PaddyD

For decades in Toronto, property taxes barely went up. Under every previous mayor in post-amalgamation history, taxes were either frozen or increases were aimed “at or below the rate of inflation” or “in line with inflation.”

The result was decades of experts talking about how we had shockingly low property taxes by the standards of our region and the standards of other big cities. As a further result, we heard decades of city managers tell us how that was starving services and maintenance.

At a certain point, people really started to notice things falling apart.

As Toronto furiously debates bike lanes and their role in the city’s notorious gridlock, mostly missing from the discussion is a culprit that at its peak occupied almost one-fifth of the city’s road network.

Construction — for provincially managed transit projects, condo and office buildings, and utility work to support Toronto’s booming growth — closes more kilometres of roadway than bike lanes, special events or anything else. City officials say construction closures are the biggest cause of the kind of traffic backups that are angering residents and the Ford government.

Our local programs working to end hunger in our community need your help. The Church of the Redeemer Common Table and the Avenue Road Food Bank at the Church of the Messiah rely on your donations to be able to continue their assistance programs to our neighbours – providing food, meals, toiletries, health care and social support. Donate and help make someone’s holiday season just a little brighter.

In 2022, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association (SLNA) and the local business improvement area pitched Councillor Chris Moise on a proposal to close Market Street, just west of St. Lawrence Market, to cars for the summer.

Motivated by the isolation of the pandemic and the emphasis on outdoor activities, the group’s plan was to put out tables and chairs and take advantage of the fact that the City, in 2014, had rebuilt Market Street so it didn’t have curbs. The pedestrianization, with a full calendar of events, was resurrected for the summer of 2023 and again for this past summer.

This contained experiment revealed how an intentional effort to welcome city-dwellers into a lively public space can defuse the loneliness of life in the big city.

Under cover of darkness, Infrastructure Ontario began the removal of 865 trees at Ontario Place on the evening of Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Within a single day, workers had cut down the vast majority of those trees.

The work—which includes the removal of every single tree on the western portion of the waterfront site adjacent downtown Toronto—is part of the approximately $200-million in site preparations that taxpayers are funding to prepare the land for Therme, an Austrian spa company, to develop a stadium-sized indoor waterpark on the site. See before and after photos.

The next day, October 3, the Province released the details of its 95-year lease with Therme, which journalists and grassroots organizations have…

Another pedestrian was seriously injured this afternoon on Avenue Road near Davenport. The collision involved a pedestrian, and three cars. One car jumped the curb onto the sidewalk. The pedestrian was transferred to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Road safety improvements on Avenue Road are scheduled to start soon, which unfortunately was not soon enough to prevent another injury.

Our Fall 2024 newsletter includes updates and news from the neighbourhood, upcoming events and opportunities to get involved in your City.

What have we been up to? Lots! We have reports on upgrades at Ramsden Park, Avenue Road safety improvements (now under construction!), art in the neighbourhood, updates on various development proposals in the works and ABCRA’s response to them, some upcoming events and opportunities to support local organizations. We’re particularly thrilled to be collaborating with Tapestry Opera to bring their free Box Concert series to Ramsden Park on Sunday, September 15 at 1:15 pm. and hope you’ll attend!

The 18th annual Nuit Blanche Toronto will once again transform the city this fall, from sunset to sunrise, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, and concluding at 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 6. This year’s theme Bridging Distance will explore the different ways we experience distance and reimagine how we can bridge distance through art. Entry to the City of Toronto’s biggest contemporary art festival is free, with almost 100 art projects and performances from close to 150 artists.

Councillor Dianne Saxe’s August 2024 Newsletter for University-Rosedale is now available!