City Council votes on new deal for Toronto

Friends,

Yesterday, Toronto City Council unanimously adopted recommendations to implement the Ontario-Toronto New Deal, an historic agreement that will have a strong positive effect on the City of Toronto's finances. The recommendations approved by Council were part of the “Ontario-Toronto New Deal Agreement” staff report.

My comments at Council are available here .

The new deal at its core is $1.23 billion in operating support from the province over three years and $3.04 billion in capital support over ten years. Capital support includes relief of costs via the City uploading the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway to the province which will have impacts beyond ten years.

The new deal reaffirms the City's and the Province's commitments around housing, transit and the sustainability of the City's long term financial plan.

A part of the deal, however, is contingent on the Government of Canada partnering with the City of Toronto and Province of Ontario on these priorities, as a significant portion of the financial support from the Province (the operating funding for shelters and capital funding for 55 new subway trains) is conditional on federal support being provided.

To ensure that we can bring all orders of governments to the table and work towards better services and supports for Torontonians, I encourage you to reach out to your Member of Parliament and urge them to make this commitment.

Both the operating and capital supports will have immediate impacts on our ongoing Budget discussions for the 2024 City Budget and beyond.

I'd like to note that Budget Consultations were held from November 1st to 30th, to gather feedback on the public's priorities for the City's 2024 Budget.

A report on the results of these online and in-person consultations will be posted in January. There will be additional opportunities for members of the public to share feedback both online and in-person to help shape how our City can build a safe, caring and affordable city where everyone belongs. The first budget committee meeting will be held on January 10, 2024.

You can learn more about how to get involved in the Budget here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/budget-finances/city-budget/how-to-get-involved-in-the-budget/

Sincerely,

Gord

- Update on 1437-1455 Development Application

- Dufferin Street Bridge One Day Closure

- Bloor West Complete Street and Bike Lanes Extension Update

- Parkdale Community Food Bank's "Feast 4 Parkdale" fundraiser

- Interim Rate increase for Solid Waste and Toronto Water

 

Update on 1437-1455 Development Application

The applicant of 1437-1455 Queen Street West has recently appealed their Development Application to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

The application proposes to demolish the existing buildings and construct a new 12-storey mixed use building containing 249 dwelling units.

A Community Consultation meeting to review the application was held virtually on October 10, 2023.

Detailed Information submitted to the City by the applicant is available for your review under 'supporting Documents' on the City's webpage at:

https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/application-details/?id=5269879&pid=155751 .

The City Clerk's Office received the appeal notice on November 28, 2023 and has instructed staff to prepare the municipal record for the OLT. The applicant team will be instructed by the OLT to provide further notice to the community regarding participation opportunities and future case management meetings. Nothing has been scheduled to date.

City Planning staff will begin preparing a Request for Directions report which will go to Toronto and East York Community Council in the next few months.

My office will share the Request for Directions Report and any new information on this address as it becomes available.


Dufferin Street Bridge One Day Closure

The work on the bridge has been completed, and both north and southbound lanes of Dufferin Street are now reopened to vehicular traffic. However, as previously communicated, the Dufferin Street Bridge will need to undergo a one day closure in order to install a permanent south median energy attenuator. The closure will occur in the early morning of Friday, December 15 and the bridge is expected to re-open later in the evening.

We appreciate your understanding and patience throughout this project.


Bloor West Complete Street and Bike Lanes Extension Update #14

This email is to provide an update on phase 1 of the installation of the Bloor Street West Complete Street and Bike Lanes Extension from Runnymede Road to Aberfoyle Crescent. Installation of phase 1 began the week of September 11, 2023. Initial installation is planned for completion in December 2023, with upgrades planned for 2024 and beyond.  

This will be the last email update for the remainder of 2023. Regular installation updates will resume in Spring 2024 once phase 1 upgrades and phase 2 initial installation are planned to begin; however, sporadic updates may occur throughout the winter if work is scheduled.  

Work scheduled for the rest of December 2023

  • Ongoing signage installation and adjustments along the corridor.
  • Installation of platforms at bus stops, accessible loading and commercial loading zones.
  • Installation of barriers and curbs near newly added platforms.

Work will take place both during the day and at night and is scheduled to avoid conflicts with other construction in the roadway. The work scheduled is dependent on weather conditions. 


