If there’s something strange
In your neighbourhood
Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters?
No! 311. And if it’s a repetitive or egregious issue, contact Councillor Chernos Lin’s office too.
It’s the only way the City will know what’s going wrong in Leaside, enabling them to hold responsible departments accountable to improve their processes.
The Councillor’s office also receives a monthly 311 ward summary, organized by the most ‘popular’ service requests by division, so they too are aware and can take action.
A few facts about 311:
- -It has a yearly budget of $20M.
- -It fields over one million phone calls and 181 thousand online requests.
- -Our ward logs 152 requests per 1,000 people.
- -A phone call costs between $11 and $16 versus an online request, which costs between a dime and a dollar.
Here are a few litter-related issues which I’ve recently reported to 311:
A recycle bin did not get properly emptied and half the bin ended up on the sidewalk and road, which a neighbour and I cleaned up before it scattered even further. The City truck either did not see it or ignored it. I reported it to 311, and Solid Waste Management called to investigate. The contact apologized and offered his contact info should there be any issues in future. Hopefully his investigation will avoid future mishaps.
The garbage accumulation on Pat Moore Drive (named in honour of Thorncliffe Park resident Patricia Moore) while driving into Costco was so disgusting that I decided to call 311 as I had no idea who was responsible for cleaning it up. Turns out the street belongs to the City.
And even though the property behind it belongs to Hydro One – it’s called the East York Hydro Green Space – it’s secondary land use and according to Hydro One it’s the City’s responsibility to keep it litter free. The City opened a 311 request and good news! According to Councillor Chernos Lin’s April 2025 e-newsletter, this area was targeted by the Thorncliffe community as part of Clean Toronto Together. The before and after pictures tell the story. Thank you to those involved! A stunning transformation!
Driving along Rosedale Valley Road, I was saddened to see several encampments and the huge amount of litter that had accumulated over the winter. I called 311, which forwarded my request to Solid Waste Management, and I emailed Dianne Saxe’s office.
Yes, I’m a 311 frequent flyer. Maybe you are too? If so, please share your 311 pet peeves. If we work together as a united community to identify our local issues to the City, we will be cleaner and stronger for it!
