Archive for the ‘Ward 43’ Category
There Has to be a Better Way Than Closing the Scarborough RT for Three Years
Expanding the Scarborough Rapid Transit line is a great idea. For many Scarborough residents the SRT serves as a link between the Scarborough Town Centre and Kennedy Station – Scarborough’s Eastern most subway station. While the good people of Scarborough were sold this experimental technology as being subway compatible in the future, we found out in 2006 this just wasn’t the case. Enter the LRT concept, an idea that in this case preceded plans for Transit City and was born when nine of the ten Scarborough Councillors sold residents out on the Scarborough Subway concept all ten had supported before they had a closed door meeting with the TTC.
Now that the subway idea is dead and there is a more comprehensive light rail transit strategy for all neighbourhoods, I do support having light rail line linking Kennedy Station to Sheppard Avenue where the first Transit City line is already under construction. I can’t believe the existing link from Kennedy to McCowan can or should be closed for three years to make that happen. The old City of Scarborough and current City of Toronto has placed an emphasis on building high density condo towers around the Scarborough Town Centre – an area with three large commercial towers, a federal government building and the Scarborough Civic Centre.
This represents Scarborough’s best chance at building a mixed neighbourhood that mirrors a modern mid sized city’s downtown. It’s also been tremendously successful so far. It’s my strong belief that the Scarborough Rapid Transit is a large part of the sales pitch for making this development both make sense and attract buyers.
It is my hope that the TTC will recognize closing the Scarborough Rapid Transit line for three years will drive these condo owners, and commercial office workers to the roads, not so-called express busses and will also impact the accessibility of the mall by transit users. Anyone who has ever had to take a shuttle bus when the subway was down knows how awful the experience is, and for the TTC to see this permanent crisis mode as a solution for Scarborough residents is unthinkable and something that needs more thought before it happens.
It seems to me like a more reasonable solution would be to run portions of the SRT by having the LRT built from Sheppard to McCowen and transition from SRT to LRT technology one stop at a time working towards Kennedy, so the SRT can run from stations not currently under construction as long as possible. This would mean shuttles would run from no more than the distance between the closest two stations. As stations are also hubs for local bus routes, this makes perfect sense.
For those who live in Ward 43, the impact can be easily mitigated by taking an alternate route. I have to say growing up in Guildwood my friends and I would take the 116 Morningside bus to Kennedy and ride the SRT to Scarborough Town Centre. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s that I realized it’s faster and less crowded to ride the 116 Morningside to Ellesmere and take the 38 Highland Creek west along Ellesmere to the Scarborough Town Centre SRT stop.
Let’s all hope the TTC agrees there is a better way to operate when it comes to transitioning the SRT into an LRT.
No Comments »There Is Much We Can Do Together, But I Need Your Help
I have been a candidate for a month now and the kind words and best wishes I’ve received from folks living in Ward 43 and around the City are genuinely humbling. People seem to believe voice like mine on Council would be a good thing, even if we don’t agree on everything.
Having a principled, honest, socially progressive, fiscally conservative, community oriented voice who is committed to enhancing opportunities for local communities to take a more active role in decision making would be a fundamentally good thing for the City and my community.
Our campaign is grassroots driven, and will need the financial support of those who believe in what we’re trying to achieve if we are to succeed. We have receptive voters, and a good team coming together, but need the tools to run the distance.
I will stand up for local democracy, support effective and efficient public transit, demand action on affordable housing and childcare, while seeking financial sustainability to budgeting. I bring the same passion and energy to these other municipal issues as I have to my principled opposition to Toronto Hydro’s ill-conceived proposal for my community and will demand results when elected.
I am committed to community building, citizen engagement and collaborative decision making. It’s our City and we need a voice at the table reflecting our views. Whether you live in Ward 43 or not, if you want to see active, responsive Councillors who listen to real people and not just the folks on the lobbyist registry, I’m your guy.
We have a good chance of winning here, but not without your help. I can’t do this alone or on your behalf without your active support. It just won’t work.
I’m asking you to consider making a contribution to my campaign if you believe in what we’re trying to achieve.
The City of Toronto has a generous rebate program that all donors regardless of where they live in Ontario are eligible for. A donation of $300 would cost you just $75 as the City rebates the first 75% of any donation between 25-300 with a sliding scale for larger amounts over that. For more information on the rebate program for specific dollar amounts please click here.
Don’t wait for others to step up, because they’re waiting for you to do the same.
Join us, take action and contribute to what can only be a success with your help.
Keep our message alive. Give us the tools to succeed. Click donate on the right hand side of the screen to do what you can to help.
Would you like to comment? Please feel free to visit the Contact page on my site and contact me. Click subscribe if you would like to receive daily updates from http://laforet.ca in your inbox.
Comments OffWhat It’s About – Why I’m Running For City Council
My campaign for Toronto City Council in Ward 43 began last week and has been building since. We’ve begun to share our message with voters, started fundraising and getting the mechanisms in place to ensure Ward 43 voters have the choice they deserve. We’re running strong, and as a team effort, because any campaign, at least any campaign worth winning is always bigger than the candidate. The video below outlines just what it’s about.
For this to be a winning effort it will take people from all over to donate their time or their money. If you would like to see this be a winning effort, consider making a donation to my campaign using the paypal button on the right. Donors receive a generous rebate cheque of 75% of the first $300 they donate back from the City of Toronto, meaning a donation of $100 actually only costs you $25, but does so much more to make this a winnable fight.
Our campaign can only be successful with the financial support of those who believe in what we’re trying to achieve.
Would you like to comment? Please feel free to visit the Contact page on my site and contact me. Click subscribe if you would like to receive daily updates from http://laforet.ca in your inbox.
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