Feast 4 Parkdale: Celebrating the diversity of our community

Join the Feast 4 Parkdale event and support a local food bank - Parkdale Community Food Bank by creating your own fundraising page. As you rally your friends, family, and community to support your fundraising efforts, you're not just contributing to the cause; you're creating a tapestry of cultural exchange and understanding. Every dollar raised goes towards ensuring that the Parkdale Community Food Bank can provide more diverse holiday food offerings to those that they serve.
More information on this event is available here

Interim rate increase for Solid Waste Management Services and Toronto Water next year

Toronto City Council approved a planned three per cent interim increase in rates and fees for Solid Waste Management Services and Toronto Water. This will maintain current service levels, provide adequate funds for future capital needs and will help avoid a more significant increase when the budget is approved.

The interim rates and fees will take effect Monday, January 1, 2024, and final rates will be approved in the 2024 Budget, which will launch on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

Solid Waste Management Services
Households are charged for waste collection services according to the size of their garbage bins. In 2024, factoring in the three per cent increase, the yearly solid waste fee for a single-family household will amount to $295.29 for a small bin (an increase of $8.60), $358.47 for a medium bin (an increase of $10.44), $486.86 for a large bin (an increase of $14.18) and $564.71 for an extra-large bin (an increase of $16.45).

In addition to residential garbage collection, Solid Waste Management Services fees fund the collection and processing of yard waste, organics, oversized and metal items, household hazardous waste and electronics. These fees also provide support for city-wide litter collection, Community Environment Days, street and park bin collection, drop-off depots and the ongoing maintenance of closed landfills.

Toronto Water
For the average Toronto household using 230 cubic metres of water per year, the interim rate will cost an additional $30 annually (eight cents a day) for a total of $1,039 in 2024.

Toronto Water provides safe drinking water, wastewater collection and treatment and stormwater management services while investing in the construction and revitalization of infrastructure to address challenges posed by growth, aging assets and the effects of climate change.

Rate-supported operating and capital budgets for Solid Waste Management Services and Toronto Water – including final rates and fees – will be considered as part of the 2024 Budget process.

 

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2025 Staff-Prepared City Budget Highlights

Friends,

On Monday January 13th, the City of Toronto launched the 2025 Budget process with a staff-prepared budget that protects and invests in our City’s core services based on feedback gathered during Fall 2024 consultations with Toronto residents.

I am pleased to see a number of new and enhanced initiatives included in the 2025 staff-prepared budget that advance our goals of making Toronto a more affordable, connected, and safe city for all. Key investments include:

Making life more affordable:

  • Feed 8,000 more students through school food programs
  • CampTO food program to support over 31,000 youth

Getting Toronto moving

  • Increase transit service hours by 5.8 per cent (approximately half a million hours) 
  • Expand to 100 Traffic Agents to address blocked intersections, improve travel times in key corridors and decrease collision

Providing community services

  • Expand Sunday service hours for 70 Toronto Public Libraries
  • Increase access to cultural initiatives including local arts, festivals and events

Keeping people safe

  • Add 276 more Emergency Services positions (fire, police and paramedics) 
  • Expand road safety programs

Staff presentations on the 2025 staff-prepared budget are available at www.toronto.ca/budget. I encourage you learn about the various opportunities to get involved in the budget process, which includes opportunities to speak directly to the Budget Committee and submitting written feedback here.

I will also be hosting a ‘City Budget 2025 Virtual Town Hall’ on Monday, January 20th at 6pm, where we will review the proposed 2025 budget, discuss its investments and impacts on city services, and walk through the City’s budget process together.  To join the virtual meeting, please use this link: gordperks.ca/2025budget

Looking forward to seeing you there,


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • CampTO Summer Programs List
  • Winterlicious returns Jan 31 - Feb 13
  • Nominations now open: Toronto Community Champion Award 🏆 

Ward 4 Updates

  • Masaryk-Cowan Presents: Community Youth Nights

2024 highlights and holiday wishes

Friends,

2024 has been a transformative year for our city.

As Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, I have had the pleasure of supporting the tireless work of community activists and City staff in advancing real solutions to the housing crisis we have been witnessing.

