Community Newsletter: June 30, 2023

June 30th, 2023 edition of Councillor Alejandra Bravo's Community Newsletter

Neighbour --

I’ll start this week’s update by congratulating the Mayor-elect of Toronto, Olivia Chow! I look forward to working with her on building a more just and equitable city that puts people first.

Mayor-elect Olivia Chow will take the declaration of office and officially assume the role of Mayor on July 12. The Mayor-elect has also shared that she will be calling an early special meeting of the Executive Committee to deal with urgent matters including the City’s Long Term Financial Plan.

In local news, service will return to the 512 St. Clair streetcar starting on July 5. Full service will temporarily resume between Lansdowne Ave and Gunns Loop, which has been served with replacement buses. A delay in planned construction in the area will allow the TTC to resume full streetcar service until mid-August. I’m pleased to have worked with the City and TTC to restore service for the many people who rely on the 512 streetcar. The full details on this are available below.

Last week, a collision occurred on Dufferin Street near Dufferin Grove Park, where a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle. Road safety continues to be a top priority for me and I am working with Transportation Services on approaches to roads which are known to be unsafe. To make Dufferin Street safer, I have requested an automated speed enforcement camera to be placed in the area as a near-term solution. I continue to work on long-term solutions to make Dufferin Street safer, such as Vision Zero improvements and priority bus lanes which are much needed to safely move residents and calm traffic.

A report on the Alcohol in Parks Pilot will be coming to next week's meeting of Economic and Community Development Committee. In Ward 9, Earlscourt Park, Dufferin Grove Park, Campbell Avenue Playground & Park, and Dovercourt Park are included in the program. You can find my statement on the Alcohol in Parks Pilot below.

Also below, you can find more local updates.

Sincerely,

Alejandra Bravo
City Councillor, Ward 9
Davenport

In this edition

Update on 512 St. Clair Streetcar Service
Statement on Alcohol in Parks Pilot
Summer Programs at St. Clair-Silverthorn Library
Outdoor pools and wading pools now fully open
Concerts on Connolly
In the community
Other updates

Update on 512 St. Clair Streetcar Service

The following update is provided by the TTC:

Rehabilitation on the bridge near Caledonia Road was planned to begin in May 2023. TTC therefore removed 512 St Clair streetcar service west of Lansdowne Ave., as it will be impossible to run streetcar service during the bridge construction. TTC was recently advised that the bridge construction has been unexpectedly delayed until mid-August. Therefore, TTC will be returning streetcar service for our customers as soon as possible, on July 5, 2023. It was not possible to restore service earlier, due to uncertainty around project timelines and balancing needs across the transit network in a very busy construction season.

We apologize to our customers for the service inconvenience caused by the unexpected delay to the bridge construction project. TTC will restore 512 St Clair streetcar service to Gunns Loop until bridge construction begins. TTC will also maintain the extension of 47 Lansdowne bus to Gunns Loop, recognizing some customers are now familiar with the service.

TTC service updates are posted to www.ttc.ca/serviceadvisories
Please also see a news release for streetcar related changes posted here: Changes coming to the 503 Kingston Road and 512 St Clair routes next week (ttc.ca)

Effective in September, 2023, as part of TTC’s plan to maintain state of good repair and continue to modernize the system, the TTC will be coordinating streetcar overhead power upgrades to the St Clair streetcar lanes (Right of Way) and infrastructure renewal projects inside St Clair West Station (and later at St Clair Station). Until that construction begins, full streetcar service will be provided on the 512 St Clair route. To confirm, effective September 2023, the full 512 route will need to be replaced with buses until the construction is completed in Summer 2024. Staff will be in touch with you with any updates for your constituents.

More information about service changes after September is available here: St Clair Avenue West (ttc.ca)

Statement on Alcohol in Parks Pilot

We know that many Torontonians don’t have backyards to celebrate birthdays, have a picnic, or to enjoy a cool breeze on a summer evening. We also know that people are already drinking in parks across our growing city.

This pilot program, a decision supported by a majority of City Council in May, is flawed in design. It makes an individual councillor their ward's lone decision-maker and will create inequities between residents in different parts of the city. It doesn’t allow councillors who wanted to participate in the pilot enough time to connect with their communities.

Including only one park in Ward 9 would not have met the demand across our community. It also risks bringing additional people to a specific park because the one closer to them was not included – increasing activity and not providing useful information about how city-wide regularization would function.

As a result of this, four medium-to-large parks which are geographically distributed across Ward 9 have been recommended for inclusion in the pilot program.

As we receive more feedback from residents and assess facilities in Ward 9, our office is considering additional parks to add to the list.

All Torontonians should face the same rules and regulations across our city. Regularizing drinking in parks – with some rules – would bring Toronto in line with cities around the world, including Vancouver and Montreal. A city-wide system that treats everyone equally must be our goal going forward.

Summer Programs at St. Clair-Silverthorn Library

Outdoor pools and wading pools now fully open

Starting today, the City of Toronto is officially opening outdoor pools and 90 supervised wading pools for their full summer schedule.

The outdoor pools will be open daily until Sunday, September 3, at 4 p.m., except for 10 that will remain open until Monday, September 4, at 5 p.m. Most of the City’s outdoor pools are open daily from noon to approximately 8 p.m. However, the hours of operation may vary slightly later in the season due to optimal visibility conditions for lifeguards. Those heading to swim should check the hours for specific pools at www.toronto.ca/swim.

People visiting the City’s outdoor pools are reminded that:

Supervision and/or swimming ability requirements are in place for children under 10 years of age.
Outdoor leisure swimming is free for all ages and reservations are not required.
Outdoor lane swim is free and open to swimmers seven years of age and older for swimming in continuous lengths or widths.
Caregivers should supervise children at all times.
Pool visitors must listen to the on-duty lifeguards.

Concerts on Connolly

In the community

Congratulations to Loretto College School graduates! I joined the Class of 2023 today for their graduation ceremony—it was wonderful to share some words and witness what this bright group of young people have accomplished.

It was great to join neighbours on Day Avenue this weekend for their 15th annual street party! I love to see groups of neighbours coming together to enliven our public space and build community.