The South Bayview Bulldog

The City department with perhaps the grandest sounding name — Parks and Urban Forestry — cut down a funny looking old maple tree on Tanager Ave. midway between Glenvale Blvd and Broadway Ave. Monday (September 14, 2015). Upper left, the orange dot in spray paint on the trunk is the kiss of death for a tree. Upper right, bucket man strains to sever a large limb. The branch is tethered to a truck crane so it won’t fall on anyone. Lower left, the branch slowly descends and right, chipper in the driveway eats the big limb whole. Wow.

Members of the new Bayview Leaside BIA (South Bayview) have taken a laudable first step in announcing a cleanup day for  Saturday, October 3,  2015. There is nothing more admirable than an organization that puts a clean and tidy street at the top of the agenda — and which encourages its members to do the job personally. In a larger sense, it will be the commitment of members to do the work themselves that will make this new BIA work. Leave the cash in the till. Members of the public are also invited to join the Fall Sweep the Streets event starting at the corner of Bayview and Millwood Rd. from 9 a.m. to noon. It is, as the poster cunningly says, a BYOB affair. Make it a vintage bristle broom however not Chianti. Those wishing more information may write to bayviewleasidebia@gmail.com

Motorists may see changes to the speed limit on selected streets west of Bayview Ave as early as this week. Josh Matlow (Ward 22) says he has been told by City staff that 40 km/h signs could come down that early and be replaced the same day by 30 km/h signs. As readers may recall, Toronto and East York Community Council voted for this change earlier this year. The council controls several wards (including Ward 22) in central Toronto and the former East York. The change does not apply to Leaside area which is in the jurisdiction of North York Community Council. The change is predicated largely on the science which says that there is a much higher chance of survival for those hit by cars travelling at the lower rate of speed. Mr. Matlow says the Medical Officer of Health has made a recommendation to lower speeds.

WHAT’S A COLLECTOR?

Another issue will be what streets remain at 40 km/h It is a reasonable guess that streets like Moore Ave between Welland and Bayview (and a dividing line between Ward 22 and Ward 26) will remain at 40. Roads like Merton, Millwood, Manor, Davisville, Forman and Cleveland could be the same. Arterials and collectors are said to be exempted but the layman’s knowledge may be tested in this regard.  It is of interest that Jon Burnside (Ward 26) has said that he will support any motion at North York Council to similarly lower the speed limit in Leaside and other parts of the area. As early as this week however the changes between wards may challenge drivers as they move between streets in Leaside (40 km/h and Davisville Village (30 km/h) just by crossing Bayview.

Opinion is now nearly evenly divided on the question of whether Toronto should bid for the 2024 Olympics. Mainstreet Technologies says its poling information shows about 50 percent of people support a bid and 47 percent oppose it. This is a large correction from previous polls that showed support as high as 60 percent. The public has been pummelled with independent opinion that a bid is a bad idea.

AP

Sport Chek in the Leaside Smart Centre had one of their Shop With A Pro events Sunday. Former NHLers (and former Leafs) Shayne Corson and Bryan Berard brought a shine to the eyes of these Leaside kids.

Two California wildfires — one north of San Francisco and the other south of Sacramento — cover over 100,000 acres and have forced nearly 6,000 people to evacuate their homes. On Sunday, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Lake and Napa counties due to how fast the fire in Lake County, Calif., was spreading. The fire, in an area north of San Francisco, started on Saturday afternoon and now covers over 40,000 acres. It has forced over 3,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to Cal Fire. ABC News in San Francisco reports that the fire originally covered 50 acres but it grew to over 40,000 acres within 12 hours.

See later post

St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church barbecue was well attended today (Sunday, September 13, 2015) with Lamb Hall full of parishioners and visitors. Activity spilled onto the green. A visitor was Josh Matlow (Ward 22)  with his daughter Molly. She built box castles to the delight of St. Cuthbert’s Family Ministry Co-ordinator Brenda O’Connor (centre).

Telegraph