Local looks to tackle traffic at Yonge and the 401

By

-

1:49 pm

Resident Raymond Jean has come up with a unique idea to tackle traffic back-ups at Yonge Street and Highway 401.

The city and province had already committed to jointly funding a feasibility study that will explore creating a left-turn flyover ramp for cars travelling southbound on Yonge Street to eastbound Highway 401.

But Jean thought that there was a more efficient and less expensive way of addressing the problem.

“During rush hour, especially the morning rush hour, it’s basically gridlock,” Jean said of the current situation.

He is proposing what he calls a double crossover diamond with overpass/underpass crossovers.

Jean’s theory centres around aiding the free flow of traffic such that left-hand turn signals are not needed. The roads would crossover in such a way that cars in the left lane would be able to get onto the on-ramp without having to stop.

As a trained software engineer, Jean didn’t know how to prove that it would work until he read a Time magazine article about the double crossover diamond, a model that is steadily gaining popularity in the United States. It has already been implemented in Missouri and is popping up in other states.

Coun. John Filion described the concept as brilliant. It even addresses issues he didn’t think could be resolved, such as providing for a safe pedestrian and cycling path. The next step, he said, is to submit it to a technical assessment.

“It’s a remarkably intelligent solution if it can work,” Filion said. “Everyone was extremely impressed that a resident who isn’t a traffic engineer could have come up with something like this.”

Stephen Schijn, manager of infrastructure planning in City of Toronto: Transportation Services Division, said that the feasibility study is expected to commence this month.

A variety of options will be considered, including the one put forward by Jean.

The study will cost approximately $200,000 and take roughly until the year’s end to complete, Schijn said.

Should the city decide to further explore any of the options that undergo this technical assessment, the next step would be to do an environmental assessment.

The funding to implement a preferred option would still have to be found.

Dog owners win right to appeal off-leash park closure

By

-

1:49 pm

0

Dog owners at a pilot off-leash park, just north of Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue, have won the right to appeal the city’s decision to shut down the park.

A Superior Court recently ruled that the Ledbury Off-Leash Dog Owners Association can legally challenge the closure of the off-leash area at Ledbury Park. Complaints from neighbouring residents prompted the city to shut it down. The dog owners’ group won the judicial appeal on the basis that the city’s policy outlined five reasons to shut down an off-leash area, none of which were properly carried out, when the Ledbury Park location was closed, according to a spokesperson for the Ledbury Off-Leash Dog Owners Association, John Conway. The court found that the city did not apply the policy directly, said Conway, a former lawyer.

“The basis for the decision was that ‘conflicts between park users cannot be resolved,’ ” he said. “That was the legal basis behind the decision [to close the park]. As for the alleged conflict between users, they required an investigation. None of that had happened, that I’m aware of,” Conway added.

However, Ward 16 Coun. Karen Stintz said the city had adhered to the policy and had the right to shut down the pilot park.

“I believe we applied the policy [properly],” Stintz said. “We were trying to work with the community to figure out how to incorporate an off-leash park … but none of the solutions were satisfactory to the community at large.” Stintz cited planting trees, as one method her office used to mitigate noise, and added that discussions with the different community groups to potentially relocate the park were not fruitful.

But Conway said his group is willing to work with nearby residents to address noise concerns, and he is skeptical of how many complaints were actually made.

“As to whether or not the noise was excessive, I certainly did not think it was. It just seemed to me that if the noise bylaw was being infringed, then there was a procedure that should be followed,” he said. “If there is a basis for complaint, then why don’t [they] change the hours of operation? I hear complaints about gates clanking, that’s an easy fix too,” he added.

After the dog owners won the appeal, Stintz introduced a new policy.

“We’ve changed our policy because of this experience,” she said. “Now we will no longer consider a designated off-leash area where the fence is shared by the park and residential property.”

The Ledbury Park off-leash area will remain open to the public pending the outcome of the appeal, which Conway said is expected in the spring of 2012.

Yonge & Eg application tops out at 64 storeys

By

-

1:48 pm

0

Bazis Inc., one of the developers who owns a stake in the TD Canada Trust property on the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, has submitted a formal planning application for a 44- and 64-storey tower. The buildings would share a three-storey podium with office and retail uses and feature 1,166 residential units and 371 underground parking spaces. A rezoning application is required, as the site is currently zoned for roughly 21 storeys and five times lot coverage. But, according to a city planner, the more up-to-date official plan has the site slated for greater density.

