The next round of Open House meetings for Metrolinx's Georgetown South Service Expansion project has been announced. Here are the details of our local meeting:

When: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 3:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: The Lithuanian House, Hall B, 1573 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON (map).

The Clean Train Coalition are hosting a public meeting at the Fern Ave. Public School, 28 Fern Ave. (Map), on Tuesday June 2, 7-9pm. See below for details.

Fern Avenue Meeting, June 2, 7-9 pm

Did you know there are 25000+ kids who go to school along the Georgetown Corridor? And thousands of pre-schoolers too. We need to act now to protect their health in the coming years.

This coming Tuesday, there will be a meeting at Fern Ave Public School, sponsored by the Clean Train Coalition. This meeting will provide vital information about Metrolinx’s plans to expand diesel rail service along the Georgetown Corridor, the negative health effects of those plans and how we can lobby government to promote quicker electrification of the trains. Various local politicians, trustees and school council chairs have been invited and most have said they will attend.

Let me (Peter Morgan) know if you have any questions, and/or you think you can spare an hour or two to put posters up about this meeting on Saturday (outreach@cleantrain.ca). If you’d like to become more active in the campaign or have suggestions, your help would be greatly appreciated. Here’s our website: www.cleantrain.ca.

An email update was sent out today from the Clean Train Coalition. For more information about the CTC, please visit their website.

An Update from the Clean Train Coalition!

A number of important actions have taken place in the past week that you should know of. Last week the Toronto District School Board created a motion expressing concern about the health and noise effects of the Georgetown rail expansion, particularly as it affects the health of children. The Board will vote on this motion in two parts: tonight and at the full Board meeting in June. Contact me for a copy of the motion if you’re interested (outreach@cleantrain.ca)

We had a Press Conference at Queen’s Park today that was well attended by the Press and some MPPs. This gave us the opportunity to discuss our concerns about Metrolinx’s plans and to call on the Premier to explain why he’s not showing more concern about the negative health consequences of using diesel trains to power his “Green” revolution.

Toronto City Council has again voted to demand electrification of all rail lines within the City. They are considering a bylaw that would prohibit the introduction of new sources of air pollution, in this case diesel trains, into the City.

In the near future, we will be making deputations before the City of Toronto Board of Health.

News stories about the rail expansion and electrification have been recently published in all four Toronto dailies.

The Strachan Ave Superbridge proposed by Metrolinx will not proceed. A less intrusive model replaces the original highly offensive proposal.

We hope to keep you informed of what’s happening on a weekly basis. If you have any questions or comments, please write to me (Peter Morgan) at the above address. Check our website for more info: www.cleantrain.ca.

As a reaction to the Metrolinx / GO Transit "Georgetown South Service Expansion" project, a new grassroots organization has formed across West Toronto: The Clean Train Coalition.

The Clean Train Coalition, as its name suggests, is a coalition of community groups, residents, and other stakeholders in along the Georgetown South railway corridor who are concerned about the planned increases in diesel train traffic.

From the Clean Train Coalition website:

Clean Transit is Possible

Our city deserves a clean, effective and modern transportation system. Now is the time to build a transit solution that will benefit all of us and serve our region for decades to come. The solution should:

• Use clean-running, quiet and light weight electric trains
  Eliminate the harmful effects of diesel pollution
• Maintain and enhance neighbourhood connections
  Prevent the division and isolation of communities along the corridor
• Create accessible and affordable transit for everyone
  Ensure this public infrastructure project provides a lasting benefit to us all

For more information about the Clean Train Coalition, to get the latest news about the GSSE project, and to get involved, please visit their website at: www.cleantrain.ca

To discuss the effects of the GSSE project on our neighbourhood, you can use our local forum.

Banner image from the Clean Train Coalition website.

The following event information was provided by the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre:

EAST OF THE TRACKS: NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTION

IF THE PILE DRIVERS ARE DRIVING YOU CRAZY....
COME TO A

COMMUNITY MEETING

THURSDAY, APRIL 23RD 7 P.M.
DAVENPORT PERTH NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE
1900 DAVENPORT ROAD (BETWEEN SYMINGTON AND OLD WESTON)
Arts and Crafts Table for the Children
Interpreters in various languages

The monthly DIGIN meeting takes place on Tuesday April 14th, 7pm at the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre. This month's meeting is of particular interested to residents of the Junction Triangle. The main item on the agenda is a presentation by Mike Sullivan, chair of the Weston Community Coalition, speaking about the Georgetown South Service Expansion and how the significant increase in train traffic may affect our neighbourhood.

Today Metrolinx issued a Notice of Commencement for the Georgetown South Service Expansion and Union-Pearson Rail Link Project (GSSE).

There will be a series of Open House meetings during the month of April. Here are the details of our local meeting:

When: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 3:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: The Lithuanian House, Hall B, 1573 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON (map).

If you can't make it to the local meeting, there will be five other sessions along the length of the study area. You can view the list here. An "online virtual house" will also be available starting April 15th.

The details below come from the Metrolinx meeting announcement flyer. Further details about the whole GSSE project can be found on the Metrolinx website.

If you wish to discuss this project, please use our forum.

GO Train at Bloor Station

Metrolix has announced a series of public open house meetings regarding changes on the GO Transit Georgetown South corridor and Pearson Airport rail link. These proposed changes will have a direct impact on our neighbourhood as there will be increased frequency of trains servicing the Bloor station on GO Transit's Georgetown line, in addition to the new airport rail service.

Please feel free to discuss these developments by posting comments below. You can also contact us if you would like the SJTRA to pass any comments on to Metrolinx for you.

Details for our local meeting:

When: Tuesday February 3 2009, 11:00am to 8:30pm
Where: Lithuanian House, 1573 Bloor St. W. (map)

More information can be found at the Metrolinx website here: http://www.metrolinx.com/gsse/default.aspx

See below for the Metrolinx press release from January 21, 2009: