The South Bayview Bulldog

The mayor was boosting the Leading Pedestrian Interval signals Friday. That’s the system that signals those on foot to get out in the crosswalk before cars that might be turning into their path. It is explained quite well in the first video from Stamford, Conn. The delay there is seven seconds but in Toronto the talk is of a five-second lead. Then, a desperate measure from Aeorplan to stay in business after being dropped by Air Canada. See what you think. Below that, a man has been rescued from a trench collapse in Etobicoke and the Raptors have apologized to DeMar DeRozan.

Leafs vs Scarborough/GLCanadians Invitational

Davisvile PS open house

150 Grenoble Drive

East York Red Currents/Not Far From The Tree

Opening Tuesday

Upper left, Leaside Leafs hurler is seen helping his team to defeat Scarborough 8 to 5 Friday in St. Marys down by Stratford at the Great Lakes (GL) Canadians Invitational Baseball Tournamen. Stay tuned. Upper right, Saturday sees the nostalgia open house at Davisville Public School starting at 9 a.m. It is a last chance to root around the old barn and meet friends before demolition begins Monday, August 20.  Saturday is also set for the Healthy Kids Fun Fair at 150 Grenoble Drive in Flemingdon Park. Be there. Centre right are some delectable looking red currents grown in East York. This great picture was tweeted by Not Far From The Tree@NFFTT. Thanks guys. Finally, they are readying things on Overlea Blvd for the opening day of the new Costco store Tuesday morning.

It appears that Internet supported food delivery services are inspiring the idea that so-called ghost kitchens (places that are unadvertised and private) can become big business on the back of some other company’s name. Maybe. Or maybe they’ll just be ghost businesses. National Post

Ghostly

The vote by North Leaside residents on a proposal to close access to the neighbourhood from the west has failed to support this concept. Councillor Jon Burnside announces in his newsletter Friday that of the 65.8 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, 46.9 percent voted in favour of the proposal (that is, 53.1 percent of voters opposed the scheme).  Burnside writes Friday. “The recent formal vote had a 65.8 percent voter turnout but only 46.9 percent were in favour, so the proposal failed. Subsequently, I will not be proceeding any further with this proposed traffic calming solution. Here are the facts and figures: There was a total of 3,017 electors. This number reflects the most up to date voters’ list (2,843) and an additional 174 individuals who were not captured on the list (moved into neighbourhood, became of age etc.). A total of 362 ballots were deemed “questionable” for a variety of reasons; some of these were allowed (196 ballots) while others were spoiled (166 ballots). In determining which ballots were spoiled and which were valid, I kept in mind that the ultimate goal of the NLTC poll was to measure opinion (while maintaining integrity of the process). In deciding “questionable” ballots as valid, my office crosschecked submitted votes with City Clerk’s database of registered voters. Of the 362 ballots, 123 were in favour of the proposal while 239 were opposed. However, irrespective of the decisions made, there is no combination of choices regarding those 362 “questionable” ballots which would have resulted in a different outcome.” Ward 26.ca

Street car track replacement will close the full intersection of Broadview Avenue at Gerrard Street East beginning Tuesday. The closure will last to September. Pity the businesses. The City recommends detours along Eastern Ave. and Dundas St. or Danforth Ave.. Road users travelling north-south can use Parliament Street, River Street, Logan Avenue or Carlaw Avenue. Local traffic will only be permitted on streets within the north-south boundaries of Danforth Avenue to Dundas Street East, and east-west boundaries of Logan Avenue to Blackburn Street. Aren’t streetcars wonderful?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, left to right, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball chat as they wait for the official photo at the meeting of Canadian premiers in St. Andrews, New Brunswick/Andrew Vaughan Canadian Press

Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod, New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball, Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq, Yukon Premier Sandy Silver, British Columbia Premier John Horgan, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prince Edward Island Premier Wade MacLauchlan, left to right, pose for an official photo on the lawn of the Algonquin Resort as the Canadian premiers meet in St. Andrews, New Brunswick/Andrew Vaughan The Canadian Press