In 2024, to name a few successes, we established the Renovictions Bylaw to deter bad-faith evictions, launched an industry-supported incentive program that facilitates the development of 20,000 new rental homes, expanded permissions for townhouses and small-scale apartment buildings along major streets city-wide, and initiated steps to address excessive indoor temperatures due to the effects of climate change.

I am most proud of our work at rebuilding the City’s capacity as a Public Builder that leads the delivery of affordable housing options. Through establishing a Housing Development Office at the City, we have transformed the City from an entity that is frustrated and unable to move on affordable housing to quite possibly the biggest developer of affordable housing in the country.

In the last 15 months we have gone from zero to 13 affordable construction projects currently under construction, including the 11 Brock site in our ward, and dozens more projects with shovels in the ground next year. We are proving that when we choose to face our most pressing issues head-on, we can respond with quick and effective actions.

This week, as part of Council Mid-term Member Appointments, I was honoured to be asked to continue in my role as Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee for the remainder of this Council term.

As we celebrate the holiday season, I look forward to continuing to work together in 2025 to advance the realization of housing as a human right in Toronto.

Sincerely,


2024 Highlights

Dunn House

Dunn House (90 Dunn Ave), Canada’s first ever social medicine supportive housing initiative, opened in October. The four-storey modular housing building includes 51 new, rent-geared-to-income and supportive homes for people who were experiencing homelessness and who were also frequent users of UHN’s emergency department. The new homes will be furnished studio apartments with a bathroom and kitchen. The building will include amenities such as shared laundry, a commercial kitchen, a dining area, a communal area and programming space. They will also benefit from wrap-around social and health services provided by Fred Victor and UHN aimed at improving their well-being and housing stability.  Dunn House has been supported by all orders of government and non-profit housing partners, with continued engagement with the local community.

11 Brock Ave

Earlier this week, the City broke ground on the construction of 11 Brock Ave, the first of five ‘housing ready’ sites to be developed under the Public Developer Model. The planned four-storey building will provide 42 homes with supports to maintain people’s health, wellbeing, and housing stability. The new homes will be private apartments with a bathroom and a kitchen. The building will also include amenities such as shared laundry, a commercial kitchen and programming spaces for residents. The City has partnered with Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC) as the community housing provider. PARC operates supportive homes in Toronto for adults experiencing mental health and substance use challenges, many with a history of homelessness. PARC and our office will continue to engage with the local Parkdale community on the development of this site. This work is possible due to intergovernmental partnership. In 2023, the project received $21.6 million through the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative. Beginning in 2025, annual operating funding of at least $1.2 million is required from the Province of Ontario for the support services planned for this building.

Traffic Calming Policy & Vision Zero Road Safety

There has been an update on the Vision Zero Road Safety Initiatives and Traffic Calming Policy. The updated Traffic Calming Policy was adopted by City Council in November 2023, and began applying to Community Council Reports starting January 2024. The warrants for Traffic Calming on a residential street are now based on the posted speed limit instead of the standard 40 km/h. This should help local streets in need of additional calming measures. As part of Vision Zero safety initiatives, the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) camera is designed to deter speeding motorists and increase safety for vulnerable road users. In Q1 of 2025, Ward 4 will receive two additional cameras as part of the ASE program expansion; the locations are Jameson Avenue South of Laxton Avenue and Jane Street near Page Avenue.

West Parkdale Cycling Connections

In Fall 2024 the City completed installation of the West Parkdale Cycling Connection. This project addresses a previous gap in our cycling network by providing a connection between The Queensway and Brock Avenue. In addition to the installation of the bike lanes the project included one way street conversions, changes to one way street directions, changes to on street parking, new stop signs, intersection improvements and traffic calming speed humps. A new traffic light signal will be installed in 2025 at Roncesvalles Avenue and Galley Avenue. Over the next 6 to 12 months, City staff will continue to monitor traffic counts and collect feedback from the community.

Parkside Drive

Parkside Drive’s current road configuration encourages motorists to travel at high speeds. In November City Council endorsed, in principle, to advance detailed design of the road safety changes identified in the Parkside Drive Study, which includes bike lanes and intersection safety improvements. The road reconfigurations aim to improve safety for all road users and upgrade Parkside Drive to accommodate multi-modal travel options. Council also approved as part of the Parkside Drive Study City staff recommendations for the installation of speed humps on five adjacent streets to Parkside Drive which satisfy the updated Traffic Calming Policy warrants.

