A vote of residents in North Leaside to approve or reject a pilot project to block off all entries on the west will take place in May and June. The pilot would close three streets with concrete “jersey barriers” at Bayview. These are Glenvale Blvd, Broadway Ave and Craig Crescent. The scheme is known among proponents as the cul-de-sac pilot. At a well-attended meeting Wednesday convened by Councillor Burnside at Leaside Gardens, those present expressed a wide range of deeply-felt opinion. The meeting heard people in favor, several opposed and complaints from both Kilgour Estates to the north as well as residents of south of Eglinton that they should be permitted to vote. There was enormous opinion of all kinds about the seriousness of traffic both now and in coming years. The chairman of the North Leaside Traffic Committee John Gaitanakis spoke in detail of research done to support the pilot. He is a well-prepared and personally invested advocate of the plan.
VOTING TO OCCUR IN MAY AND JUNE
Among numbers produced was an estimate that the population of Leaside may grow from the present 18,000 to as many as 30,000 in a few years. One speaker spoke resentfully about the plan to “shut the gate” on newcomers yet to arrive in the community. But many others felt the need to plan now. Voting will occur online and at the door in an approximate period from May 1 to the end of June. Eligible voters will live in North Leaside households and be 18 or older. Some 3,000 people will be permitted to vote with at least half of those actually doing so for the vote to be valid. Of these, 60 percent would have to agree to the closures for the pilot to proceed. Further hurdles may await at Community Council with caveats about traffic obstruction which such closures might cause elsewhere. The pilot, if approved, would last nine to 12 months.
More nimby-ism in Leaside. Residents on select streets are basically saying roads belong to them and not anyone else in Toronto (nor anyone else in Leaside) who needs to use them. As Torontians we have all contributed to a tax base to build and maintain streets for the betterment of all. Now people living on certain streets want to selfishly block off traffic and force traffic flow upon others. This is short term term thinking, not beneficial for the community. If every community within Toronto did this, streets would be blocked off everywhere creating more gridlock, inconvenience and more car emissions.