Bloor West Village Residents Association

Earth Hour will be marked this weekend. Our friends at Green 13 have organized a series of events and three public “walks” for Earth Hour, Saturday, March 28th – 8:30pm.

Friday, March 27th

Local schools hold Earth Hour events

6 pm – Critical Mass bike ride (starting at Keele Street and Dundas Street West)

7 pm – Free public screening of “Tales of a Yellow Bike” at the Revue Cinema, sponsored by MPP Cheri DiNovo.

Saturday March 28th

8:00 – Candlelight walk through High Park (lantern making workshop begins at 6:30) – gathering at the Park’ Nature Center.

8:30 – Candlelight walk through Bloor – West Village – gathering at Bloor & Jane.

8:30 – Candlelight walk through the Junction – gathering @ Keele and Dundas.

8:30 – Candlelight service at Runnymede United Church.

Candlelight dinners at participating Junction and Bloor West Village restaurants

9:30 – Community reception at Runnymede United Church sponsored by MPP Cheri DiNovo and powered by Bullfrog Power.

a number of restaurants in the Village plan candlelight dinners to coincide with the event.

Lights off, heat down, chargers unplugged. Enjoy Earth Hour!

For more info see: www.green13toronto.blogspot.com

City Council has voted in favour of creating dedicated bike lanes on both sides of Annette Street, from Jane to Dundas. The vote went 22 to 11. It was the largest item on the Council agenda, swollen by some 200 letters from locals and other biking supporters.

The Mayor lauded the defeat of the proposal by Ward 13 Councillor Bill Saundercook to downgrade part of the cyling lane (Jane to Runnymede)

Normally, said David Miller, the Council hears a lot of opposition to bike lanes. In his travels around the Ward, he said many brought up the issue, but virtually none had spoken against it.

It’s a tribute to local residents who took the time to write personal and well-reasoned comments to Council members that a series of setbacks was reversed.

Things may be a little strange for the next few minutes.

Edit – all done!

It’s your opportunity to meet and question the candidates for the main parties on the issues that matter to you and your community before October 14th.

Invited candidates confirmed:

Gerard Kennedy (Liberal)
Peggy Nash (NDP)
Robert Rishchynski (Green)
Jilian Saweczko (Conservative)

Wednesday October 8th, 7:30pm
Runnymede United Church
432 Runnymede Rd (between Bloor & Annette Streets)

Hosted by the Bloor West Village Residents Association

Alternative debate: ALL candidates will debate at Swansea Town Hall on Tuesday October 7th, 7:30pm. Location: 95 Lavinia Ave, one block south of Bloor, three blocks west of Runnymede Rd. Presented by the Swansea Area Ratepayers Association.

There’s quite a fun piece in the Globe and Mail on three couples who have moved into the city from the suburbs: Turning their backs on suburbia (it will vanish behind the Globe’s paywall after a week or two, so read now!).

The O’Haras, who gave up their big house, big commute, pool and yard in suburban Caledon, Ont., for a more compact house and lifestyle in Bloor West Village, admit to being astonished by the congeniality of city neighbours compared with those they left behind.

“I thought people in the city would be more into their own thing,” says Mr. O’Hara. “It’s the very opposite to what I thought it would be.”

…

“You buy the lifestyle here,” says Ms. O’Hara. “This neighbourhood has a huge sense of community that we were unable to find in suburbia.”

A big welcome to all the families in the story: the O’Haras; Diana Hatzepetros, David Middleton and family, also in Bloor West Village; and Tom Poldre, Jane Lawton and family in Baby Point.

The City’s Public Works Committee wants to hear more from Bloor West Village residents about the proposed Annette St. bike lane. It, and Councillor Bill Saudercook, hosted a public meeting on September 15th which drew almost 100 people, a record number for such a gathering. Most spoke passionately in favour of a dedicated lane from Jane to Dundas – which wold be the only East/West bike lane in our area.

The Councillor favours a proposal that would see the lane removed from Annette from Jane to Runnymede, and replaced with a signed route (so no actual lane) on St.John’s Road.

Critics argue this is less safe and will not achieve the goal of moving more people from cars onto bikes. The meeting was not well publicized and the Committee says it wants to hear from those who could not attend before a final decision is made in October.

People have only until Monday, September 22nd to contact the Committee. The address is below.

We urge you to tell the Committee what YOU think, and send a copy to the Councillor: councillor_saundercook@toronto.ca

From the Public Works Committee

From: bikeplan [mailto:bikeplan@toronto.ca]
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2008 1:50 PM
To: bikeplan
Subject: Annette Street Bike Lanes

Hello,

We would like to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts regarding the proposed bike lanes on Annette Street between Runnymede and Jane, and the alternatives being considered. Many of you attended the public meeting held on Monday the 15th at James Culnan Catholic School; others have provided us with comments via mail and email.

All of the comments we receive on this issue are a valuable contribution to the decision-making process and we want to thank you for your time and input on this matter. If you have not sent in your comments yet, please send them to us by Monday, September 22nd. City Transportation staff need to integrate the comments received into a report that will be presented to City Council’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC). The PWIC will vote on how to proceed with this portion of Annette at their next meeting on October 10th, so there is limited time for staff to prepare the material that will help Council members arrive at their final decision.

In the meantime, we have posted a copy of the presentation made by staff at Monday’s meeting on the Cycling website here:

http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/public-consultations/annette-street-091508.htm

If you still want to provide us with comments regarding this issue you can:

- reply to this email address (bikeplan@toronto.ca);
- fax us at 416-392-2974; or
- mail your comments to:

Public Consultation Unit – Annette Bike Lanes
City of Toronto
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, 19th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5V 3C6

Thank you again for participating in this process.