In early February, I held my annual Leaside Town Hall at the William Lea Room. For those who couldn’t attend, here are a few of the highlights:
North Leaside Traffic Committee: Based on the success of the survey last summer, the North Leaside Traffic Committee has requested that North Leaside residents be formally polled regarding the temporary creation (one year or less) of cul-de-sacs at each of the entry points to the community from Bayview Ave. My office is currently gathering data in preparation for a late spring poll. To be successful, 50 per cent plus one of all eligible residents must respond, and of those, 60 per cent must answer in the affirmative. Although the proposal has the support of the Transportation department, North York Community Council would still have to ratify the plan.
Trace Manes Playground: Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Jillian Walsh and her team, the $1.3 million revitalization of Trace Manes Playground will begin this fall. This will include modern playground equipment, a splash pad and properly shaded areas.
939 Eglinton Ave. East: Diamond Corp has submitted its site plan for 939 Eglinton (at Brentcliffe) and anticipate beginning demolition in September. Construction is expected to take two years.
Costco: Costco has moved back its opening date to early May.
Community centre: Unfortunately, the City’s 20-year Facility Master Plan did not identify Leaside for a community centre so I will continue to move forward with building a facility through the use of “Section 37” funds. As reported earlier, I asked RioCan to find ways to incorporate a facility on their site at 815 Eglinton Ave. E. (Canadian Tire). They are currently in the process of revising their original plans and I am hoping the community space will be enlarged.
Ward boundaries: The OMB recently ruled against the challenge to ward boundary changes so the City is moving forward with increasing the number of councillors from 44 to 47. Ward 26 was slightly larger than the City average, so the only change to Ward 26 will be the unfortunate loss of Wynford Heights.
Millwood-Southvale intersection: Because of other ongoing construction projects in the area, the City has agreed to delay plans to rebuild the intersection at Millwood and Southvale (in front of the arena) until 2019.
Bayview streetscape: I have been working with the Leaside/Bayview BIA regarding their streetscape plan for the Bayview and Millwood gateway. As part of my commitment, I secured $100,000 for the Ward 26 portion (east side of Bayview) — almost half of the projected cost of $250,000. The BIA is still hoping to find the necessary funds for the west side (Ward 22).
If there are any other updates you would like to know about, please email or give me a call.
Jon Burnside
Councillor,
Toronto Ward 26
Don Valley West
Email:
