Toronto City Council has approved Ward 25 councillor Jaye Robinson’s plans to establish a Bayview Avenue traffic working group, and once that body takes its shape, a new vision for the stretch from Lawrence Avenue East to Highway 401 will begin to form.
“This ward I represent is made up of highly desirable neighbourhoods, and that has actually put a lot of pressure on the area,” Robinson said. “This traffic group, in conjunction with the Bayview Avenue Design Guidelines Study, will begin to guide how this future development takes shape.”
She said the neighbourhood is in a constant flux as new developments and proposals sprout up, bringing with them more traffic and infrastructure pressure.
“As Bayview develops, that starts to put pressure on those neighbourhoods, and we want to avoid that [traffic] creep on to the side streets,” she said, adding that public discussions about Bayview design guidelines are always monopolized by traffic concerns.
“So we will create this subcommittee to deal specifically with traffic. People are seeing this intensification and hear the proposals and get worried about the traffic that comes with it. I would say Bayview is under siege right now, and we want to help guide responsible development here,” she added.
The design guidelines study is well underway with a two working group meetings under its belt since the start of 2014. Robinson said she hopes to start holding the first of the traffic study working group meetings in June or early July. She said the most important thing right now for the success of the traffic group is to gather community partners.
“We want community leaders, stakeholders from local institutions, the residents,” she said. “We want this to be an inclusive process, so the more, the merrier.”
Robinson said she will be sending out invitations and meeting notifications shortly for people to get involved.
