Letters – January 2014

Friday morning poop pick-up problem solved

Throughout the month of October, a small pile of garbage — including dog poop baggies — kept appearing Friday mornings on Rumsey Rd. in the exact location the library garbage bins are put out for collection.

The first time it happened, so as not to spoil my morning coffee view, I simply cleaned it up. When it happened the following week, I cleaned it up again. By the third week, feeling frustrated with the reoccurrence, I contacted the library to see if they could locate the source of the problem. After numerous emails and visits and a few more weeks of Friday morning poop piles, I am happy to report that the library has put a two-part plan into place and the problem has been resolved.

The garbage bins are now put away after emptying on Thursday, rather than being left out overnight and put away Friday morning. In addition the library has implemented a litter abatement program and each day a member of the library staff walks around the library property picking up litter.

As part of this process, I learned something new. Not only is it illegal to litter, but it is also the responsibility of  property owners to pick up any garbage deposited on their property immediately. It is good citizenship and it is the law.

Picking up someone else’s litter on our property is frustrating and unpleasant so I want to thank the library staff and I want them to know how much I appreciate their diligence in solving this problem.

Cheryl Vanderburg,
Rumsey Rd.

I believe major commercial developments around Leaside should be put on hold until new traffic patterns evolve after the opening of the LRT.

In a year or so, traffic in Leaside will start to be disrupted by the LRT construction. Even lane restrictions at Avenue Rd. will be felt in Leaside. As construction gets nearer, traffic tie-ups will get worse, and more traffic will infiltrate Leaside and North Toronto.

Broadway, for example, will get a lot of the overflow, but that could be disrupted by the development of the Whole Foods site.

Traffic will be constrained by the loss of two traffic lanes around Leslie, including the loss of one of the east-bound left turn lanes. Already there are days when evening rush hour sees clogged roads from there west into Leaside.

So how much additional traffic can Leaside handle?

We won’t have a reasonable idea until the LRT is operational and people adjust their commuting habits accordingly. It could well be that there is little additional road capacity in Leaside unless we open up all our residential streets to traffic from elsewhere, heading to and from the big box stores.

Pierce Reid,
Annesley Ave.

I am writing to express my concern about proposed redevelopment at 939 Eglinton (SW corner of  Eglinton and Brentcliffe).

The formal notice posted on the site states:

The application proposes to amend the Official Plan Employment Areas designation of the site to permit a mixed use development with residential, retail and office uses. The mixed use proposal would contain 1,300 dwelling units in four buildings with heights up to 29 storeys, a seven-storey, 10,000 square metres office building, 6,600 square metres of retail space along Eglinton Ave. East and Brentcliffe Rd., an underground parking garage and a public park.

The picture accompanying Will Ashworth’s column in the December Leaside Life shows a view of it looking diagonally across the intersection. To my eye, it is going to be massive.

At 29 storeys it will be two and a half times the height of the Scenic condos down the block on Eglinton. They are only 12 storeys above ground. At 1,280 condos it is probable 20 times the size of the Leaside Terrace development on the old Canada Post site on Laird Dr.

What I can’t understand is why the LPOA (and Leaside Life) is not making a fuss about this. There is so much squawking about the proposed SmartCentre/Walmart development just down the block on Vanderhoof Ave. There are complaints about Costco taking over the Coca-Cola plant in Thorncliffe, not even Leaside.

Yet there is not a peep about this egregious development right on our doorstep.

Bob Moenck,
Donlea Dr.