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.
EDITORIAL (FALL 2017): Bike lanes, good for business
October 12th, 2017 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL (FALL 2017): Bike lanes, good for business
GRADING OUR GREENSPACE (AUGUST 2017): Parks on the fringe
September 13th, 2017 · Comments Off on GRADING OUR GREENSPACE (AUGUST 2017): Parks on the fringe
Some worth a look, others deserve a miss
In this, the final part of our 2017 annual review of parks, we consider parks that are on the fringe of our traditional coverage area, as well as those that are often overlooked. As you will discover, some are worth the extra distance, while others need work and can be missed.
Tags: General
CHATTER (JULY 2017): Larry Sdao receives Community Builder Award
August 1st, 2017 · Comments Off on CHATTER (JULY 2017): Larry Sdao receives Community Builder Award
The Harbord Village Residents’ Association (HVRA) has given Larry Sdao its Community Builder Award. Sdao owns 481 Bloor St. W., formerly home to the Brunswick House. HVRA chair Gus Sinclair said that Sdao worked with the community to deal with “an intractable problem that was the Brunswick House business [Sdao’s former tenant]”.
CHATTER (June 2017): Community through song
June 30th, 2017 · Comments Off on CHATTER (June 2017): Community through song
PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Led by Andrew Donaldson, the Trinity-St. Paul’s choir performs on the steps of the Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church during the Annex Family Festival on June 11. Organized by the Miles Nadal JCC and sponsored by the Bloor Annex BIA (whose chair publishes this newspaper), the festival featured 120 craft and unique food vendors, as well as a street parade and children’s village.
NEWS (APRIL 2017): U of T seeks to expand planning exemption
April 10th, 2017 · Comments Off on NEWS (APRIL 2017): U of T seeks to expand planning exemption
Proposal designates character areas
PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Audience members at a community meeting fear that extending the University of Toronto’s Planning Act exemptions for its St. George campus would lead to additional new development in the area.
By Brian Burchell
CHATTER (MARCH 2017): Preliminary data on Bloor Street pilot bike lane released
March 22nd, 2017 · Comments Off on CHATTER (MARCH 2017): Preliminary data on Bloor Street pilot bike lane released
PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
ON THE COVER (JANUARY 2017): Putting the city’s laneways to work
January 23rd, 2017 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER (JANUARY 2017): Putting the city’s laneways to work
PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Two city councillors want to make Toronto’s laneways available for housing. bpNichol Lane — shown above — hosts a variety of uses including residences and Coach House Books.
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NEWS (JANUARY 2017): Laneway living
NEWS (JANUARY 2017): Laneway living
January 23rd, 2017 · Comments Off on NEWS (JANUARY 2017): Laneway living
Should infill take precedence over upward building?
By Brian Burchell
With affordable housing at a premium in Toronto, two councillors are proposing to open up the city’s 2,400 laneways to infill development.
Tags: General
CHATTER (JANUARY 2017): Bird was the word for giving
January 23rd, 2017 · Comments Off on CHATTER (JANUARY 2017): Bird was the word for giving
Without missing a beat, Freeman Real Estate and Spirit of Math spanned wing-on-wing to make sure one of the area’s holiday traditions would continue to fly. Thanks to their efforts, nearly 500 hundred turkeys flew off a giveaway table set up at 988 Bathurst St. last December.
FOCUS (JANUARY 2017): Local residents’ associations respond to OMB review
January 23rd, 2017 · Comments Off on FOCUS (JANUARY 2017): Local residents’ associations respond to OMB review
Recommendations for mandating community participation
PHOTO CREDIT BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Planned by the OMB: College Street is rife with developments denied by the city, only to have been approved on appeal by the provincial agency.
By Annemarie Brissenden
NEWS (DECEMBER 2016): Infill versus open space at 666
December 20th, 2016 · Comments Off on NEWS (DECEMBER 2016): Infill versus open space at 666
Residents decry loss of green space and heritage impacts
PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANE NEWS: Uno Prii designed 666 Spadina Ave., which is listed on the city’s inventory of Heritage Properties. The property owner wants to add an 11-storey building and eight stacked townhouses on the site.
By Brian Burchell
Tags: General
YEAR IN REVIEW (DECEMBER 2016): A focus on livability, grindertude
December 20th, 2016 · Comments Off on YEAR IN REVIEW (DECEMBER 2016): A focus on livability, grindertude
Year in review reflects community initiatives
By Annemarie Brissenden
Little did we know last year that our annual holiday cover — a reproduction of a painting by Lawren Harris — would be quite so appropriate for 2016. Harris enjoyed a renaissance this year as the subject of both an Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition curated by Steve Martin and a documentary by White Pine Pictures.
NEWS (NOVEMBER 2016): OMB opened
November 18th, 2016 · Comments Off on NEWS (NOVEMBER 2016): OMB opened
Residents glimpse settlement offer
By Brian Burchell
In an effort to bring transparency to the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) mediation process, Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) took the unusual step of bringing a developer’s confidential settlement offer to the community for comment before that offer is voted on by Toronto City Council.