In last month’s Leaside Life column I focused on Metrolinx’s planned two-year closure of Beth Nealson Drive for construction of the Ontario Line and its many negative impacts on the South Leaside 88A/B bus route. The diversion and route changes proposed by the TTC sever the connection of Leaside and Thorncliffe Park and significantly reduce local TTC accessibility and passenger convenience.
My excellent Thorncliffe contact, and colleague, Jason Ash, and I have contacted newly elected Ward 15 Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin, proposing to the TTC board some additional options, to keep Leaside, Thorncliffe Park and the Leaside Business Park area fully connected during the Beth Nealson construction period. I hope to have more (and more positive) information to share with you in the new year.
At the very least, important decisions like these deserve real public consultation and attention, with sufficient notice and clear communication.
Overall, 2025 looks like being another busy year for the Leaside Residents Association, with many issues to address:
The Leaside Neighbourhood Transportation Plan (LNTP)
The LRA has been hearing from residents, particularly on streets located near health institutions and commercial areas, who report abuse of the City’s standard three-hour parking limits. Will we be any nearer to implementing Phase One of the Leaside Neighbourhood Transportation Plan (LNTP), or at least starting to poll those affected by parts of the plan regarding potential paid permit parking?
Still on the LNTP, will the City provide any daylight in the new year on what Phase TWO of the plan might propose? The longer traffic speed and safety measures are delayed, the greater – and harder to remedy – our traffic problems become.
For instance, Leaside’s construction boom continues to create congestion problems throughout, most recently on and around Donlea Drive, which has become a diversionary route of choice for drivers in the Bayview/Eglinton area. This needs attention soon, not just in the indefinite future.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT
Will the continuing saga of the unfinished Eglinton Crosstown LRT come to an end in mid-2025 when the LRT starts operation, as promised (or at least hinted)?
How many elections will take place in 2025, and what might their specific effects be on us locally? Will 2025 be a year of change, or just more of the same? Can we hope for improvement, and empowerment of cities, which are currently so at the mercy of the more senior levels of government?
We will see… or will we? In the meantime, the LRA wishes you all a happy and more peaceful New Year, with all good things for your families and for Leaside as a community.
The LRA board of directors meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. These are public meetings, and you are welcome to join us and join in. Because the first Wednesday of January is New Year’s Day, our next meeting is instead on Wed., Jan. 8th.
Please note:
Our December, January, February and March meetings will be on ZOOM. For contact information and more details and updates, visit; leasideresidents.ca and press the Contact Us button, or leasideresidents.ca/contact-us.
