Not just buildings By Joe Cressy If you’ve ever made your way to a development meeting in Ward 20, you’ve heard me talk about the need to build community as we grow and change. With almost one quarter of all proposed development in the entire city occurring in our ward, we’d be leading ourselves astray without this focus. This has […]

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Bloor Street’s cultural organizations starting to celebrate Canada 150 By Heather Kelly The Annex neighbourhood is so full of art and culture organizations that, for March Break, we don’t have to go far to find fun and creative activities. The Bata Shoe Museum will host “shoetastic shenanigans” during March Break, where kids can make shoe […]

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It’s hard to borrow a cup of sugar…but the problem isn’t Toronto Kellie Leitch is reportedly getting packets upon packets of sugar in the mail as a response to her comments that in Toronto, you can’t walk next door and borrow a cup of sugar. She’s right, to an extent…just not in Toronto. In my, […]

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Canadian cities receive only 10 cents for each tax dollar they pay By Mike Layton With all the talk about tolls and taxes, I feel I need to admit something: I don’t mind paying taxes. The reason I don’t mind paying taxes is simple — taxes are the price we pay for living in a […]

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Embrace the green and lower your footprint Christmas came a little late for me this year. I woke up on New Year’s Day and looked out of the window at the gas station sign. The ever slightly higher gas price was a pleasant reminder of the new carbon tax that Ontarians are now paying and […]

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Dangerous summer for Toronto pedestrians and cyclists By Mike Layton Recent statistics from the Toronto Police Service show a disturbing trend — collisions between vehicles and pedestrians and cyclists are on the rise. Since June 1 of this year 542 pedestrians and 541 cyclists, a total of 1,083 people, have been hit by drivers (cars) […]

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Building up will allow us to create the sizable park downtown needs By Joe Cressy A central park in downtown Toronto. It’s an old idea whose time has come. Now, all we need is a little creativity, political will, and a commitment from Toronto City Council to invest significant money to make it happen. Let’s […]

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By Mike Layton The phone started ringing in my office almost immediately. Why is the Alex Duff Memorial Pool closed during the hottest days of summer? Why wasn’t the pool fixed earlier in the season? Why doesn’t it look like anyone is working on it? All valid questions that deserved answers. And especially when the […]

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The arrival of cycling in Toronto By Joe Cressy For too long, discussions of bike lanes have been divisive in our city. They shouldn’t be. When we do it right, cycling infrastructure can be a win-win for everyone. After more than 40 years of discussion, debate, and community advocacy, an overwhelming majority of city councillors […]

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By Terri Chu Having a kid is expensive, anybody can tell you that. What nobody told me though was how expensive raising a child can be when you try to stay low on environmental impact. Cloth diapers are a huge capital outlay and I’m not convinced they are used long enough to break even against […]

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Our third survey of development projects in our coverage area highlights projects that interest us, trends that appall us, and elements that enthrall us. We favour innovative projects that connect with a neighbourhood’s built form, reflect community consultation, and meet the objectives of the City of Toronto’s Official Plan. We take a dim view of […]

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Animating our local laneways By Joe Cressy Downtown communities like ours face unique challenges and countless opportunities. Almost every day, in conversations at our local coffee shops, in public meetings, and as we connect with our neighbours, we look for ways to work together to build our communities. We look for opportunities to enhance our […]

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