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Cleaner and Greener Neighbourhoods
Historic Prospect Cemetery Stone Wall Saved! On Dec. 18th I held a public meeting at the Joseph J. Piccininni (JJP) Community Centre regarding the demolition and replacement of the stone wall around the Prospect Cemetery. Hundreds of residents and I were outraged to learn about the Cemetery’s unilateral decision to replace the original stone wall with a chain-link fence. We believe that this would not only infringe on the privacy of residents’ using their nearby backyards, but the privacy and solemnity of the cemetery itself.
I have made it clear that we would not stop until we had changed the Cemetery’s position. I am pleased that our efforts have been successful. The Cemetery has demonstrated good will in agreeing not to remove the existing wall (and to repair it, where necessary) and to restore a stone wall where they have already installed a chain link fence. As I announced I would, I took steps to create a City-wide bylaw that would dictate what materials all Cemeteries in the City would be required to build their fences out of in the future. The threat of such a bylaw spurred Prospect into action. Helping Seniors During the Blackout. During the recent blackout that affected most of the West-end of the City on one of Winter’s coldest days, my office sprung into action. Our office is aware of literally hundreds of seniors in Ward 17 who live alone, many of whom aren’t fluent in English. I personally visited as many elderly residents as possible during the blackout to drive them to the City’s special “Warming Centre” at the Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre, make sure they were okay, and later to help restart their furnaces. Many elderly residents do not have battery operated radios, or even any family members to check up on them. Although some residents were very cold, in the end everyone was okay.
Improved TTC Service on Ward 17 Routes. Recently several TTC service improvements have been implemented, including:
Snow Removal Across Ward 17. Like many of you I have been frustrated by the City’s response to snow clearing this year, so I took action. At my request, beginning Friday, January 30th, City contractors began large scale snow removal which took place between the hours of 7am – 7pm. 4 full crews of contractors worked to remove snow from almost all Ward 17 residential streets, including sidewalks of major streets. They also scraped the middle of as many laneways as possible and ensured that the laneways were salted. This is over and above the regular service that the City provides, which I felt it was necessary given the treacherous conditions. I have ongoing concerns with City snow clearing which I am working to address. If you know of particular locations that are chronically problematic, please contact my office.
New Pedestrian Decorative Lights on St. Clair West (Mcroberts to Old Weston Road). I have been working hard over the last several years to improve this section of St. Clair Avenue West. So far, a lot has been accomplished including the upgrades to the park at Prescott, hydro wire undergrounding and tens of thousands of dollars for façade improvement. The latest initiative I have been working with the St. Clair Gardens BIA on is the best yet – the installation of new pedestrian scale lighting, similar to Corso Italia (between Dufferin and Lansdowne). Securing the funding for this project was a minor miracle and will be a massive improvement to the streetscape. A special thanks is owed to the Members of St. Clair Gardens BIA for enthusiastically supporting this initiative. |
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