Coun. Josh Matlow recalled being furious when he learned the application had been submitted, based on where the dialogue between the developers and the community had left off. Matlow would like to see the developers re-engage with the community and revise the application.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said of the drawing. “It’s a big cube. There’s no way to even see what it looks like.” Matlow suspected that the hasty application was made in anticipation of a city lockout — a sentiment that was echoed by Terry Mills of the Sherwood Park Residents’ Association.

Mills, also a local planner, would like to see the application assessed in the broader context of the 200-metre stretch of Eglinton Avenue, between Duplex Avenue and Cowbell Lane, that is expected to see at least seven developments in the coming years.

“The success of this building will be measured in how well it serves the public,” he said.

Tom Cohen, president of the Eglinton Park Residents Association, cited good integration with surrounding buildings, public space, shopping and transit access as key concerns.

“The real interest is less in how high you go — if you don’t pass Minto [the nearby 54-storey building] — than in hitting the street well,” he said.

Michael Gold, president and CEO of Bazis Inc., did not respond to a request for an interview.

Film centre fence raises red flag for Bayview resident

By

-

1:48 pm

0

The circumstances around the erection of a fence that blocked off the pathway from Country Lane onto the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) site prompted local resident Richard Rix to question whether or not due process had been followed and the public’s rights have been respected in the centre’s ongoing campus improvement project. He recently wrote a 32-page report outlining his concerns and sent it to a number of parties including the city ombudsman, who he has asked to review the matter. In it, Rix identified as key issues how the film centre has conducted itself, the expansion of its lease holdings and the role of city officials in advancing its plans, which he fears may involve further expansion.

“What we’re looking at here is essentially the takeover of park land, of public land,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right and the way it’s being done is wrong.”

The film centre said the fence was installed to come into compliance with the restrictive covenant held by five abutting property owners. It stipulates that access to the site not be permitted from Country Lane. But, in speaking to the former councillor and the abutting property owners, Rix said he found that the fence was not requested by a neighbour, as had been suggested to him.

Jane Angel, the director of business and legal affairs at the film centre, said they’ve followed proper procedure in their plans and that they’ve tried their best to be a good neighbour and to be transparent.

“We’re disappointed in that it misrepresents our intention and actions,” Angel said of the report.

Coun. Jaye Robinson said that she’s been working on the fence issue since it came to her attention. At press time, Robinson said that the city and film centre had reached an interim decision to reopen the gate.

“We are going to definitely continue our outreach to the covenant holders,” she said. “This issue is really in their hands because they’ve got an agreement with the city.”

North York businessman brings Trump to T.O.

By

-

1:48 pm

0

In the run-up to the anticipated opening of local developer Alex Shnaider’s Trump International Hotel & Tower, a number of investors were reportedly trying to get out of their deals before the final closing. Located on Bay Street, the 60-storey tower contains 261 luxury hotel units, 118 condo units and a range of amenities.

Bob Aaron, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in real estate law, represented a couple from the United Kingdom that was attempting to get out before having to close on a $830,588 unit. He said purchasers may have had a change of heart for a variety of reasons: a change in the economic climate, delays in the project, the $7,000-a-month cost of carrying the unit and the realization that the units could not be flipped preconstruction.

“There’s the ice-cold reality that just because the Trump name is on it doesn’t mean that it is a guaranteed pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Aaron explained.

Alex Shnaider did not respond to a request for an interview. According to the Trump tower’s website, suites are still available, with hotel condos starting at $967,000 and residences starting at $2.3 million.

Dragon all smoke, but no fire in the belly

By

-

1:47 pm

0

When it comes to theatrical directors in recent memory, there are few who have received greater accolades in Canada and around the world than Quebec’s Robert LePage. Still in his early 50s, he has acted (in the wonderful Jesus of Montreal), directed everywhere from Sweden to New York’s Metropolitan Opera and written highly praised works of theatre. The Cirque du Soleil production he directed, Totem, was one of the most entertaining and visually stunning productions I’ve seen. So why on earth was I so deeply bored by one of his latest creations, The Blue Dragon, now running at the Royal Alexandra Theatre through Feb. 19?

