Junction Triangle

On the evening of November 1st, the day after Halloween, was the fourth annual Carlton Park Pumpkin Lighting.

This was the first time I heard about this event, and consequently the first time I went, even though I've known about similar events at other parks. I was excited to learn that someone had organized this for our own neighbourhood!

My wife Jennifer and I gathered up some friends from around the neighbourhood and beyond (Australia!) and met up at the park. There were already many pumpkins blazing when we arrived, and we added ours to the lineup. We bumped into other neighbours and friends, enjoyed the snacks and drinks that people brought to share, watched the kids run around through the leaves while wearing their Halloween costumes "just one more time". And of course, had a great time checking out everyone else's pumpkin creations.

Apparently, this was the biggest ever Pumpkin Lighting event at Carlton Park, with probably around 60 pumpkins. It's great to hear that with some persistence, this neighbourhood event has continued to happen and grow over the years. Already looking forward to next year!

Michael Monastyrskyj also has a writeup of this event over on his Bloor-Lansdowne Blog.

Here are some more photos from the Pumpkin Lighting. Click to see larger versions:

Two worthwhile local organizations are looking for funding from the Aviva Community Fund. The Art Starts bike rack project was recently mentioned on this site, but the Boys and Girls Club is also on the list. Here are the details provided by Kevin Putnam:

NOW magazine has awarded the Art Starts Strength in Numbers mural at Dupont and Dundas with their "Best Mural" award.

From the NOW magazine website:

The underpass graced by this bike mural is a gateway for those heading to the Junction, but it’s a destination now, too. The 400-foot creation painted by seven artists over four weeks this summer turned a mundane slab of concrete into a giant uniting message: strength in numbers – a critical mass reminder for the city’s wide spectrum of cyclists.

Art Starts managing director (and local resident) Liz Forsberg writes:

"We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in print on the newstands this week. Now Magazine has just released its annual Best of the City issue and our 'Strength in Numbers' bike-themed mural at Dupont and Dundas won best mural! See it for yourself here. Huge congrats go to Joshua Barndt and Jamie Bradbury who were our lead artists and Quentin Vercetty, Gifty Singh, Curtia Wright, Hayley Fromstein and Keinon Grant who were our youth artists on the project. The mural has received unprecedented media attention, including a spot on CBC's News at 6 back in August when it was launched. We can't wait for next year's mural. And of course, we are ever so grateful to the City of Toronto's Graffitti Transformation Program for funding this initiative!"

Congratulations and thank you once again to Art Starts and all of the artists involved in putting this mural together. It's a wonderful addition to our neighbourhood!

Toronto Star columnist Christopher Hume writes about the West Toronto Railpath in today's paper:

However unintended, the transportation and manufacturing networks built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries form the backbone of much 21st-century urbanism.

The most recent example is the West Toronto Railpath Park, a 2.1-kilometre linear green space that picks up from what were once train tracks. As designed by landscape architect Scott Torrance and architects Kim Storey and James Brown, the $4 million trail/park brings new life to this part of the city and its 250,000 residents.

At a time when people feel increasingly cynical and alienated, the path reminds us that cities are also communities, not just places where people live and work, but places they inhabit. Any project that enables and encourages residents to take possession of the city should be enabled and encouraged.

As the Railpath makes clear, handled intelligently, one era's ruins can be another's monuments.

Go to the Star's website to see the complete article.

And don't forget, today is the "official" opening ceremony for the Railpath, 2:00pm at the Wallace Bridge. Try to drop by if you're around!

The Fuzzy Boundaries neighbourhood naming project was in the media again last week. This time it was featured on the Global TV evening news on Wednesday October 21st. Here's the video on Youtube:

Direct Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrYibM25BoI

The official opening of the new West Toronto Railpath linear park on the west side of our neighbourhood will take place on Friday October 30th at 2:00pm, at the Wallace Ave. bridge.

A previous unofficial opening ceremony and parade was a success, even with all of the rain that day.

Here is the official announcement from councillor Giambrone's office, also attached as a PDF file.

West Toronto Railpath Park Official Opening Ceremonies

Councillor Adam Giambrone invites you to the official opening of the West Toronto Railpath Park on Friday, October 30, 2009. Councillor Giambrone, the City of Toronto, and Friends of the West Toronto Railpath are pleased to open the first 2.1 km of this exciting recreational trail.

• Date: Friday, October 30, 2009
• Location: West Toronto Railpath entrance at Wallace Avenue (south of Dupont, west of Perth, north of Bloor). See attached map.
• Time:
  • 2:00 p.m. – Opening Remarks
  • 2:15 p.m. – Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
  • 2:20 p.m. – cyclists gathered ride the trail and enjoy the sculptures
  • 2:25 p.m. – interested participants invited walk 2.1 km and explore the trail and sculptures
• RSVP: Toronto Protocol RSVP Line 416-392-7667

Metrolinx fails to clear the air on electric train

Clean Train Coalition blows the whistle on province’s diesel fix
By Roger Brook

Based strictly on appearances, it seems that the province compromises whenever it’s been on the hot seat over the controversial rail link to the airport and Georgetown GO expansion.

But does it really?

*As a disclaimer readers should be aware that their is no such thing as "Clean Diesel", it's a marketing term but make no mistake ALL diesel puts toxins in the air.

Is diesel train for dinosaurs?

Frequent travellers, critics say new airport link should follow international trend to electric trains
Tess Kalinowski Transportation Reporter
Published On Mon Oct 12 2009

VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

He's a frequent flyer, but media executive Raymond Girard admits he's also a bit of a rail buff.

Metrolinx, as usual, seems to be changing it mind day to day as it searches for ways to win a PR campaign against citizens. They say one thing one day and then change their minds the next. Reading the last section of this story you have to wonder if they really have any plan at all. You have to wonder why the announcement below happens at this time.

GO trains to get clean diesel engines in 2017

Brodie Fenlon

Toronto — Globe and Mail Update Published on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 12:23AM EDT Last updated on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 11:18AM EDT

West-enders feel railroaded by Metrolinx air-rail diesels

It got lonely in Weston. We had been struggling to make sense of plans for a diesel service to the airport for four long years.

When Metrolinx announced in late 2008 it was taking over the carriage of the environmental assessment for the air-rail link and was launching an assessment for a massive expansion of GO transit services, suddenly we had friends. Other neighbourhoods started to realize this would affect them, too.