Delivering for our community

Here are some of the activities we've undertaken over the past few months to ensure the safety, livability & desirability of our neighbourhood

Walkabout with City of Toronto staff and Councillors' reps

• Toured immediate neighbourhood with senior City Staff, City Transport reps, By-Law Officers, and staff from the offices of Councillors Matlow and Chernos-Lin

• Walked along Yonge-Roehampton-Redpath-Broadway

• Raised the following issues among others:

  • General construction management, road conditions, signage, and environmental conditions

• Our concerns are being considered and addressed.

Meeting with our MP and MPP

• Met with MP Leslie Church and MPP Stephanie Smyth, both recently elected

• Walked the neighbourhood so they can become more familiar with on-the-ground issues 

• Discussed concerns facing our community including over-development, managing construction and the lack of affordable housing (both for sale and rent)

Stephanie Smyth MPP (centre) with Geri Berholz (l) & Miria Ioannou ®

Left photo: Stephanie Smyth MPP (centre) Geri Berholz (l) Miria Ioannou (r): Right photo: Leslie Church MP with Geri Berholz & Miria Ioannou

SURVEY RESULTS

A big thank to so many of you who responded to the RRA's survey on what kind of local businesses and services residents would like to see in our neighbourhood. With so many small businesses being eliminated as a result of new construction, it's important to let developers and the City know what we think.

Here are some results and what residents would like to see more of:

67% - Retail shops (clothing, bookstores, home goods)

59% - Restaurants (family-friendly, casual, international)

56% - Grocery stores (specialty food shops)

55% - Arts & Cultural (studios, galleries, music)

Other important elements: 

82% - always/mostly shop/dine in the neighbourhood

88% - believe in importance of small/independent businesses

94% - would support local businesses if subsidies made them more affordable especially through rent

Additional issues raised:

- Traffic congestion

- Cleanliness of area; need for more garbage bins

- More variety in restaurants

- Empty stores in Y&E mall

RioCan proposal for 2323-2329 & 2345 Yonge & Roehampton

This proposal for three towers up to 65 storeys has the potential to greatly affect our community because of its size and location. We have been meeting regularly with RioCan to try to mitigate this impact, especially during the construction process and the ingress and egress of all vehicles. We also recently made a presentation at City Hall asking for effective construction management, especially urging the staging of all construction on site and not on the street or sidewalk. Here is our full presentation: RRA Submission re 2323-2329-2345 Yonge

Councillor Josh Matlow introduced a motion in support of our request. Here's the motion:  Matlow motion at Toronto & East York Community Council. It will go to City Council.

Walkabout with Chief Planner, City of Toronto

We also participated in a walkabout around our neighbourhood with Chief City Planner, Jason Thorne. This was organized by the Eglinton Park Residents' Association (EPRA) and was intended to give Jason a feel for what our community is experiencing in terms of construction, traffic, general congestion and other challenges that come with intense current and proposed development. He appreciated the opportunity to get to know us and our community better. This meeting helped us become better connected to Jason and his team. We look forward to working with him.

Left photo: Chief City Planner, Jason Thorne (l) with Mark Winfield, EPRA; Right photo: Members of EPRA