The South Bayview Bulldog

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The Morning Glory Cycling Club and Gears had great success with their joint campaign to collect bicycles for the children of Thorncliffe Park. Last Sunday, September 22, 2013, at East York Town Centre members of the club distributed 110 bikes of all forms complete with a new lock, helmut and bell to happy kids who, in many cases, could only dream of ever having their own bicycle. Andrew MacEachern, chair of the bike drive, told The South Bayview Bulldog that about 25 bicycles were held back for necessary refurbishing by the Gears mechanics before being distributed over the next few weeks. Mr. MacEachern  is seen above (right) with his co-chair for the event, Barry Gordon. Inset upper left is the long line up of patient parents and kids hoping for a bike.  The club’s website has more on the story. “There truly is nothing more infectious than a child’s smile and happy face and that was found in abundance yesterday,” the club’s webmaster commented. Thanks was also expressed to Kevin Wallace and colleagues from Gears for their public spirited efforts.  

The emerging issue of increasing density in the fine family neighborhoods of South Bayview has come to the fore in Bennington Heights. The issue is also front of mind just across the ravine in Moore Park where demolition has started to replace 308 Rose Park Drive with two homes. In Bennington, a committed group of residents has started Save Our Bennington. The spur for this initiative was a spate of proposals to redevelop four properties at the east end of the neighborhood. In each case the concern of the residents is so-called densification (also called intensification) and not the simple replacement of existing homes. As the map (inset) shows, there is a proposed development on Evergreen Gardens as well as a townhouse development at the corner of Bayview Heights Drive and Evergreen.  The residents say that at 21 Evergreen the city’s committee of adjustment has granted a land severance without reference to letters of opposition from all local residents. “Two identical cookie-cutter homes have been proposed for this land – and both homes would be 10 percent taller and have a larger footprint and square footage on the property than permitted by the city zoning bylaws. If this plan proceeds, several mature trees over 40 years old would also be lost,” the group says on its website SaveBennington.com. Another town home development may be built on Bayview Heights. Densification is easily seen as a conflict-of-interest for cash-strapped bureaucrats who know the bylaws are intended to prevent such changes but approve them anyway because governments are so desperate for the taxes. The issue seems to go to the heart of not just the integrity of neighborhoods but the nature of democracy.

Beginning in 1950, it rolled from the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany and populated the roads, beaches and camping grounds of the world. The VW bus, which was really a variation of the camper, conquered the family vehicle niche and led the way for dozens of imitations. It became part of popular culture ranging from flower power hippie hangouts to family picnics. The bus resides everywhere today, including the South Leaside driveway that is home to the bat-crested Halloween model above. Actually, the bats come off after the trick or treat festival. But now the WV bus, in all its various forms, will cease production. The last model will roll off the assembly line in Brazil December 31. The company says it cannot meet new safety standards in Brazil that mandate all vehicles have air bags and antilock brakes beginning in 2014. Volkswagen Brazil says the final blue and white editions will include special additions such as vinyl upholstery. Because the VW is so durable and a large quantity have been produced over the decades, there should be plenty of the vans on the road for years to come. According to the Associated Press, VW has assembled over 10 million Volkswagen Transporter vans worldwide since first introducing the vehicle 63 years ago in Germany. Brazil alone has assembled more than 1.5 million of them. The van, a symbol of Sixties counter culture, was famously linked to everyone from Bob Dylan to the Grateful Dead, whose many fans toured with the band in their own buses.