Canada’s premiers concluded their two-day meeting in New Brunswick on a spirited note — so to speak — by agreeing to double the amount of beer and alcohol that can be taken across provincial and territorial borders. The deal will see a large increase in the personal limits for alcohol and beer in provinces such as New Brunswick, while others like Alberta and Manitoba currently have no limits. The final communique will also include agreements in agriculture, transportation and occupational health and safety. As seen above, the sunny seaside town of St. Andrews was the scene of the meeting. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that his province will intervene in Saskatchewan’s court challenge of Ottawa’s carbon tax plan. Ford also later joined Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister in calling for more help from the federal government in dealing with asylum seekers who cross their borders. All three premiers want Ottawa to review the current access and they called for compensation for the “impacts to services resulting from the increase in non-point of entry border crossings.”

The third of four Lawn Summer Night evenings was held Thursday at the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club. The charity to aid research into Cystic Fibrosis changed it up a bit this evening with a departure from madcap themed costumes to white dress suitable to the lawn game. De La Mer (on Bayview and elsewhere) donated a load of blue point oysters. Yum. The crazy team names happily carry on. Tonight the fierce competition pits teams like The Pork Tenderlawns, WimBowlDon, Real Bowlwives of Leaside, Guacabowlies and Adorabowl against all comers. The parent sponsor of Lawn Summer Night is KPMG Canada. Next Lawn Summer Night is July 26.

Three vehicles collide at Mt. Pleasant and Merton

This driver walked away

Traffic blocked at Belsize, St. Clair

Someone misjudged traffic lights

Three vehicles collided at Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Merton St. Thursday injuring at least one driver and snarling traffic in the neighborhood. It was widely believed at the scene that a southbound car and a car heading east on Merton hit each other. It seems somebody misjudged or ignored traffic lights. The southbound car, a Ford, then struck a northbound pickup truck and flipped onto its side. Witnesses said the driver of the car on Merton was being treated in the ambulance seen in photos above. The driver of the flipped car, once out, walked into the residential building on the southwest corner and rested courtesy of someone there. Traffic was diverted on Mt. Pleasant at Belsize and St. Clair. The knock-on effect of this, as it always is, was very heavy traffic on Welland, Moore and Bayview Aves. as drivers looked for another route.

Traffic action at the quiet corner of Health St. E. and Welland Ave.

A growing Facebook thread Thursday discusses the long-standing issue of bicycles on the sidewalk. The range of opinions about why it’s right or wrong for bikes to be on the sidewalk is well-known. It is against City legislation for bicycles to be ridden on sidewalks. We hear again how they threaten pedestrians and are hard for motorists to see when a rider unexpectedly appears from a driveway ramp or at a corner. Alternatively, some argue the roads are dangerous and the only safe place for a cyclist, especially a child, is on the sidewalk.

Astonishing video released by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows a woman cyclist coming home from July 4 fireworks and trying to somehow cross the Racine Street Lift Bridge in the Town of Menasha while it’s going up. Yeah. What was she thinking? She falls into the gap seen just in front of her in the photo. The woman, 37, would quite likely have died had the bridge operator not been watching and stopped the motors. The video shows as many as eight people coming to her help or calling for assistance. She suffered face injuries. Some cite a cycling phenomenon sometimes called forward motion compulsion. Cyclists can’t stop even though they know they should. It seems to be a function of the necessity to move in order to stay upright.

Overnight Thursday to Friday will see traffic on Eglinton Ave. west of Mt Pleasant Rd. over to Browlow Ave. reduced to one lane of alternating traffic. Work is set to begin Thursday July 19 at 8 p.m. and finish by 6 a.m. Friday. But there are no gurantees. Crews will be performing repair work to an underground sanitary sewer connection in the vicinity. Due to the location of this work in the westbound lane of Eglinton Ave E, traffic on Eglinton must be reduced to one shared lane, alternating traffic in each direction, between Mt Pleasant Rd. and Brownlow Ave. Crosstown release