Junction Triangle

Here are a few links to local news items that appeared online in the last few weeks:

• Review of Angel's Cafe, BlogTO, April 21 2011.
• Sporting Goods: Backyard Axe Throwing League, Torontoist, April 25 2011.
• Spotted: Eight Year Old Activism (Graffiti in the Junction Triangle), Torontoist, April 26 2011.

Davenport election news and links (Note: Further election news, links, and discussions are at this link):

• Davenport: Insidetoronto.com's Q and A of the riding's top contenders, The Villager / Inside Toronto, April 14 2011.
• Davenport candidates dish affordable housing and diesel trains, The Villager / Inside Toronto, April 21 2011.
• 2011 Federal Election: Survey of Davenport Candidates, Junctiontriangle.ca, April 22 2011.
• Video: 2011 Davenport Federal Election Candidates at DIGIN, DIGIN Blog, April 23 2011.
• Election vandalism spreads, senior Liberals targeted, Toronto Star, April 24 2011.
• Video: Davenport Federal All-Candidates Meeting, Bloordale Press, April 24 2011.
• Davenport could flip orange after 49 years, Toronto Star, April 25 2011.
• Road map to a potential NDP breakthrough, National Post, April 26 2011.

The following survey, with ten questions from residents of the Junction Triangle neighbourhood on the west side of Davenport, was sent to the four main candidates in this riding: Andrew Cash (NDP), Theresa Rodrigues (Conservative), Wayne Scott (Green), and Mario Silva (Liberal). Theresa Rodrigues, Conservative, did not reply. Their answers are posted here, unedited except for some minor web formatting.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and of course, thank you to all of the candidates who took the time out of their busy campaigns to answer our questions. We encourage you to share this survey with everyone else in the Junction Triangle, Davenport, and beyond.

We also encourage everyone to discuss these answers, post followup questions, etc. in the comments section below. Further discussion about the 2011 federal election can also be found it at this link.

Excerpt from Blog T.O.:

Angel's Cafe is a little family-run coffee shop in the heart of the Junction Triangle. Angel works as a programmer by day and Matilda is a paralegal. The couple runs the small coffee shop, which is attached to the home they share with their two kids, after they come home from work and keep it open until 10 p.m. I was tired just listening to Matilda describe her day, but she seemed happy and committed to keeping the community hub going.

"When you don't have family here, you have to look to your community. That's why this is so important."

This visioning study is the result of another student project incorporating an in-depth review of our neighbourhood. Some of the ideas presented here may actually come in handy for the recently approved Local Area Study for Lands Abutting the Rail Corridor in Ward 18.

WEST TORONTO RAIL CORRIDOR VISIONING STUDY

RYERSON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
ADVANCED PLANNING STUDIO I
WINTER 2011

Dear Friends of Clean Trains,

Many residents along the Georgetown Corridor, specifically between Liberty Village and Weston, are under the impression that we have won the battle on electrification - that they are planning to immediately start electrifying the GO system, starting with the Air Rail Link (ARL) and the Georgetown Corridor - and that we don't need to fight for it anymore. This is completely false and we are taking this opportunity to "debunk the myth."

What Metrolinx is NOT advertising is that their claimed earliest date for ARL electrification is at least 7 to 9 years in the future. Or it could be longer. In real terms, it means that there is NO CHANGE to their plans to build the ARL with diesel engines for the start of service in 2015! Electrification of the line is NOT a given and we still need to press for it to happen. The Pan Am Games, a 2-week event, is just not enough of a reason to go ahead and build a line that will end up costing us more financially and with our health.

Under intense pressure from the Clean Train Coalition and others, Metrolinx has finally acknowledged that electric trains are not only superior in many ways but are also less expensive than diesels. Despite this, the provincial government is still insisting that we need to rush to build a diesel-powered service prior to the Pan Am Games in 2015! They say they will electrify the line later, but there are no firm promises nor dates given. And electrifying later will result in a $400-million-plus penalty to taxpayers!

This is a waste of time and money. We continue to insist that they should build smart regional rail RIGHT the first time. Build the ARL as electric from the start or wait until it can be built right the first time!

Note: You can download the original meeting announcement PDF files in English and Portuguese.

Meeting Notice
Community Consultation Meeting

Planning application for: 243 Perth Avenue

Meeting Date: Thursday, April 28, 2011
Meeting Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Meeting Location: Perth Avenue Church at Wallace Avenue
Lower level
Please use entrance door from parking lot
243 Perth Avenue

Site
The site is located 243 Perth Avenue on the northeast corner of Perth Avenue and Wallace Avenue between Bloor Street West and Dupont Road. The site has an overall area of approximately 1,737 square metres. At 243 Perth Avenue there is currently a church occupied by the congregation of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Adjacent to the church building on the north is a paved parking area containing approximately 750 square meters.

