South Bayview Bulldog Admin

Resident concerned for pedestrians at Bayview and Soudan

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Screeching tires and sirens can be heard from inside Mr. Smith’s home.

South Bayview resident, Ian Smith, is sick and tired of seeing collisions and injuries near his home at the intersection of Bayview & Soudan Aves. (Parkhurst to the east).  For the last two years he has noticed a steady increase in traffic mishaps in this location and believes that the LRT construction may have something to do with it.  With many drivers avoiding the chaos of Eglinton, they are choosing to frequent side streets, causing traffic issues that may not have existed a few years ago.

Mr. Smith has contacted Mark Saunders, Chief of Police, Toronto Police Service and local Councillors Burnside and Matlow (who share this intersection).  He wants to see this intersection become safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

Dear Chief Saunders,

I am a resident living steps away from the intersection of Bayview Ave. and Soudan Ave.

This intersection has a PXO crosswalk installed and has four lanes of traffic on Bayview and two lanes on the Soudan/Parkhurst cross street. The four lanes of Bayview have the PXO crosswalk.

This letter is to request a traffic survey to ascertain if an adult crossing guard is warranted in this location. Alternately, are there are any other tools at your disposal to improve the safety of this dangerous intersection.

I have contacted City Councillors Burnside and Matlow regarding this matter, and my city Councillor Josh Matlow gave me his full support to make this application. I have also spoken with Sgt Matt Moyer at 53 Division about this issue and possible solutions.

Last month we had a meeting on site which included the Councillors and city staff along with a police officer and concerned residents. The meeting was called due to the increase in traffic caused by the LRT and condo construction diverting traffic to the adjacent residential streets. This increase in traffic has brought with it the frequent collisions we are seeing as traffic tries to cross four lanes of traffic at Bayview, during rush hour it is quite hectic and dangerous to cross the street. The police data itself shows a high risk intersection with almost a hundred collisions a year and around a dozen personal injuries each year based on the month of January data.

This is a residential neighbourhood heavy with pedestrian traffic from schools nearby, I am concerned that the intersection controls as they stand today do not perform their intended purpose any longer. A traffic review and the needed improvements are required in the short term to address this new reality.

Thank you for your consideration,

Regards,
Ian G. Smith

We commend Mr. Smith for being pro-active on this issue. If you live in the area, please contact your Councillor and request something be done to increase safety on South Bayview.

Bayview handyman Peter (“Pie”) Vryssaotis dead at age 59

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Peter (Pie) Vryssaotis Jr.

Peter (Pie) Vryssaotis Jr. passed away at the age of 59 on Saturday, December 12, 2015.  Mr. Vyrssaotis was well known to friends, residents and merchants along South Bayview Ave. where he was employed for many years as a handyman at a number of businesses including the Bagel House at 1548 Bayview.  Pie was the sole caregiver to his 93-year-old father with whom he lived.  A sister to Mr. Vryssaotis is arriving from Greece to attend to the family’s affairs.  Visitation will be held on Friday, December 18, 2015 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Trull Funeral Home Danforth Chapel.  Funeral Mass is scheduled for Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 10 am at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 30 Thorncliffe Park Dr.. More here.

CGS Kids with CP24’s Stephen LeDrew talk “giving back”

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Students from Children’s Garden School had a very exciting day yesterday. They presented their toy donations to the CP 24 CHUM Christmas Wish live on camera with Stephen LeDrew, host of Live at Noon. The visit to the set has become a pre-Christmas CGS tradition. This is their fourth year running. Marie Bates, Principal of the school, took a few moments to explain to Stephen how the toys are collected. Every year CGS staff hosts The Holiday Outreach ‘Night Out’ for parents. Parents bring an unwrapped toy and drop off their children at school for a fun Friday night with their friends and teachers. CGS staff is very happy to give back at this time of year and share the spirit of giving with their students. The children were very proud to donate the toys they collected.

Dress code case at Biermarket regarding women servers

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This type of case is not unknown and almost always results in the employer backing off. It remains true however that for whatever reason, and there may be a number, some women servers wear revealing dress. Workers are Jack Astors and other restaurants frequently wear dress that is revealing although not perhaps provocative. It really is a woman’s right to say yes or no

Dancing for the blind dazzles at CNIB on Bayview Ave.

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Professional dancers Tatiana Mollmann & Jordan Frisbee (California), Larissa Thayane & Kadu Pires (Brisbane, Australia)

The first weekend of October was very special for attendees of a unique event held at the CNIB on Bayview Avenue, just north of Glenvale.  Organizers brought international champions in West Coast Swing and Brazilian Zouk to Toronto for a weekend of workshops, competitions and social dancing.  As dazzling as that sounds, the highlight of the weekend for most, was the gala presentation of a production called “See Inside Me”.  The pros danced right along side a group of blind and partially sighted individuals from the CNIB.  The production featured emotional dance numbers and a narration illustrating the daily struggles a young girl went through as she slowly lost her eyesight.  As the title suggests, she wanted the world to see past her blindness to the person within.  The weekend was coordinated by dZouk Productions, the pioneer dance force for bringing Brazilian Zouk on stage in Canada, under the direction of founder and artistic director Darius Zi.  Proceeds from the weekend will help fund future dance classes for more blind and partially sighted individuals to learn and experience the joy of dance.  See video below for a clip of Brazilian Zouk being enjoyed on a social dance floor at this year’s Vision Dance Encounter.

https://youtu.be/u8xLVM9-MfI

For more information about dZouk Productions, visit their website.

Elaborate “homeless” hoax on Bayview residents, merchants

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The filmmaker Skin and Bones has executed an elaborate hoax on area residents and Bayview Ave. merchants in which it purported to be an unknown private charity called the Jefferson Shelter. Notices outside the boarded up front of 1591 Bayview (most recently Sleep Country) said a 62-bed shelter would soon open at the location. Employees of the film company posing as workers of Jefferson, said that, yes, this was the plan. One of them, Angie, agreed with a suggestion that it would be necessary to bus the homeless to Bayview in order to find anyone to sleep in the beds. Skin and Bones will make a commercial at the site for the charity Raising the Roof. It appears that certain merchants may have been in on the hoax. But for large numbers of people it was a shocking development. The “Jefferson” outline said there would be three volunteer workers to look after the homeless. This astounding assertion caused some women to say they would not be walking alone at night on Bayview Ave.

Hurricane Joaquin expected to track east and out to sea

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Tracking through the warm ocean waters of the Bahamas, Hurricane Joaquin exploded in intensity while becoming a dangerous Category 4 storm Thursday. But, at the same time, the forecast track for Joaquin shifted markedly east and it is now very likely the storm will remain out to sea rather than slamming into the East Coast. While Joaquin may remain offshore, parts of the East Coast remain at risk for flooding from a predecessor surge of moisture streaming up the eastern seaboard Friday into Saturday.