Owning enormous debt makes people behave in strange ways. It seems Ontario’s nearly $300 billion public burden has prompted the Liberals to throw out previously sacred principles in favour of wangling a couple of dollars in road tolls. So it is that HOV (or high occupany) gospel is being re-written to make HOT lanes (toll roads) the new holy truth of highways. It doesn’t help the air quality, but it might give Ontario some breathing room on Wall Street. It is said we will know by the end of the year exactly where the Liberal government intends to establish HOT lanes and what the fees will be for using them. But they are coming and those who can afford cars, fuel and licenses will become the new darlings of correct conduct. Phooey to those ride-for-free car-pool sillies. The transportation minister says the government will not be removing regular lanes to create HOT lanes. He dismisses concerns that the HOV lanes created for the Pan Am Games caused a 73 per cent increase in accidents compared with the same July-August period in each of the previous four years. “HOV lanes don’t cause accidents,” said Mr. Del Duca, blaming the spike in collisions on “motorists who aren’t paying attention to the conditions of the road.” Thanks for your concern minister.
No LRT rider could daydream past Cowbell station
by •
It appears Bayview Ave. is hardly worth mentioning as far as our Metrolinx station-naming brains are concerned. The LRT station at Eglinton Ave. E. and Bayview will see the name Leaside ace out Bayview, according to naming plans so far. Leaside is a historic name and will no doubt please many.
MT PLEASANT
There could be little dispute with this name for the pretty little former bank building that will be the station at this important street. The Second Cup is now gone and those who have a special appreciation of the 1920s Bank of Commerce building are hoping it doesn’t lose the graceful Palladian front door in renovations.
WHY NOT COWBELL?
Why does this important transportation junction need a boring name like Eglinton (current choice) or Yonge. Why not a local name rooted in the 19th Century? No dozy straphanger will daydream his way past Cowbell station. Just to the east of Yonge is the Salvation Army North Toronto Citadel which will be expropriated for an LRT exit. It sits on Cowbell Lane, a sweet name hearkening to the time farm kids could hear the cattle being herded home from grazing on the then non-existent Eglinton Ave.
LAIRD
Laird is certainly the safest bet for the station at this intersection It remembers one of the executives of the Canadian Northern Railway Eastern Line that created Leaside. It will be a heck of a hike to the reaches of the homes on Aerodrome Crescent because there is no station at Brentcliffe.
SUNNYBROOK PARK
This station in the valley was to be called Leslie and some will no doubt prefer that. Other stations to the east are set to be named after important institutions like the Science Centre and the Aga Khan Museum. Then there will be Wynford, Bermondsey, Wexford (which is really Victoria Park) Pharmacy, Lebovic, Golden Mile, Birchmount, Ionview and Kennedy Some people have bitterly criticized the choice of Wexford over Victoria Park. Still, Wexford places the station better on a very long street.
MISCHIEF: Thumb tack found imbedded in candy bar
by •
Parents of a child in the East York neighborhood near Eastwood Rd. and Woodbine Ave. have found a thumb tack imbedded in a Kit Kat candy bar that was handed out at one of the homes visited by children. It was found Monday, November 2, 2015, at 5 p.m., as parents were checking a Halloween loot bag. No injuries were reported. The Toronto Police Service is asking parents to be vigilant and always thoroughly check all candy received from Halloween loot bags.
Union tells teachers to do their jobs as deal is reached
by •
Ontario has reached a tentative deal with public elementary teachers, ending a work-to-rule campaign that began last spring. Most critically for parents and children, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario says it is advising its members to suspend their strike action. The settlement apparently means the government doesn’t have to follow through on its threat to dock the pay of teachers on administrative strikes. CP24
Little no-name plaza at Laird-Eglinton as good as vacant
by •
The little no-name plaza at the corner of Laird Drive and Eglinton Ave. E. is as good as vacant. Everyone is gone except Pizza Nova and they will depart Friday to open at the old Service Ontario storefront on the north side of Eglinton. The strip mall has been a neighborhood haunt and hang out for decades. Notice was given by Metrolinx for tenants to get out by October 15, 2015. Work will begin shortly on the main station for the LRT at this intersection. Over at Wiseys Pies and Bakehouse and the next door Starbucks things are even busier. The plaza held a Mac’s, Great Canadian Bagel, Second Cup, Mr. Sub and Pizza Nova.
