Improvements Coming Soon to High Park and Other News
Friends,
I am pleased to share that the City will be undertaking work to implement the first steps of the High Park Movement Strategy.
Starting on Monday, July 31, the City of Toronto will begin implementing the first phase of improvements to how park visitors access and move around High Park.
Changes that will be in effect as of Saturday, August 5 include:
- The West Road and parts of Colborne Lodge Drive, south of Grenadier Café, will be car-free at all times
- The main vehicle entrance will be at Parkside Drive and High Park Boulevard and will be open Monday to Friday and closed on weekends and holidays. Visitor vehicles will not be permitted to enter at Bloor Street West
- Visitor vehicle access will be provided to the Children's Garden, Colborne Lodge Drive and the Spring Road Parking lot at all times
- Public parking spaces within High Park will be reduced. Designated pick-up/drop-off spaces will be added near main destinations
- Dedicated bike lanes will be added to Centre Road and Colborne Lodge Drive
- Improved pavement markings and signage will be added to pedestrian crossing areas
Council also endorsed the continued closure of High Park to visitor vehicles on Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays and a long-term strategy to achieve a car-free park. High Park has been closed to visitor vehicles on weekends and holidays since March 2020.
The HPMS was launched in 2021 with goals to improve safety, accessibility and the park's natural environment. Recommendations were informed by extensive research and analysis, including traffic and parking studies and feedback gathered through a multi-phase engagement process that reached more than 10,000 participants.
For more information about the project, visit www.toronto.ca/highparkmove.
And please contact my office if you have any questions by email at [email protected] or by phone 416-392-7919.
Sincerely,
Gord
Send your favorite photos of places in Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park to [email protected] . Don't forget to tell us your name so that we can give you credit when we share your photo!
In this week's Newsletter:
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Developments:
- 2442 - 2454 Bloor St West: Meeting Postponed
- 2115 - 2117 Bloor St West: Meeting Aug 2nd
- 2280 Dundas St West Update
- Dufferin Bridge Closure: Meeting Aug 3rd
- TTC Fair Pass Discount Program Expansion
- High Park Walking Tour: Aug 6
- DonateTO: housing refugee claimants
2442-2454 Bloor Street West Construction Management Plan and Site Plan Community Meeting
My apologies for the inconvenience but I've had to postpone the 2442-2454 Bloor St W Construction Management Plan and Site Plan Community Meeting again. Summer is proving a difficult time for scheduling, and I thank you all for your patience as we find a time that works for all parties. We are aiming to hold the meeting in September and will be sure to send out more information once that date is finalized.
In 2019 City Council approved a mixed-use development consisting of a 12-storey apartment building containing 186 residential units with retail on the ground floor.
To ensure that the community remains a part of the process for this development I will be, in cooperation with City Planning staff and the applicant, holding a community meeting in September. This meeting will allow you to view the proposed Construction Management Plan and share your thoughts about how best to conscientiously tackle the disruption that comes with constructing a new building of this size. It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and for the applicant and City Staff to gather feedback. I will chair the meeting which will include presentations from City Planning and the applicant, followed by a Q&A period to allow discussion.
More information for the site is available here.
The link to join the meeting will be made available closer to the date.
2115-2117 Bloor Street West Construction Management Plan and Site Plan Community Meeting
This is a reminder of the community meeting we are holding next week on Wednesday, August 2nd from 6:30pm – 8:00pm to discuss the Construction Management Plan and Site Plan for 2115-2117 Bloor Street West.
An 8-storey mixed-use building with retail at-grade and 54 residential units above-grade was approved in 2015. The building is proposed to have 46 vehicle parking spaces and 75 bicycle parking spaces. Community meetings were held in spring 2021 and summer 2022 to discuss site plan issues.
To ensure that the community remains a part of the process for this development I will be, in cooperation with City Planning staff and the applicant, holding a community meeting on Wednesday, August 2nd from 6:30pm – 8:00pm. This meeting will allow you to view the proposed Construction Management Plan and share your thoughts about how best to conscientiously tackle the disruption that comes with constructing a new building of this size. It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and for the applicant and City Staff to gather feedback. I will chair the meeting which will include presentations from City Planning and the applicant, followed by a Q&A period to allow discussion.
More information for the site is available here.
The link to join the meeting can be found here.