The following account of last Saturday's Community Cleanup hosted by the South Perth and Sterling Road Residents Association is from Philip Share:

On Saturday April 16, on a gloomy wet and freezing cold morning, a small dedicated group made their way down to the very wet patch of gravel at the foot of Sterling Road and Perth Avenue South, once there they commenced operation clean-up!

This event was no easy task, given that the rain was pelting down and soaking everyone from head to toe and the wind was chilling all.
This group was made up of local residents including both Chairs of the South Perth and Sterling Road Residents Association, the local Municipal Councillor Ana Bailao & Rio Tinto Alcan Representative Marilyn McCrae came out to help (her 4th year of participating), volunteers from far and wide including Andy H off of Campbell who did an enormous amount of work, in an area that he doesn't have regular connections with, and Alan G who came all the way from Jarvis Street to do his part in a community Cleanup of course some of the local residents and members from the Church of the First Born that also took time out of their day to help and make the open spaces look better and provide hot beverages and snacks.

Jason and Mike who started clearing up in the laneway on the Friday so that if the weather was as awful as it turned out to be on Saturday, they would be able to put their remaining energies into the area at the south end of Sterling Road - Thank you so much to everyone!!
What alway becomes glaringly obvious on these clean up days is how many residents who never attend, could do more !! Just by sweeping up at their front door, picking up the empty paint cans & garbage on their lawns & porches and just helping to keep the overall area looking better all year round, it doesn't take a lot of effort if you do it regularly but, if you leave it all season then it seems to be too big a job!

Take a broom, sweep the street in front of your house whenever the weather allows, you will feel better about your home and the street overall will look fantastic.

Thanks,
philip

On November 18th 2010, there was a Junction Triangle neighbourhood planning charrette hosted by York University Faculty of Environmental Studies MES Students, at which the students presented some of their research about our neighbourhood as well as future planning possibilities. Much feedback was gathered from the 50 or residents who attended this meeting, and now the students' project is complete.

The group members are now sharing the precinct plan with the community, City staff, and local developers. Though this was a student project and doesn't officially bear any weight, there are likely many ideas in this document that should be considered, and may indeed come to fruition at some point in the future [Note: I have not read this document myself yet].

The following is a note from Prof. Steve Heuchert who lead the project, and the attached final project.

Hello to Junction Triangle Community Members

At long last, please see attached the York University students' Junction Triangle Precinct Plan. I hope you find it useful in your endeavours. Please feel free to share with your fellow community members.

The document has been sent to the City and Castlepoint Developments.

For those of you who don't know, Councillor Bailao has initiated the City's own study of the area. See the item approved at City Council at: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/decisionBodyProfile.do?function=doPrepare&me.... Click on Item TE5.53.

All the best,
Steve Heuchert, MCIP, RPP, MRTPI

The following meeting info comes from the mystclair.com website:

Davenport Federal All-Candidates Meeting
Wed Apr 20, 2011 / 7:00pm

Attention Everyone:

The 2011 Federal Election is almost upon us, and the Federal Riding of Davenport is gearing up.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre Advisory Council is hosting an All Candidates Meeting on Wednesday April 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre, (located at 1369 St.Clair Avenue West, just west of Lansdowne).

Everyone in the community is welcome to attend.

The next DIGIN meeting takes place on Tuesday April 12 2011, 7:00PM in the Ambrico Room of the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre, 1260 Dufferin St. (at Dupont).

DIGIN meetings are a great place to meet other residents and find out more about what is happening in the general Bloor-Lansdowne area. In particular, this month's meeting will feature several federal election candidates for our Davenport riding.

Agenda for this month's meeting:

1. Jane's Walk update
2. Safety audits
3. Community Space (1379 Bloor St W)
4. Meet the Federal Candidates (Starts at: 7:30pm Duration: 45min-1 hr max): 5 minutes introductions by each candidate then Q&A session. Confirmed Candidates: Andrew Cash (NDP), Wayne Scott (Green), Mario Silva (Liberal).
5. BIG on Bloor Festival
6. Mayor's Cleanup Day
7. Friends of Wallace Emerson

Adjourn 8:30pm to Boo Radley’s (NW corner Dupont & Campbell)

Note: Comments closed on this item. Discussions about the 2011 federal election are in this forum.