LePage is nothing if not visually creative: throughout the 90-minute production, there are moments of great beauty, surprise and even profound pleasure. We see a French-Canadian artist explain the intricacies of Chinese calligraphy, painting letters on the floor in front of him, which appear at the same moment in images a hundred times in size on screens behind him. A two-level platform becomes the inside of a jet plane, then a restaurant, a train station and the skyline of Shanghai. Three performers speak in Chinese, French and English, with subtitles flashed across the centre of a screen behind their movements. Now and then, we see gorgeous dances, which echo the emotions of various performers, and even the famous Communist Chinese ballets popular under Chairman Mao. There are endless projections, even film clips, and the stage is chopped up before our eyes allowing viewers to focus on the concerns and actions of one, then two or all three protagonists.

The problem, at least for this critic? We never get a chance to care about Pierre, the failed middle-aged artist who has escaped from Quebec to come to China, or the beautiful young Chinese woman with whom he is having an affair, not to mention Pierre’s former lover who has come to town in an attempt to adopt a Chinese baby. There are shocking, even shattering explosions of Chinese music that go nowhere. Pierre fears emotional involvement, but so what? Evil, capitalist developers threaten to gobble up his apartment and gallery, but we never really feel strongly about anything. There are beautiful rainfalls, gorgeous lightning and terrifying thunder, but so often as to be tedious. And the quality of the writing is so prosaic and dull as to be forgotten within seconds after someone speaks.

Yes, there are some unforgettable and ingenious scenes (I loved the three different endings thrown at us). Is Robert LePage a genius? I certainly was not left with that impression from seeing this surprisingly uninvolving play. Does he have a great eye and an impressive sense of colour, dance, choreography and how to create visual imagery? Undeniably. A man of talent, no doubt. A giant of heightened words and intelligent theatre? Very little of that is hinted at in The Blue Dragon.

Avenue Road patrons robbed at popular restaurant

By

-

1:47 pm

0

Five male suspects have been arrested in a recent hold-up at the popular Avenue Road restaurant the Lobster Trap. According to Const. Victor Kwong, Toronto police responded to a call about an armed robbery moments before 10 p.m. on Jan. 25.

Five males suspects, whose faces were covered, entered the premises. The suspects then allegedly proceeded to demand that three employees and eight patrons get on the floor.

At that point, the suspects are said to have removed cash and cell phones from them.

Before leaving the scene, the suspects also apparently removed cash from the tills and liquor from the bar. Kwong said that the victims were left unharmed.

Police arrested five male suspects shortly thereafter in the area of Highway 401 and The Allen Expressway. Arrested were two 18-year-old males, a 22-year-old male and a 24-year-old male from Toronto as well as a 23-year-old male from Mississauga.

The male suspects are all facing 11 counts of robbery while armed with a firearm, 11 counts of forcible confinement, disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Two of the male suspects are facing additional charges including failure to comply with probation and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.

Home Depot plans poised to go ahead pending ruling

By

-

1:47 pm

0

Plans to develop the site located at 16 Lesmill Rd. and 840-842 York Mills Rd. into a large-scale retail centre featuring a Home Depot are poised to move forward pending a formal decision from the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Back in November, Toronto City Council directed a city solicitor to attend the hearing in support of the application, provided a number of outstanding concerns were addressed. Among them were urban design issues and transportation requirements.

John Dawson, a lawyer who attended the hearing on behalf of Rogers Communications, said that, by this point, none of the parties were contesting the plans. As such, the hearing only lasted a few hours.

“Rogers obviously was monitoring the circumstance,” Dawson said. “Their particular concern was traffic. They retained a traffic expert to review all the work that was done, and in the end, they did not object.”

This was the second phase of the hearing, dedicated to the planning merits of the application. Phase one dealt with how the plans fit into the provincial growth plan. The matter dates back to 2008 when the city initially refused the application for official plan and zoning amendments to permit the large-scale retail redevelopment.

After losing phase one of the OMB challenge and a subsequent rehearing, the city appealed to divisional court but was denied a hearing. The local councillor, the developer and Home Depot did not respond to interview requests.

A weighty conversation

By

-

1:44 pm

0

So Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug have announced that they eventually want to lose over 100 pounds. With a goal that big, where do you even start?
I think they, and anyone with a lot of weight to lose, need to sort out what their reasons are for losing weight. You need motivation, then you need to recognize that this is about forming lifelong habits.

Where do you see the Fords having some trouble?
Taking control of what you eat is very difficult for business people. It’s also difficult for people who live in an environment where they drive. Business people often just drive and sit, and they don’t have the time and opportunity to do much else. Those people are vulnerable.

