You can listen to this segment on the CBC website here.

Photo by Vic Gedris, from the unofficial Railpath opening ride in 2009.

The following meeting invite comes from Councillor Ana Bailão's office. You can download a PDF copy of the meeting flyer here. Please note they are asking people to register by June 6th.

Councillor Sarah Doucette, Councillor Gord Perks, Councillor Ana Bailão

Invite you to participate in a Ward 13, 14 and 18 round table discussion on the Core Service Review

Boo Radley's Bar & Grill, 1482 Dupont St. at Campbell Ave., is celebrating its Fourth Anniversary on Saturday June 4th, starting at 6:00PM, rain or shine.

The owners, Mike and Shelley, have been running a fantastic local establishment that's a positive addition to the neighbourhood. Besides serving up good food and drinks, they have been very supportive of community endeavours, such as hosting election all-candidates events, offering space for community meetings, welcoming community groups in for social events, and more.

"Its our 4th Birthday and we wanted to say thanks again to our regulars with drink and food!"

Also worth noting: Starting June 4th, "we are open for lunch at 11:00AM Saturdays & Sundays with the same great food & all day breakfast specials!".

Happy Anniversary, Boo's!

The following update is from Metrolinx. You can download a PDF copy of the document here.

The Georgetown South Project will provide infrastructure improvements to meet existing GO Transit ridership demand and future growth. It will also accommodate the new Air Rail Link service between Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

West Toronto Diamond Construction: Road Closure mid-June to mid-November
A full road closure of Old Weston Road and Junction Road is necessary for pile validation work across the road.
For safety reasons, pedestrian access will also be closed during this time. Signage will be posted prior to the road closure.

Project Description
Work will focus in the Old Weston and Junction Roads area. Soil will be removed from within the pipe piles and replaced with concrete and sealing materials to create water-tight walls for the train underpass. A small number of piles will be replaced using vibration and some impact hammer - similar to the methods used in the latter part of 2010.

Looking Ahead
For two weeks in early July, during CP Rail’s annual track closure, we will complete the pile validation work beneath the connecting tracks. Extended work hours will be needed to complete the work during this tight timeline. We will inform the community of the extended hours prior to work beginning.

Public Meeting
Tuesday, June 21, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (presentation at 7:00 p.m.)
Annette Street Public Library, 145 Annette Street

The following information was sent from the City of Toronto's Planning Division. You can download the original flyer here (343KB PDF file), which also includes a Portuguese translation.

Meeting Notice

Community Consultation Meetings and Community Walks

Public Meetings:
Monday June 6, 2011 - Church of Firstborn Apostolic, 72 Perth Avenue
Monday June 13, 2011 – Alexander Muir School(Auditorium), 108 Gladstone Avenue

Community Walks:
Monday July 18th, 2011 – Meet at the corner of Symington and Bloor
Tuesday July 19th, 2011 – Meet at the corner of Queen and Gladstone

All Meetings and Walks start at 6:30 p.m.

Study Description
Councillor Ana Bailão and City Planning are conducting a local area study along the rail corridor in Ward 18. The study will focus on the following.

• The transportation network including pedestrian and bicycle routes and connections to the West Toronto Rail Path.
• An inventory of existing parks and open spaces, those needing upgrading and possible locations for new parks.
• The existing and needed community facilities.
• The identification of important heritage buildings
• Identifying incentives to encourage employment uses.
• A review of the school sites.

Junction Triangle Jane's Walk 2010

Started in 2007, Jane's Walk is an annual event honouring the late urban thinker, activist, and writer Jane Jacobs. On May 7 and 8 2011, free walking tours will take place in cities all over Toronto, Canada, and other countries around the world.

I just wanted to remind everyone that out of the 170+ walking tours taking place in Toronto this weekend, there are some promising local events that are worth checking out (click their names to go to the Jane's Walk website for more details):

Murals and Public Art in the Junction Triangle
When: Saturday, May 7, 2011, 10:00AM
Where: Starts at the railway underpass on Bloor St., just west of Lansdowne Ave (1360 Bloor St. W.)
What: The Junction Triangle neighbourhood in west Toronto is bordered on all three sides by railway tracks and underpasses, making it an ideal place for public art. Our walk will explore painted murals, ghost signs, graffiti, and other public art throughout the neighbourhood.

The following newsletter was forwarded to me from Bob, a resident of Rankin Crescent. You can download a PDF copy of the printed newsletter here.

RANKIN CRESCENT NEWS

Issue #2 – published May 1, 2011 – Printed Circulation: 107

In this issue:

1. Federal Election – Vote on Monday, May 2
2. Rankin Crescent Yard Sale – Saturday, May 28
3. Our Municipal Representatives
4. A Fairer Voting System
5. Rankin Crescent Residents – Information and Issues
6. The Airport - Union Station Rail Link – An Update
7. The Boblahblog – Personal Observations on Events and Issues, Big and Small

For more information about our general neighbourhood and the people who live here, visit these local area websites: Junction Triangle website: www.junctiontriangle.ca Dig-In website: www.digin.ca

The 2011 Canadian Federal Election was definitely the most interesting one to watch, and participate in, in recent memory. Here in Davenport we had a tight race between Liberal incumbent Mario Silva and first-time NDP challenger Andrew Cash, where Cash kept creeping up in the polls right until the dead heat around election day. Andrew Cash has exceeded most peoples' expectations by winning with 54% of the vote.

Here are the results taken directly from the Elections Canada website:

The following announcement comes from Metrolinx / GO Transit. You can download the original announcement here (615KB PDF).

Georgetown South Project - Construction Update

The Georgetown South (GTS) Project will provide infrastructure improvements to meet existing GO Transit ridership demand and
future growth. It will also accommodate the new Air Rail Link service between Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

Bloor Street West Bridge
Road Closure: April 30 – May 2

Project Description
Between April 30 and May 2, 2011, a new span will be installed on the east side of the Bloor Street West bridge (near Bloor and
Dundas Streets) to accommodate additional tracks. The work involves modifying the existing concrete abutments and installing
the new span. Most of the work will be from above.

Road closure for installation of the new span

• Full road closure between Dundas Street West and Perth Avenue from Saturday, April 30 at 5 a.m. to Monday, May 2 at 5 a.m.