Saturday, June 28th, 10:00am to 2:00pm at Dufferin Mall, 900 Dufferin St., south of Bloor St. W.

How many times have you heard that one person's trash is another person's treasure? It’s a familiar saying, and for good reason: it’s true! Bring your unwanted and unused “stuff” to your local Community Environment Day, hosted by your City Councillor, and transform your trash into treasure.

Dupont St. and Annette St. bicycle lane plan

Toronto Bike Plan

At last Wednesday's SJTRA meeting, Chris Gallop (Adam Giambrone's constituency assistant) mentioned that the City is moving forward with implementing bicycle lanes along Dupont St. between Dundas St. W. and Lansdowne Ave. This is part of the Toronto Bike Plan.

This section of bicycle infrastructure through our neighbourhood will connect to the West Toronto Railpath, the Annette St. bike lanes (installed at the same time as Dupont St.), and the Lansdowne Ave. bike lanes scheduled to be installed next year.

According to Mr. Gallop, the current timeline for implementation is: "The report is going to the Works Committee next Tuesday, City Council at the end of the month, and if approved they should be installed by approximately the end of the summer."

Here is the map (PDF) of the proposed Annette and Dupont St. bike lanes, including the on-street parking configurations.

More background and design details about Dupont St., Annette St., and others can be found in this document (PDF) too.

Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday to help clean up Campbell Park, Erwin Krickhahn Park, and several nearby streets. Approximately twelve of us came out, including local residents, several children, and even City Councillor Adam Giambrone.

Adam Giambrone talking to constituents on Campbell Ave. Adam was on his
way to the community cleanup.

Photo by Michael Monastyrskyj.

Meeting notice distributed by The City on April 15, 2008.

Flyer distributed by The City, April 15 2008.

Wallace Junction Focus Area (Map)
The City of Toronto has distributed the following flyers throughout the neighbourhood:

Community Meeting

Wallace Junction Focus Area

Area bounded by Dupont Street, the GO/CNR/CPR rail corridor, Lansdowne Avenue, and Dundas Street West

Proposal
Focus areas enable municipalities to provide financial incentives to support improvement and rehabilitation of areas that have been identified as Community Improvement Project Areas (CIPAs). Generally, these are areas that are in need of assistance with regard to: declining building stock, conflicting land uses, barriers to improvement and redevelopment, as well as declining social, environmental and/or economic conditions. The Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Toronto Official Plan support the designation of CIPAs and the preparation of focus areas.

Purpose of the Meeting

The meeting will inform the community on the Wallace Junction Focus Area. The Community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed plan prior to its consideration by Toronto and East York Community Council. If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still make your views known by sending an email to Councillor Adam Giambrone at councillor_giambrone@toronto.ca or call our office at 416 392-7012.

Date: April 23, 2008
Time: 6:30 to 8:30
Location: Wallace Emerson Community Centre, Abrigo Room

Our city councillor, Adam Giambrone sent out his most recent Ward 18 newsletter a couple of days ago.

It's not posted on his own website yet, so for the benefit of anyone who doesn't receive these emails directly from him, I'm attaching it to this post. You can download the PDF document below.

Here is the table of contents. I have highlighted some of the neighbourhood-specific items:

• New Blue Bins Arrive in Ward 18 — City Works Toward 70% Diversion from Landfill
• Alternate Side Parking Program Expands on April 1st
• West Toronto Railpath Park Begins Construction this Spring
• Dufferin Grove Park Wading Pool Renovation Postponed until Fall 2008
• Development application: 1155 Queen Street West — Community Council Notice
• City’s New Lobbyist Registry is Now in Effect
• Art Lives Here! — A New Storefront Community Arts Centre on Dundas St.
• Keeping Toronto Clean and Beautiful — Upcoming Community Clean-Up Events (We will be organizing a cleanup event in our own neighbourhood Watch the website for details!)
• City to host Tsunami Relief Forum to showcase rebuilding efforts in tsunami-stricken communities
• City of Toronto 2008 Operating Budget Highlights
• Council Highlights — City Council meeting of March 3, 4 and 5, 2008

Last night, a rally and candle light vigil was held at 21 Randolph Ave to support the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club, who are facing eviction from their current building. Despite the snow and wind, approximately 80 children, parents, and other supporters attended the rally, along with local city councillor Adam Giambrone.

Councillor Giambrone provided some positive news for the situation: The club's lease was extended by one month until the end of March, which gives everyone a bit more time to find a solution to this issue.

More photos from this rally can be found in our image gallery.

Photo by Vic Gedris.