How do you suggest these busy people fit healthier habits into their lives?
Make it more difficult to find your food … don’t just eat it because it’s there. If you go to a meeting … with coffee and Danish pastries with icing and no whole-wheat muffins, don’t eat anything. You’ve got to be more selective about what you eat.… You can’t just pass the hamburger stand and grab one to go.

What about exercise? If you’ve got over 100 pounds to lose, how do you exercise safely?
The trouble with very overweight people is that sometimes they have bad joints. Many overweight people are quite fit.… If they’re younger, they should run, play tennis, really exercise vigorously.… But for people who’ve reached their 50s or 60s and are very overweight with bad joints, they should try walking or find themselves a pool and do some AquaFit. It’s soft on the joints and gives you a good workout.

What’s worse for weight gain, fat or carbs?
If you have a really creamy or greasy, fatty food, that’s bad for you. If you have really fluffy, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth carbohydrate food, that’s bad for you, too. You can’t really put one over the other. Basically, anything that tastes good is probably bad for you.

Is there a particular type of diet — for example, Japanese, Greek, Thai — that is particularly good to follow?
You should follow the diet you find the least palatable, that’ll work (laughs). No, I think it’s a very good plan, both for your health and the planet, to look toward a more plant-based or vegetarian diet. It’s varied, it’s interesting, and it’s not calorie dense. You get the nutrition but not the calories.

We get a lot of warnings about the dangers of yo-yo dieting, but if you have a high-calorie weekend, is it wrong to have a few hungry days to balance it out?
No, I think, for a lot of people, that’s the way to go. I wouldn’t call it yo-yo dieting. It’s more boom and bust. If it’s the best you can do, then do it. But really do it. Eat less for a few days, and then remember how hungry you were and learn from it so you can eat moderately on the next weekend.

What about the natural diet supplements that are so popular right now, like green tea or cayenne pepper?
If they are working for someone, go for it. I remember the grapefruit diet was very popular at one time, and I know it worked for some people and not others. Different approaches work for different people. If they don’t work for you, then go back to eating with more restraint. The only rule is don’t get depressed and give up.

Should people consult a physician before they start a diet?
I think it’s a tremendously good idea to go get a checkup and discuss diet. And if you’re overweight, discuss other risk factors, like high cholesterol, diabetes tendency, because that will give you some impetus to actually follow a diet … then you should ask to get an interview with a dietician.

Is there one hard and fast rule that everyone should follow?
Don’t live your life beside the refrigerator. Find other interests. It’s the best way to take your mind off food … build activity into your life, go on family outings that don’t revolve around eating. It’s a problem that doesn’t have an easy solution because it’s not like alcohol. You can’t just quit. You can, however, decentralize it from your life.

Parent pushes for defibrillators in local schools

By

-

1:42 pm

0

A mother in Thornhill whose daughters’ heart conditions require defibrillators is pushing to make them available and mandatory in schools throughout York Region. Magi, who only wished to use her first name in order to protect her daughters’ identities, said both her 14-year-old and 12-year-old children have Brugada syndrome, a life-threatening heart rhythm disorder known to cause sudden death. Therefore, both girls require a defibrillator.

“Six months ago, I didn’t even know the word ‘defibrillator,’ ” said Magi, a teacher. “Now, [doctors] tell me heart disease in kids is more common, and I want their learning environment to be safe.”

Last summer, Magi took her daughter to the hospital for what seemed like a fever at the time. A few weeks after that, her oldest had a pacemaker put in, and her youngest daughter was diagnosed shortly after that.

But Ross Virgo, senior manager of public affairs and communications at the York Region District School Board, said that funding for the equipment, which Magi estimated can cost between $1,500 and $2,000 er machine, has to come from the provincial government.

“We have a policy that certainly permits defibrillators to be brought into schools by families who are affected,” Virgo added.

Magi’s daughters, who attend Carrville Mills Public School in the Thornhill Woods area, have access to a defibrillator that was donated by the Mikey Network, a non-profit group that promotes heart-healthy living. But she thinks the problem goes beyond her own family.

“I’m not here talking about just my kids anymore,” said Magi. “They should be in all the schools in York Region.”

Joel Hertz, Carrville Mills’ trustee, said that he is working alongside Magi to apply a consistent policy to every school in York Region — a task that would be impossible without allocated funding from the government.

“We have almost 200 schools,” Hertz said.

“We want to make sure we do things right and make sure people are properly trained,” he added.

Magi said she plans to petition the provincial government to allocate the funding.