High Park Movement Strategy

Improvements as part of the High Park Movement Strategy (HPMS) continue to be advanced in High Park. New pick-up/drop-off spaces at key destinations on Colborne Lodge Drive between the Grenadier Cafe and Bloor Street West were added, and TTC 203 High Park Route operated seasonal service this summer with an expanded route that was run via Keele Station, providing a transfer-free accessible connection between High Park and Line 2. The High Park Movement Strategy includes the implementation of a shuttle service to help visitors get around High Park all year long. The City of Toronto has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the provision of this shuttle service, which will help visitors get around key locations within High Park. The City has also partnered with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to undertake a road ecology study within High Park to better understand existing conditions, potential risk factors to wildlife, and possible mitigation measures.

Sunnyside Beach Shoreline Resiliency Project

The Sunnyside Beach Shoreline Resiliency Project is one of 36 locations where work is being undertaken to rehabilitate and increase resiliency along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Periods of high lake water levels, coupled with increased frequency and severity of storms have put pressure on the existing erosion control measures in place along Lake Ontario’s shoreline and the City must deliver proactive solutions to address this. This project is carried out through the Federal government’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF). The mandate of this work, under this funding structure, is to address the impacts of flooding and erosion by repairing, remediating, and enhancing the resilience of Toronto's waterfront shoreline. As part of these mitigation efforts, three seat walls in different locations have been installed as a protective barrier against high lake water effects. The City installed new sand to restore the sand quality at Sunnyside Beach following completion of the Shoreline Resiliency Project.


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • Vacant Home Tax 2024 Declaration
  • New Year's Skating Parties
  • City of Toronto Consultation: Growing Space for Trees & Infill Housing
  • Planning for the Holiday Season in Toronto
  • Toronto Parking Authority Rate Change Communication

Ward 4 Updates

  • Developments
    • *New Date* Committee of Adjustment Application, 1375 Queen St W
    • Update on 2453-2469 Bloor Street West: Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing - Request for Directions
    • An Update on 2461-2475 Dundas St W - Zoning By-law Amendment and Rental Housing Demolition & Conversion

Increasing Shelter Infrastructure and Our Public Developer Capacity

Friends,

I am encouraged by the progress announced this week on the City’s Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy (HSCIS). The City unveiled the first six shelter sites that are being developed as part of this 10-year strategy and has expanded winter services for people experiencing homelessness.

The City is currently providing emergency accommodations to approximately 12,000 people. These shelter spaces enable our unhoused neighbours to have a roof over their heads while accessing services that help them transition to permanent housing. In 2023, more than 5,900 people experiencing homelessness moved from the shelter system into permanent housing.

Although the City is providing shelter to thousands of people, hundreds of people are unable to be matched to shelter each night. The HSCIS was developed to meet the unmet demand for shelter space by building new shelters across Toronto. Between 2024 and 2033, the City plans to develop up to 20 new purpose-built shelter sites, creating a total of approximately 1,600 shelter spaces.

Each shelter will be smaller by design and serve approximately 80 people, focusing on providing safety, comfort and resources to help residents transition to stable housing. I encourage you to learn more about the City’s work to open new shelter sites on the project webpage.

I am also pleased to share that Executive Committee adopted a staff report this week on strengthening the City’s role as a Public Developer to deliver housing faster.

This report outlines steps to establish a Housing Development Office that will focus exclusively on advancing and accelerating the delivery of housing on City-led and City-supported sites. Through this new Office, the City will either lead projects directly or leverage Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) and CreateTO on a project-by-project basis, based on each organization’s unique expertise and best practices. This item will be considered by City Council next week.

I will continue to use my voice and vote on Council to support improving and increasing our shelter infrastructure and expediting the City’s delivery of housing.

Sincerely,


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • Vacant Home Tax 2024 Declaration
  • Support your community: Holiday Wish List 🎁 
  • Skate Lending Library is back this winter  
  • Illuminating holiday experiences at Toronto History Museums ✨

Ward 4 Updates

  • Junction BIA's Window Wonderland
  • Junction Residents' Association: Community Caroling Sing-a-long in the Junction!!
  • Attention Parkdale Village BIA Members: Board Members Wanted
  • Developments
    • *New Date* Committee of Adjustment Application, 1375 Queen St W

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