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The 2016 Wynford Community Town Hall meeting was held from 7 - 9 PM Monday, 7 November
2016 at the Ismaili Centre, under the chairmanship of our Ward 26 Councillor Jon
Burnside. Councillor Burnside was accompanied by eight spokespeople: two for Toronto Hydro, two for Metrolinx, one for TTC, one for Toronto Financial Planning and two for Toronto City Planning. No names were given. Ed Comment: Two speakers came through loud and clear: Councillor Burnside (with the mic, although he probably does not need it) and the Toronto Hydro Technical rep without the mic. The other speakers who used the mic gave the impression that they were afraid that the mic might bite, so were difficult to understand. One who did not use it was basically incomprhensible. Councillor Burnside: (Correction 2016/11/17) Wynford Drive will be repaved between Don Mills and Gervais starting about 15 November 2016, since it has been torn up more than once since Wynford Drive was repaved in late 2014. Q: Why no sidewalk on the east side of Gervais? A: ?. There is a possibility that an arena will be included in the Celestica development, to replace the arena being removed from the Shops on Don Mills area Funding has been approved for a playground in our area, but no land has yet been found. He has no knowledge of any project to replace the Wynford Heights plaza by residential buildings. Q: Would it be possible to have a library in the plaza? A: Toronto Public Libraries has said that they will not be building any new libraries. Council will probably vote to increase the number of Toronto wards from 44 to 47 in order to reduce the disparity in ward sizes, 40,000 in some, 100,000 in Ward 26. If that happens, Concorde / Wynford Heights will likely move from the east end of Ward 26 to the west end of a new ward to extend from the DVP to Victoria Park. Metrolinx: One LRT car holds 147 passengers versus 40 for a bus, thus the increase in capacity with LRT, assuming the same service frequency. Eglinton will have two traffic lanes, a bike lane and wider sidewalks, in each direction. There will be a 7-bay bus terminal at the corner of Eglinton and Don Mills (presumably the current construction on the northeast corner), for transfer from busses to LRT. There will be a Wynford Drive LRT station, basically in line with the Del Manor residence. Access to the station from Wynford will be by the existing stairways, or via the sidewalk on the north side of Del Manor. Q: Why no elevators from Wynford to Eglinton? (Works in Oz). A: Money. To go to Eglinton subway station we will either walk to the Wynford LRT station or take the 100 bus to transfer to the LRT at Don Mills (may be faster than bus, but no more transfer-free bus service to Eglinton subway station). The LRT project is a Public Private Project. Penalties ($100k/day) are charged to the city if delays caused by Council changes, vice-versa for delays by contractor. (?) Q: Bombardier contract termination. A: Still under discussion. Toronto Hydro: Three projects have been approved to improve electricity reliability in the Wynford Heights / Concorde area: 1. Renew underground feeds to Wynford Heights Crescent. Completed May 2016. 2. Rebuild feeds to Concorde Place. One overhead feed via the CN bridge will be replaced by underground feed. Estimated completion 2018. 3. Rebuild Wynford Drive underground feed, to include automatic switching to backup feed. Estimated start 2021. TTC Eric ?? said he is our TTC GoTo man, but without his last name it is not clear how we can go to him. Don Mills 185 mentioned, but not sure why. (New Express?) Don Mills 125 will end at Don Mills station to eliminate unnecessary busses all the way to Steeles. Passengers will have to transfer to go north of Sheppard. Bus 100 changed to 100/34C to try to accommodate Eglinton construction problems. Results being monitored. New subway controls should increase subway capacity by running more trains per hour. Toronto Financial Planning This fellow did not use the mic and mumbled in his beard, so little was derived from his brief spiel. Q: Elevator from Wynford Drive to Eglinton? A: ? Q: Is selling assets to pay for infrastructure a good long term plan? A: ? Q: Will the Science Centre bus terminal be temporary? A:? Q: Is Celestica now owned by Bild Toronto? A: ? Q: Sell bonds to raise capital? A: We try to keep interest costs below 15% of budget. (?) City Planning This man used the mic, but stood about 18 inches away from it, so was barely intelligeable. The application to build two condo towers (28 & 34 storey) on the Don Valley Hotel property has been approved, but no further action from the developer. The Celestica property will become some 2800 residential units plus office towers and commercial / retail space. Possibility of recreational facilities such as gym, pool, arena. See DonMillsEglinton.ca. (No mention of lost jobs due to Celestica closure.) Sonic Development will be building condo buildings (first 28 storeys) at the southeast corner of Eglinton and Don Mills. See Sonic Condos.ca Q: Will the water, sewer, etc. infrastructure be in place to support this huge expansion in population? A: This is part of the standard planning process. Q: Will there be new schools, etc.? A: Because of generally declining populations, the school boards prefers to bus students rather than build new schools. Q: Will there be adequate parking? A: The need for parking is included in the standard planning process. Q: Will there be provision for affordable housing? A: Affordable housing policies are now part of the standard planning process. Adjournment Councillor Burnside adjourned the meeting at 8:55 PM, commenting that we had to vacate by 9 PM, and with thanks to the Ismaili Centre for hosting us. |