Drivers heading northbound on Bayview Tuesday night were met with rubber-traffic-cone chaos at Eglinton. It was re-paving of all things (see video) for reasons unknown but probably necessary. Later, large parts of the corner will be excavated to create the Leaside station which will sit on this corner. Wild and crazy for sure.
The busy hard-luck corner of Moore Ave and Mt Pleasant Rd. has seen mild distress Tuesday morning as an apparent driverless car proceeded into the intersection and “got hung up on a curb” in the language of Toronto Police operations. No injuries are reported and police are on the scene. This is the intersection where homes on Mt. Pleasant are constantly in jeopardy of being hit by errant vehicles because of the high-speed traffic and narrow sidewalks and lawns.
WILD AND CRAZY BAYVIEW AND EG
TPS Ops is also reporting a minor car and bus collision at Bayview Ave.and Eglinton Ave Tuesday. This is entirely predictable at our Wild and Crazy where-do-I-go LRT intersection.
From whispers that Metrolinx (run by Premier Wynne) wants to build an office and condominium tower at Eglinton and Bayview, to the closure of the south lanes of Eglinton Ave. E., the wild and crazy intersection of Eglinton Ave E. and Bayview Ave. is living down to its hairy reputation (Wild & Crazy 1). Concerns that the provincial transit agency wants to go high at Eglinton and Bayview have been lurking for many months. Early this year Metrolinx began muttering about “recovering costs” by building up on the site of the now vacant McDonald’s, future site of the Bayview LRT station.
MUCH LARGER FOOTPRINT
Now Metrolinx has created a much larger footprint for this possible undertaking by purchasing the two four-plexes on the east side of Bayview to the immediate south of the station. Is Metrolinx going to try to build multiple storeys on the corner like Rio.Can has proposed for Sunnybrook Plaza. Metrolinx is now looking at a rectangular piece of property on Bayview Ave. that rivals the land assembled by the Brown Group on Bayview between Soudan Ave. and Hillsdale Ave. The Metrolinx property, if it is all used as a foundation for the a tower, will be a premier new address on Bayview Ave. The LRT station would be a sideshow in the basement for commuters
SUNNYBROOK STILL ACCESSIBLE AT THE EAST
Of immediate concern to motorists is the closure of the lanes on the south side of Eglinton between Mann Ave and Bessborough Ave. This information was contained in the Ward 25 newsletter of Jaye Robinson to constituents but it was also a stark reality on the road Friday. Today drivers were honking annoyed and quite cheesed as their more confused brethren took a little too long to figure out what they were supposed to do. All of this has to do with headwall construction for the LRT station. Looks like it will take most of the winter. Here’s a useful tip. Even though you can’t tell as you are eastbound on Eglinton, it is still possible to legally enter the Sunnybrook Plaza at the east end. It is tricky but doable.
Grade 1 and 2 kids at Northlea Elementary and Middle School were busy this week preparing colourful greetings for residents of the Yee Hong Centre to mark the Chinese New Year. It’s the Year of the Ox. Pictures at the upper left and right were tweeted by the centre. At centre right is the shining face of Jordan Lloyd, a hard-skating member of the Leaside Wildcats who just scored a $1,000 scholarship from the Black Girl Hockey Club. Take a look at the tribute given to this fine young role model. At lower left, we see that wild and crazy senior police officer Dave Rydzik, Superintendent of 43 Division. Watch the hilarious ice-water video of Dave polar plunging for the Special Olympics. What a guy. Lastly in this gallery, some very pretty lights installed the Leslieville BIA.
Members of the Leaside Chit Chat page have posted pictures and compared notes on Thursday’s lightning-like rainstorm between about 2 and 3 p.m. Susan Ferguson posted pictures of the inundation in the SmartCentre parking lot. There’s no drainage it seems. Sandra Creighton noted that the wild and crazy LRT corner of Bayview Ave. and Eglinton Ave. E was well-flooded as well. And indeed, the rain was torrential for nearly half an hour and quite a surprise it seems to forecasters. No thunder was noted throughout the rain storm as recorded in the south end of Leaside and in Bennington Heights/Moore Park. But the rain was selective. Paddy Duncan says she was downtown at an appointment where there wasn’t much more than a sprinkle. Leaside Chit Chat
Photo Susan Ferguson via Facebook
It may be hard to imagine that anyone other than Sleep Country and The Brick are selling mattresses at retail these days but now here comes CT Canada Mattress to take the empty corner store (formerly Mac’s) in the Sunnybrook Plaza The RioCan owned strip mall can use tenants. Across the street at the wild and crazy intersection of Eglinton Ave. E. and Bayview Ave the demolition of the McDonald’s continues. It is taking a while because that place was built from a lot of poured concrete.
Nicole DiCarlo
Nicole DiCarlo is sunshine and light as she reports from the wild and crazy corner of Bayview and Eglinton about the demolition of the McDonald’s. Nicole is the Crosstown Team Lead for Community Relations at the Metrolinx office in the remnants of Sunnybrook Plaza while demolition work is taking place to make way for the future Leaside Station. Hey Nicole. YouTube Tearing up the McDonald’s at Bayview and Eglinton
We’re absolutely seeing the Leaside High spirit as grads, undergrads and spirited friends meet at Talbot Park for the school’s Football Homecoming Games on Friday, October 17, 2014. The saucy picture at left was tweeted by DashaUstinova. At right, Mike Bradwell gets picture taken with wild and crazy lancer mascot. Leaside faces the formidable Downsview Mustangs. Next Thursday (October 23, 2014) Northern Secondary School goes up against the Mustangs. And sadly, as we see in the Mustang tweet below late Friday, the hard-fought game went to Downview 19-13.
There’s renewed evidence this week that Metrolinx intends to sell off lands on the southeast corner of Eglinton Ave and Bayview Ave for the construction of a high-rise building along Bayview. This concern was flagged as early as 2015. The project would presumably rise over the new “Leaside” LRT station and on the quadruplex properties to the south. The Leaside Residents Association released information Tuesday that eviction notices have been sent to the residents of 1783-1785 Bayview, the northernmost of the ten quadruplexes on Bayview between Eglinton and Parkhurst (“Talbot Quads”). Metrolinx owns this property. It notes:
Thousands of happy warriors clad in pink marched through South Bayview today on their way to Downsview Park. It was the wild crazy and joyful Weekend to End Women’s Cancer, a fundraiser for Princess Margaret Hospital’s cancer wing. A South Bayview Bulldog correspondent grabbed some pictures as he was treated to this wonderful sight at Moore Ave and Mt. Pleasant Rd while the marchers made their way east. The two-day, 60-kilometre walk kicked off at the Direct Energy Centre. At Downsview Park tonight they’ll see performances from Glass Tiger, Disco Nation and Michael Burgess before heading back downtown on Sunday morning. The walk raises money for the Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute at Princess Margaret, including cancer awareness, treatment and prevention. Above, in the main picture pink plastic poncho paraders say hello. Inset left, you’ve got to love this lady’s headgear. Inset right, these two must be part of the 1 percent. They were in a pink stretch limo. Love you all.