Development Update - 2280 Dundas Street West
I'm reaching out to provide an update on the current development application at 2280 Dundas St W (at Dundas and Bloor, also known as the Loblaw site).
I shared with you last month that I had communicated with ChoiceREIT to advocate for a series of working groups so that the community's voice might be heard. At that time, ChoiceREIT advised that they were currently not interested in participating in this process.
Although Choice REIT has not pledged to do so, once the City has received a resubmission, City Planning staff have confirmed that they are fully committed to participating in working groups sessions with our office and members of the local community to discuss the various aspects of the application in more detail and receive additional feedback on the revised proposal.
The size and scope of this development application will impact the community. Input from the community to help shape a development that brings most benefit to the site and community is vital and needs to start now.
Working groups that detail such features as urban design, transportation design, and new park areas application will be of instrumental benefit to the review of this application.
I look forward to engaging with the community, City Planning and the applicant through this process.
If you have any questions about this, or would like to discuss the application in more detail don’t hesitate to reach out.
Dufferin Street Bridge Close Update and information for the Virtual Meeting on Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
As you know, both the northbound and southbound lanes of the Dufferin Street Bridge over the Metrolinx Rail Corridor were closed to motorists this month.
The closure is anticipated to last three to six months but is dependent on a number of factors including the final design, availability of construction material and weather. Given the emergency nature of this work, the repair plan is still in development. More updates will be provided to the community as they become available.
Please see the notice for more details.
The City is hosting a virtual Information Event to offer residents an opportunity to hear from the project team and to ask questions about the work that is happening.
Thursday, August 3, 2023
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Register at toronto.ca/DufferinBridges
You can also join online or by phone:
Dial: 416-915-6530
Meeting number: 2634 491 3214
Meeting password: 5996 7897
Expansion of Fair Pass Transit Discount Program
The City of Toronto is expanding eligibility for the Fair Pass Transit Discount Program to offer more affordable transit fares to 50,000 additional low-income Toronto residents.
Under new eligibility criteria and effective today, the Fair Pass Program expansion prioritizes residents between 20 and 64 years old living in deep poverty, such as low-wage and part-time workers, newcomers and unemployed individuals receiving employment assistance. It also opens the program to residents who are on the waitlist for subsidized housing and child care, providing immediate financial help with their transit costs.
The Fair Pass Program provides a 12-month discount on TTC travel, including Wheel-Trans. Currently, the program provides a 36 per cent discount on single adult fares (a single adult fare under Fair Pass is $2.10) and a 21 per cent discount on monthly passes (an adult monthly pass under Fair Pass is $123.25) by adding a discount code to the rider’s PRESTO card.
Based on the latest thresholds, a single individual with an after-tax income below $20,514 or a family of four with an income below $41,028 would be eligible for the discount.
Residents can apply for the Fair Pass Program online at www.toronto.ca/transitdiscount or by calling 416-338-8888.
Complimentary PRESTO cards are being distributed for free at participating TPL branches, while quantities last at the following branches.
High Park Walking Tour
Exploring the Trails
Join Mark Ellwood for a pleasant walk through some of the beautiful trails in the park. We'll walk along a pretty, meandering path down the west side near Grenadier Pond. We'll then cross the bottom of the park on trails you may never have seen before. We'll finish with a route up the picturesque east side.
Bring comfortable shoes. At the start, we'll have a quick ice breaker so you can get to know your fellow High Park enthusiasts before departing on the walk.
Meet at the grassy centre triangle, just inside the main entrance to High Park on Bloor Street at 10:30 a.m.
Our next walk will be on September 10.
DonateTO portal
To support refugee claimants’ access to housing, the City is inviting property owners with available rental units to help provide much-needed housing for refugees. Refugee claimants will receive support to pay their rent from the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.
Those wishing to donate goods and services, such as clothing, food or household items, or make a financial contribution are encouraged to give directly to local organizations and service providers. The City’s webpage, www.toronto.ca/donate, includes a map of community agencies that directly support refugee claimants at emergency shelters and faith-based organizations, as well as other agencies supporting refugee claimants, including contact information and identified needs. Additional agencies will be added in the coming days.
Donors can also choose to give financial contributions to the City’s partner, United Way Greater Toronto, which works with community organizations directly supporting refugee claimants and asylum seekers focused on efforts by Black-led community groups.
In addition to connecting with community partners, through DonateTO, the City is welcoming partnerships with non-profit organizations, faith groups and other community agencies.
