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Police apprehend multiple “drug-dependent” individuals

By Hannah Alberga

January has brought a spike in commercial crime around Bloor and Brunswick streets, with four restaurants experiencing break-ins on one day.

Between 3:30 am and 6:30 am on Jan. 7, the  St. Louis Bar and Grill, Crafty Coyote Ale House, Vietnam Lovely Noodle, and Gong Cha teahouse were victims to break and enters.  Read more

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A dissenter makes his case

By Annemarie Brissenden

Do bike lanes make cycling inherently safer?

That question was up for debate at January’s Grounds for Thought, which runs the last Tuesday of every month at the Green Beanery at Bloor and Bathurst streets. With free coffee on offer, Grounds for Thought is an homage to the coffee houses of old, places where dissent and unconventional ideas were not only welcomed but encouraged.  Read more

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Can a park’s past set the tone for its future?

Had the Spadina Expressway been built, there might have been a development like St. James Town west of Yonge Street. The city had rezoned the area, and a developer had quietly purchased many of the 32 properties on Robert and Sussex avenues. COURTESY CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES

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Council resoundingly votes in favour of Bloor Street bike lanes

By Geremy Bordonaro

It’s been a long time coming but the Bloor Street bike lanes are now a permanent fixture of the community.  Read more

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When confronted with the question of whether or not to support the city’s pilot bike lanes on Bloor Street, the Bloor Annex and Korea Town Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) commissioned a study on the economic impact of the bike lanes. The comprehensive evaluation yielded clear results and also found a discrepancy between the attitudes of merchants and the positive impact the lanes appeared to have on their bottom lines.  Read more

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Heritage Toronto unveils Joseph Bloore plaque

PICTURE BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Approximately 100 people gathered at 117 Bloor St. E. on Aug. 31 to celebrate the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to Joseph Bloore. The plaque, located close to the site of Bloore’s home, includes a part of a previous one dedicated to the inspiration for Bloor Street and text by Heritage Toronto. It took more than seven years to create this new plaque, which may never have been unveiled if not for the passion and enthusiasm of local residents.  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Attendees at the third public consultation on the Bloor Street Pilot Bike Lanes annotated a map with comments on the pilot project. The annotations devolved into a war of words, in which one resident found himself battling another over the viability of businesses and bikes.

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Enhancing Toronto’s vital arts and cultural sector

PHOTO COURTESY TORONTO REFERENCE LIBRARY: Vice and Virtue, running until April 30 at the Toronto Reference Library, examines moral reform in Toronto at the turn of the last century. When moral crusader William Holmes Howland was elected mayor in 1886, he introduced laws to curb drinking and vice. This exhibit presents articles, photos, and other media fueling the good and evil behind Toronto the Good.

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On Nov. 25 the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (whose chair also publishes this newspaper) showcased its street revitalization plans at Markham House in Mirvish Village. The plans — expected to be implemented in 2018 — include converting public rights-of-way along Bloor Street into parkettes and a renewed tree inventory on the north side of the street.  Read more

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Creating a spot to gather

PICTURE COURTESY ROBERT CRAM: A Quebec quarry worker marks granite destined to become part seating, part art installation in four parkettes set to launch on Bloor Street in 2018.

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PHOTO BY SUMMER REID/GLEANER NEWS: The Bloor Street pilot bike lane project was launched on Aug. 12.

The Annex’s cycling community celebrated the unveiling of the Bloor Street pilot bike lane project on Aug. 12.  Read more

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