“It comes down to money,” she said. “There are kids walking around with this silent killer. I’m just one small person, but I hope it will move somebody.”

Black History Month in Canada: a five point primer

By

-

1:33 pm

0

How much do you know about Black history in Canada and in Toronto? How much is there to know? “The average sixteen-year-old in Canada can tell you something about slavery and abolition in the United States,” Toronto author Lawrence Hill once remarked, but “do we know that the story of African-Canadians spans 400 years, and includes slavery, abolition, pioneering, urban growth, segregation, the civil rights movement and a long engagement in civic life?”

As we begin Black History Month 2012, here are a few things you might want to know.

1. Back in 1926, African-American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson initiated “Negro History Week” to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. But there’s too much history for just one week so, on both sides of the border, February became Black History Month. It was celebrated in Toronto as far back as 1950. And this year, the month is one day longer!

2. Toronto was Canada’s first municipality to officially adopt Black History Month. After Toronto MP Jean Augustine introduced a motion, passed unanimously by the House of Commons in 1995, Black History Month became recognized across Canada.

3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is just outside Dresden, Ontario. That is to say, the cabin of Reverend Josiah Henson, on whose life Harriet Beecher Stowe based the classic anti-slavery novel. It’s only 300km from Toronto.

4. You may know that the Underground Railroad led to Windsor, St. Catharines and Owen Sound, but did you know about the Toronto connection? In 1985, the site of what is now Inglenook Community High School, the Toronto District School Board’s oldest continually operating school, was discovered to have been a terminus of the Underground Railroad back when it was inhabited by Lucie and Thornton Blackburn in the 1800s.

5. Black loyalists and slavery are two aspects of Canadian history of which many people are quite unaware. Black history in Canada goes back as far as Samuel de Champlain, whose translator was a free African polyglot named Mathieu Da Costa.

Don’t want a history lesson? Why not read a great novel, like Half-Blood Blues or The Book of Negroes. (You can’t escape history, so you might as well enjoy it.)

Evan Andrew Mackay is a Toronto playwright and humourist who writes about culture and social justice.

Chef Anthony Rose’s breakthrough dish was chicken al forno with salsa verde

By

-

11:42 am

0

Some recipes are universal; most memories are not. The process of shaping raw ingredients into something palatable — and the events that surround this endeavour — can lead to all kinds of unforgettable moments: kitchen disasters, severed digits, epic struggles with newfangled culinary gadgets and, sometimes, personal triumphs. So why not ask some of the city’s top chefs for their most memorable recipes? Why not, indeed?

This week, we asked Anthony Rose, executive chef at The Drake, for his “breakthrough” recipe. Before his current gig, Rose spent several years in the US, during which time he worked with renowned chef Jonathan Waxman. The experience was pivotal for him.

Says Rose:

“I started working with Jonathan in NYC and he is still my biggest mentor. I loved the honest simplicity of his food and all the love he put into it. We are still tight. Working with him really solidified for me that I was on the right track, not to take food too seriously and just really enjoy what you do. To me, this dish represents that philosophy. Amen.”

CHICKEN AL FORNO WITH SALSA VERDE

Ingredients:

Chicken:

1 four-pound free-range organic chicken (fresh only)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salsa Verde:

¼ cup capers in salt
4 anchovy filets
3 cloves garlic
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped arugula
½ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped tarragon
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

Salsa verde:

Soak capers in cold water for an hour, then drain. Soak anchovies in cold water for 15 minutes, then pat dry and remove the bones. Using a mortar and pestle, smash the capers, anchovies and garlic until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Add all herbs and olive oil, then season with sea salt. It should be chunky, not oily.

Chicken:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash the bird in hot water (this will remove any nasty juices that collect in the plastic wrap that all chickens seem to come in). Dry with paper towels. Using kitchen shears, cut out the backbone of the chicken and remove any fat (this can be added to a chicken stock). Then, using a heavy chef’s knife, cut out the breastbone. Cut the chicken in half and season the two halves with sea salt and black pepper. Place the chicken halves, skin side up, on two sizzle platters and dab with the olive oil. Cut the lemon in half and place each half, cut side down, next to the chicken on each platter. Roast the chicken for 35 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. If it is not browning well, turn it over after 15 minutes, and then right it for the last five minutes. When it is done, remove the chicken to a platter and pour off the excess fat. Cut each breast in half and cut the thigh from the leg. Serve with salsa verde and garnish with the roasted lemon.