CGS Open House this Thursday from 9.30 to 10.30 a.m.
by •
Looking for a Preschool or JK placement? Not sure about public school and considering private options? Did you know you have an excellent neighbourhood choice right under your nose? Find out why Children’s Garden School on Eglinton Ave. E. at Hanna Rd. may be a great fit for your child at their Open House this Thursday. RSVP tokscott@cgsschool.com. Visit cgsschool.com to learn more.
Ray Ratchford memorial at Original’s Sunday afternoon
by •
There will be an opportunity to remember and celebrate the life of Ray Ratchford on Sunday November 8 at Original’s Ale House in Toronto. It goes from 1 to 3 p.m. Originals is located at 1660 Bayview Ave. in Ray’s “hood”. Ray Ratchford memorial Bayview regular Ray Ratchford found dead at home.
“Congestion pricing” may be a solution posing as a miracle
by •
The Toronto Star may be your best bet to understand the published labours of something called the Ecofioscal Commission relating to congestion and tolls. The commission’s conclusion is full of hope that the answer to congestion is tolls The Ecofiscal thinkers have coined the expression “Congestion Pricing”. Okay. Tolls are certainly a solution to raising revenue. But our simplest brain process will tell us that congestion is always with us. There are ways to manage it but even Manhattan and the City of London have congestion despite high and multiple charges. Congestion Pricing may be a solution posing as a miracle. An alternate perspective is offered by some that Toronto’s congestion problem is mostly whining. Hey, just saying. On a minor note, Star writer Tess Kalinowski has fallen for the corruption of the word gridlock to describe congestion. It wouldn’t matter except there is something called gridlock and it needs a name. And you’re right Nothing really happened in this post.
City Council tackles Keewatin townhouse project Tuesday
by •
City Council will decide if these homes make way for 80 townhouses
City Council has a large agenda as it sits down tomorrow (Tuesday, November 3, 2015). It will be asked to approve or deny the plan to build 80 townhouses on Keewatin Ave in a space that now occupies 12 or so single family homes between 200 and 214 Keewatin. The project has already been turned down by North York Community Council. There are items about the use of hookah pipes at designated locations, the tax status of the Aga Khan Museum and the heritage status of the old Coca Cola offices at 42 Overlea (NY-9.26 and 27). This will be related to a decision on whether to permit the construction of a Costco store at this address.
Statement on school talks, stoppages set for today
by •
Joe Fresh baby jacket recall in button choking concern
by •
Loblaws and Joe Fresh are urging anyone who purchased this quilted baby jacket to return it for a full refund as concerns arise that the buttons can be pulled off by children. One instance of a child putting a button in his mouth has been reported. Loblaws says it is recalling all striped, Joe Fresh-branded jackets that bear the style code BBF5OT4316. The company said young children may be able to pull the buttons off and possibly choke on them. In Ontario sales have been on since September at Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore, Fortinos, Loblaws, No Frills, Your Independent Grocer, Zehrs and JoeFresh.com. CBC
All will be well — Drake is going to make us love Toronto
by •
The normally down-to-earth Marcus Gee has written a tortured column about how people who live in Toronto don’t love it but says Gee (incredibly) “one man is fixing to change all that.” The man is Aubrey Drake Graham known to many — well okay millions — as Drake. Salvation is at hand apparently. Read it if you must but remember it is hard to get into the Globe and Mail unless you ante up somehow or jigger them into text via Twitter. Twelve readers have commented at this posting and most of them seem underwhelmed by their impending deliverance. One says “ehh—no” while another snarls “I used to have a lot of respect for you, and you’re just a teenie-bopper after all. Next: How Drake invented the Internet”