City news release: Winter sightings of coyotes are normal in the city

Coyote sightings are not uncommon in Ward 39. In past years, neighbours have reported seeing the wild animals in the Heathwood, Beverly Glen, and Glendower subdivisions. For more information on the animal and how to keep your neighbourhood safe, please see the City's news release below:

News Release

January 12, 2012

Winter sightings of coyotes are normal in the city

Residents in the city of Toronto who live on or near ravines and forests (typical coyote habitat) should expect to have more coyote sightings during winter months.

Coyotes have become a natural part of the urban landscape in Toronto. They can thrive in urban areas because of the abundance of food and shelter available to them.

Residents can expect to see coyotes more often in winter for the following reasons:
It is easier to spot coyotes in parks and ravines in the winter because they are not hidden by foliage.
Coyotes are wary by nature and are more comfortable roaming in residential neighbourhoods when fewer people are outside.
The months of January and February are mating season for coyotes, which means coyotes are more active during this time, making them more visible.

Coyotes may approach pets that are not supervised, especially cats and small dogs. It is always a good idea to keep an eye on your pet while they are outside. It is very unlikely that a coyote will be attracted to a child; however, close supervision of children is also important.

Residents are advised to follow these practical steps that will help to minimize negative encounters with coyotes:
Never feed a coyote or any wild animal. Feeding wild animals is detrimental to the community and to the animals themselves.
Do not feed domestic pets outside.
Ensure all household garbage is inaccessible to animals.
Place garbage at the curb the morning of the scheduled pick-up.
Consider using green bins instead of composters for food waste.
Always supervise pets - keep dogs on a leash and cats indoors or supervised while outside.
Remove dense brush and weeds around property to minimize hiding spots for coyotes.
If you encounter a coyote, wave your arms aggressively, make loud noises, and throw objects in its direction (but not at it) to scare it away. These actions teach coyotes to be afraid of humans and this will minimize conflicts. If these actions do not scare a coyote, back away slowly from the animal. Do not turn your back or attempt to run away.

In this last scenario, if the coyote is not scared away, please call Toronto Animal Services, through 311. There is no need to call if you simply spot a coyote exhibiting its normal behaviour.

If every member of the community commits to following these steps, we will experience fewer negative encounters with coyotes in Toronto.

For more information, call 311 or visit http://www.toronto.ca/animal_services/coyote.htm

Minor power outages in the Heathwood Subdivision

Our office has been made aware of several power short outages (or "flashoevers") in the Heathwood subdivision of the ward (between Birchmount and Kennedy, Steeles and McNicoll). Our office has contacted Toronto Hydro who are working actively to solve the issues. Below is an excerpt of Toronto Hydro's communication to our office, updating us on the issues at hand and the solutions they are providing:

The main issue is with a feeder. In the past it has been underground cable failures.

Late on December 21st (shortly after the outage at 11:30 PM reported by the Heathwood Community customer), a forced outage occurred that was found due to a severely burnt conductor lead, which has since been repaired. This may explain the multiple momentary outages that have occurred recently.

Our System Reliability staff will continue to monitor for further outages, and is pro-actively inspecting pad mounted switches to determine if flash-overs from those devices may also have contributed to these outages.

Our response staff believe they have found the problem equipment and will be ice blasting it on the 29th. To replace the equipment will take 4 to 8 hours to complete. Due to the cold weather the plan is to do this work next week. In the interim, staff are putting together a list of customers that will be effected with this planned outage repair work. When a firm date has been determined, notices will be couriered to these customers.

City News Release: City of Toronto gears up for winter

The first signs of snow have been spotted in Ward 39 in the past week, and the City of Toronto is ready to keep its streets clean. Find out more about what the City is doing to brave this winter below:

Emerald Ash Borer Update

Excerpted from the Fall 2011 Newsletter:

Emerald Ash Borer Update
On a sad note, I wish to inform you of the loss of many Ash trees in Ward 39. The Emerald Ash Borer insect continues to infect Ash trees in the entire City. Overall, an estimated 420,000 trees, which represents one third of Toronto’s entire tree canopy, will have to be destroyed.

If you have Ash trees on your property which are infected, you are responsible to remove them at your own cost. Should you wish to replace the trees that have to be removed, you could contact:

LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests): they offer a Backyard Tree Planting Program that provides native trees and shrubs to homeowners in Toronto at a subsidized cost. Visit www.yourleaf.org for more information.

For healthy Ash trees on private property, there is a chemical compound that can be injected into the tree every other year to prolong its life. For more information on this process, please contact 311.

Toronto to host 2012 Ontario Summer Games

The City of Toronto will host the 2012 Ontario Summer Games from August 16 to 19, 2012. The 2012 Games will bring together almost 2,500 athletes competing in 28 sports in multiple venues across Toronto and surrounding regions, as well as 368 coaches, 113 managers, 281 officials, 21 provincial sport organization representatives, more than 1,000 volunteers and thousands of spectators. The Games are a unique opportunity for many young athletes, as the multi-sport competition serves as a stepping stone to many national and international competitions.

The Ontario Summer Games are still looking for volunteers, so please see their website for more details.

ANC House Basketball League

Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) is creating a house basketball league and needs your help! They are looking for youth aged 13 - 21 as coaches, referees, and of course players. They will be recruiting people on Mondays and Wednesday starting November 14th.

For more information, please contact Ziggy Miller at 416-609-9393, or download this flyer for details.

Improved bus service in Ward 39

Below is an excerpt taken from a letter from the TTC to our office concerning bus service improvements, dated August 15th, 2011:

Improved Service on Bus Routes
TTC staff carefully monitor ridership levels and operational performance on all TTC bus routes and, working strictly within the budget limitations allowed us by the City, we make adjustments to service in order to ensure that passenger comfort and crowding are maintained at reasonable levels, and that the attractiveness and reliability of the services are kept as good as possible.

Over the past few years, we have made a number of service improvements on routes in your ward, and these include:

42 Cummer:

Service was increased in January 2011 in the morning and afternoon peak periods, and in the late evening from Monday to Friday. Service was also increased in September 2010 on Sunday mornings. These service increases were in response to increasing ridership, and they reduced crowding on this route.

199 Finch Rocket:

We are currently conducting detailed stop-by-stop ridership counts on this route, and we will complete an evaluation of the service change this fall. The evaluation will include consideration of changes to stops, including the possibility of adding the stop at Adirondack Gate/Wayside Avenue to the 199 Finch Rocket route. The decision as to whether this stop will be added back to 199 Finch Rocket express service will be based on several factors, including an analysis of up-to-date stop usage on the 39 Finch East route; the number of people using this stop since the introduction of the 199 Finch Rocket route; an evaluation of the overall travel time changes to customers at this stop, considering both the change in waiting time of the revised local service and the running time difference between the express and local service; and the ability of the 199 Finch Rocket route to accommodate additional customers and additional stops, given our current resource limitations.

43 Kennedy:

Various service increases have been made to this route. Starting in September 2011, significant increases in service will be made during the peak periods and midday from Monday to Friday. These increases are intended both to reduce crowding and also to improve the reliability of the service, by adding more time to the schedules. These changes are in addition to schedule adjustments made in September 2010 to better service Mary Ward Collegiate; increased service Sunday mornings in January 2008; increased service on Monday-Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons in February 2008; and increased service on Sunday late evenings in November 2008.