Councillor debuts podcast; Avenue Road safety improvements are on the way

By Dianne Saxe

Summer’s heat doesn’t slow things down in beautiful University-Rosedale! Celebrations raise spirits across the city, and our ward plays host to some of the best. I proudly celebrated love and diversity by dancing in this year’s Pride Parade (Thank you for all the cheers!). I was also glad to see so many of you enjoying this year’s Taste of Little Italy, the Toronto Jazz Festival, and Yorkville’s Exotic Car Show. A special thank you to everyone who came out to our June Environment Day. During summer in the Annex, I always look forward to being inspired and surprised at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Don’t miss my conversation with the new heads of the festival on my new podcast, Saxe and the City!

At June city council, we were able to address unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists on the most dangerous road in our ward: Avenue Road between Bloor and Dupont. After months of intensive work in conjunction with the Avenue Road Safety Coalition, community members, my colleagues and staff, I am delighted to deliver the largest number of pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements that can be achieved without reconstructing the road (which could take decades). These measures strike a careful balance between the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, businesses, residents, visitors, the TTC and emergency services, transforming this section of Avenue Road into a more pedestrian-friendly corridor while maintaining traffic flow and a reasonable amount of parking. Installation south of Davenport began in July; Dupont to Davenport should begin this fall. 

Unfortunately, council did not approve a staff-recommended median to physically bar dangerous maneuvers from Roxborough to Avenue to Dupont, which leads to a crash about every 12 days. The median would have made this particular intersection safer, but at the cost of more neighborhood traffic infiltration, and longer travel times for those who use Roxborough as a shortcut to the west.

Meanwhile, I continue to support measures to improve housing affordability and stability for Toronto’s renters. This includes turning a parking lot in the heart of Kensington Market into over 60 affordable, sustainable, supportive units; a proposed renovation control bylaw; and a new Rental Housing Supply program to construct purpose-built, rent-controlled homes. If the province does its part, we could build 65,000 more homes by 2030, including 6,500 much-needed rent-geared-to-income (RGI) homes in mixed-income developments. 

We are also working to improve TTC fare enforcement which should reduce the numerous delays caused by “disorderly patrons,” many of whom did not pay for their ride. 

As climate damage visibly worsens around the world, I am relieved that Toronto is still making slow but steady progress. I continue to work hard on climate action and to take the initiative whenever possible, and I am proud to report several landmark results from last month.

The biggest win was a landmark equity investment in Toronto Hydro. This long overdue investment will keep Toronto Hydro’s debt-to-equity ratio and borrowing costs within reasonable bounds while keeping pace with population growth and electrification. I am also looking forward to working with our new CEO and four new board members to lead Toronto Hydro through this exciting time. Two of them, Joyce MacLean and Ersilia Serafini, are respected climate leaders, and I expect that we will be able to do much more together than I could do alone.

Toronto city council also adopted my motion calling on the Independent Electricity System Operator to dramatically reduce gas generation by 2035 and allow Toronto Hydro to lead the transition. Now I’m working with the Clean Air Partnership and Environmental Defence to encourage other municipalities to do the same.

We can dramatically reduce our climate pollution by tackling two significant sources of it here in Toronto: car pollution and gas emissions from existing buildings. To these ends, we are pushing for buildings to eliminate their emissions by 2040, in line with the aims of TransformTO. I am also continuing to work on making it safer and more convenient to get around Toronto on foot, by bike, or by transit, and I am thrilled council also approved the 2025 to 2027 cycling network plan, plus more 2024 sidewalk and bike lane projects.

Dianne Saxe is city councillor for Ward 11, University-Rosedale.

READ MORE BY DIANNE SAXE:

• FORUM: Tackling road congestion, noise, and safety (June 2024)
• FORUM: Undoing vacant home tax debacle (May 2024)
• FORUM: A busy agenda at city council (Apr. 2024)
• FORUM: University-Rosedale update from the councillor’s chair (Mar. 2024)
• FORUM: Eventful new year at city council (Feb. 2024)
• FORUM: A hectic first year in University-Rosedale (Dec. 2023)
• FORUM: Keeping it green and safe in University-Rosedale (Fall 2023)
• FORUM: Fighting on five fronts (Summer 2023)
• FORUM: Addressing a housing shortage (May/June 2023)
• FORUM: Leveraging a green agenda (April 2023)
• FORUM: Budget passes in a consensus vote (Mar. 2023)
• FORUM: Bike lanes made permanent, more warming centres open (Feb. 2023)
• FORUM: Turbulent time to take a seat (Jan. 2023)