Keesmaat promises revamp of Scarlett Wood Golf Course

Scarlett Wood Golf Course in lower left quadrant. From Google Maps. Click to enlarge.

Jennifer Keesmaat is promising that if she is elected mayor on October 22nd, she will switch three city owned golf courses to ‘community spaces’ with a wider variety of uses. The courses are Scarlett Wood on Eglinton between Jane and Scarlett, Don Valley Golf Course and Dentonia Park Golf Course. Keesmaat claims that the courses, lose money, are rarely used and are open less than six months a year. Instead, she is proposing other uses such as sports pitches, cycling and walking trails and says that local communities should be consulted as to the best uses of the space.

The conversion of the Scarlett Wood course to new uses would give local citizens a great opportunity to re-think public land use and it’s a common sense approach to ensuring that city owned land is used for the benefit of a wider group of people. This would add a large parcel of green space and river frontage to the already considerable recreational facilities around the Jane and Eglinton intersection.

Read more here.

Letter of the week: Bus stop at the UP Express Station

From stevemunro.ca

Anne T commented on the news that Uber and Metrolinx have come to an arrangement. She quite sensibly wonders why Metrolinx and the TTC haven’t entered into a similar arrangement.

What would make even MORE SENSE is to have a TTC bus stop right at the front doors of the UP Weston station where presently many passengers are either picked up or dropped off.  I’m a frequent UP user who takes the Weston 89 bus to the station and have to walk through the parking lot.  DEFINITELY a TTC  bus stop makes more sense!

Why should UBER have their own taxi stand?  Why the special privilege for just UBER and not other taxi companies? Is Metrolinx making money on this UBER/Metrolinx deal?   And why should we sell the parking lot to private developers?  It’s bad enough that we sold the 407 to Spain.  When will we finally put an end to this insanity?

If Metrolinx is trying to encourage people to leave their cars at home, a convenient stop at the station entrance would be welcomed bu UP and GO riders. A very frosty person at Metrolinx’s phone reception said that it would be up to the TTC to get the ball rolling on this. I’ve left a message with the TTC at their suggestions page.

Readers who like this idea may wish to contact the TTC and Metrolinx to lend your support.

TTC suggestion page here

TTC phone line – 7:00 am – 10:00 pm: 416.393.3030

Metrolinx suggestion page here.

Metrolinx phone line: 416.874.5900

Uber teams with UP Express

Uber and UP Express have worked a mutual deal so that Uber will have a designated pick-up spot at Weston Station. Logically, it makes sense for Metrolinx to provide alternatives to parking at the much used station. The plan all along has been for Metrolinx to eventually sell much of the current parking space to developers.

Read more here.

Latest Crosstown video shows green roof installation.

The latest video from Crosstown shows before and after views of the vehicle maintenance yard located on the old Kodak lands in Mount Dennis. The video begins with a shot of the site back in March 2017 and then moves forward to this October. The work is substantially complete; most of the tracks are down and a striking feature of the project is the green roofing of the complex. The green roof will save money on heating and cooling while reducing the buildings’ carbon footprints.

One can speculate whether or not such ‘frills’ could happen if the project had been approved under the current Ford regime.

TTC? Yes, Please! (and Thank You)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the TTC is giving Weston something to be thankful for. As transit goers may have noticed, the TTC has been rolling out a few changes in the past month to make service more accessible and reliable, and will be continuing this Thanksgiving long week-end. In September, they implemented the new numbering for express routes, changing the existing numbers (like the 195 Jane Rocket and the 54E Sheppard Express) to 900 numbering, to make it easier to identify these routes and to add consistency. They have also added green badges on express bus stops for this same purpose.

Rolling out this weekend is the addition of three new routes: the 952 Lawrence West Express, the 989 Weston Express and the 929 Dufferin Express. Though no bus stop lists for either of the routes that run through Weston have been released yet, one can, based on other express routes, make the assumption that these busses will stop at all major intersections. The 952 will run between Lawrence station and Pearson airport. The 989 will operate only during morning and afternoon rush hours. Both routes will have updated schedules as well to make the routes more consistent and accommodate for the new express busses.

These express routes not only help residents in the area get to work faster and easier, it will also hopefully stop the bunching of the 52 busses and bring more people into the neighbourhood. This also allows for an easier commute for students who take TTC, in particular, Weston Collegiate students who commute from Rexdale for the IB and SHSM programs offered. Though this will not ease congestion on the road, it will ease congestion on busses, allowing for a more comfortable commute. There are plans for future upgrades to the system, but already we are seeing big steps forward for our little part of the city. Further information can be found on the TTC website.

Meet and Greet with MP Hussen on Saturday.

Come and glad-hand with the Minister and York South-Weston MP himself this Saturday in his office at 99D Ingram Drive. It all gets going at 12 noon and ends at 2:00 pm. Mr. Hussen will be ‘providing updates to the community’ at this event.

His office is asking residents to RSVP by calling 416-656-2526 or emailing Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca if you have any questions. 

Marijuana talk tonight at the Mount Dennis Library

The Mount Dennis Library will be hosting a talk tonight called “Not Your Grandad’s Weed: The Forensic Science of Cannabis”. The lecture starts at 7 and should last about an hour.

James Wigmore, an internationally recognized forensic toxicologist and published author who has appeared on CBC Radio Ontario Today, will present a one-hour lecture describing the various types of marijuana including edible cannabis, dabs, and their psychoactive effects and risks including Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome.