Ward 39 Grass Cutting Schedule

Spring is here, and the City of Toronto is commencing its grass cutting schedule this week. Weather permitting, the mowing crews will clear grass on major boulevards and islands throughout the ward on the specified dates, while a trimming crew will dispatched two days later.

The schedule for the next month in our ward is as follows:

April 27 - 28
South of Finch, north of Sheppard, between Birchmount and the railroad tracks east of Kennedy.

May 14 - 17
North of Finch, south of Steeles, between Birchmount and the railroad tracks east of Kennedy.

May 18
North of Finch, south of Steeles, between Victoria Park and Birchmount.

For grass cutting schedule for other parts of Scarborough, please see links below.

Useful Links
2010 Scarborough Grass Cutting Schedule: April 26 - May 18

Coffee with the Councillor

Our office would like to extend a warm thank you out to all residents who came out to Coffee with the Councillor on Saturday, April 11th. We were able to share some coffee with a variety of residents from across the ward, who each brought their own unique perspectives, opinions and issues to our table.

If you weren't able to make it out to our event or still have some issues and questions, please feel free to contact us here at the office at 416-392-1374.

City of Toronto reminds residents about its level of snow clearing service

Though it's been a relatively mild winter, we should never forget that snow is a fact of life here in Canada. The City of Toronto has issued this press release to let all residents know exactly when it will deal with snow on streets and sidewalks.

News Release
February 24, 2010

City of Toronto reminds residents about its level of snow clearing service

With a sizeable snowfall expected over the next few days, the City of Toronto is reminding residents and businesses about the levels of snow clearing the City provides.

Large snowfalls require a coordinated approach by the Citys staff and contractors to ensure that City streets and sidewalks are safe.

As soon as the snow begins, Transportation Services sends out its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and the main roads. After this, the salt trucks will then move on to the local roads. If the City receives five centimetres of snow, the plows are sent to the expressways and main roads and plowing will take place for the duration of the storm.

When the snow stops and if the snow accumulation reaches eight centimetres, plows will be sent to the local roads. Normally, local road plowing will be completed between 14 and 16 hours after the storm has ended.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on local roads where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres (five centimetres in January and February) of snow has fallen. In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow 12 hours after a storm has taken place. To learn more about sidewalk snow clearing in Toronto and to view a map of where the service takes place, click on http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow.

The City of Torontos levels of service for snow clearing meet or exceed those set by the Province of Ontario for municipalities and road authorities. These levels of service were adopted by Toronto City Council in 2009.

Residents who have questions about snow clearing efforts in their area can call 311.

The City has 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks ready to tackle the winter season.

If you experience any additional difficulty with your snow removal service, please feel free to give our office a call at 416-392-1372.

TTC Online Trip Planner

The TTC has recently released the latest beta of their online Trip Planner. By inputting a starting point and a destination within the city, the service will attempt to find the most efficient TTC routing to get you there the Better Way.

Give it a try here.

Remember to always give yourself enough extra time for walking distances and to be mindful of traffic situations, as they are not included in the system's trip calculation.

Your Opinion Counts! - Rooming houses

In response to an opinion article printed in the Toronto Star (Uniform rules for rooming houses, Jan 11, 2010), I have drafted this letter:

As the Chair of the Scarborough Community Council I have the task to represent the unanimous position taken by Community Council to voice our concerns against the debate of allowing rooming houses "as a right" in any neighbourhood.

There is no opposition for uniform rules for rooming houses where they are allowed. In Scarborough, legal second suites plus the housing of up to two boarders as a right has addressed the argument of affordable accommodation.

The notion of illegal rooming houses becoming legal is a fantasy. There is no right of entry for inspection. These units whether legal or illegal are a business, yet, classified as single family homes paying the same taxes. They also create issues in the neighbourhood which, with limited City By-law Resources, can be addressed usually in a non timely manner.

The City has spent millions on affordable housing. To pretend that nothing is being done is wrong.

Councillor Milczyn pointed out in debate, that the proponents for rooming houses stoop to condemn those opposed as racists, bigots, uncaring etc. These insults are typical when points or concern are raised and are answered with name calling. The Star has joined that name calling by saying "these councillors have shirked their responsibilities and delayed much-needed change, that we have our heads in the sand".

I would remind the name callers that our responsibility is to represent the communities that we serve in a balanced and fair manner.

The version that was printed in the Toronto Star can be found here (Clearing air on rooming houses, Jan 18, 2010). My letter was also printed in the Scarborough Mirror.

I want to ask you, my constituents, what you think of this issue. Your opinion counts in Ward 39, so click here to let me know how you feel in the comments section of this post.

Finch Warden Area Study status report

Item SC31.20 (Finch Warden Area Revitalization Study & 2900 Warden Avenue Official Plan and Zoning By-law Ammendment - Status Report) was presented this week in Scarborough Community Council. The item contained a status report (link) concerning both the Finch-Warden Revitalization Study and the building application.

Staff have been directed to finalize the report and continue to evaluate the proposed development in accordance with the report. A meeting will also be convened between the developer and myself concerning Section 37 monies. The finalized report will be presented at a future Scarborough Community Council meeting before heading to council.

Useful links:
Scarborough Community Council decision document
Staff status report
Finch-Warden Area Revitalization Study Report

Real estate agent jailed, fined $1M for grow-op scheme (Toronto Star)

Reprinted from The Toronto Star, December 22nd, 2009:

"A Markham real estate agent who turned 54 rented homes into Canada's largest-known illegal marijuana grow-op was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison and fined more than $1 million."

Read more...