The Omnifarium - Toronto

Stop the Markham Bypass

Tue, 05 Feb 2008, 16:35

For almost six years, I worked in Markham near the corner of Warden Avenue and Highway 7. From our home in the Guildwood Village, there was an almost infinite choice of routes to take during my commute. I could drive north for a bit, then west, then north again, then west, and so on until I reached my job. But after a while, I hit on a strategy. To minimize the time taken to drive to work, I found that the best way was to put as much of the drive as possible within the city of Toronto.

For those surprised by that strategy, I'd like to point out that driving within Markham was a royal pain. Just crossing Steeles Avenue put me into much worse traffic conditions. Why was the traffic so bad in Markham? I think the reason has to do with public transit. Toronto has a good enough transit system that there's a noticable effect on the number of cars on the streets. But in Markham, practically everyone drives. That's what happens when housing is built in a sprawling pattern across the landscape.

And now on to the point of my rant. The town of Markham wants to complete a road known as the Markham Bypass, also known as the Donald Cousens Parkway. This road is intended to relieve traffic strain on Main Street Markham. Markham wants to extend the road south into Toronto and join up with the northern end of Morningside Avenue.

For a variety of reasons, a number of groups are opposed to this plan. The Friends of the Rouge Watershed list a wide range of concerns including the clearcutting of a significant swath of sensitive wetlands, woodlands, and streams, interference with a storage area for radioactive waste, and subsidizing urban sprawl, leading to more traffic, smog, asthma and health damage.

The City of Toronto shares many of those concerns, and is also opposing Markham's road plan. The northern end of Morningside Avenue runs through a predominately residential area. The last thing the residents of Malvern and Morningside Heights need is increased traffic and air pollution from cars and trucks trying to get to the eastern end of Markham.

(A more sensible plan for Morningside Avenue would be to extend it westward to meet up with McNicoll Avenue.)

Certainly Markham has its traffic problems. But these problems arose from choices made by Markham town councillors over the past few decades. The town developed as a bedroom community, with single-family homes sprawled across the landscape. Markham needs to understand an important principle of urban planning: Building roads is the worst way to solve traffic problems.

Here's one suggestion for Markham: Why not widen Main Street Markham? Markham Road is six lanes through northern Scarborough and already brings a lot of traffic into Markham. Wouldn't it make sense to widen Main Street Markham to a matching six lanes? Oh, I know some people would complain about the number of businesses on Main Street Markham that would have to be demolished to accomodate a wider street. But if Markham wants to solve its traffic problems, it needs to look for solutions close to home, and not dump its traffic onto neighboring municipalities.

Hans

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A New Garbage Day

Fri, 18 Jan 2008, 09:45

Here in Guildwood Village, today is the first day of using the city's new blue bins for our recycling garbage. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have gotten the message that the new bins are to be used now. Come on, guys, get with it!

Like many other cities, Toronto is running out of places to dump our garbage. Most of it now is shipped to a landfill in Michigan, which is politically unpopular in that state. So alternatives need to be found. The city has a goal of reducing the waste sent to landfill by 70% by the year 2010. The new bin program is one more step along that road.

In our home, garbage is separated into four streams. First, non-animal compostable waste goes to our backyard compost bin. Second, other compostable material goes into the green bin which is picked up every week. Third, recyclable material goes into the blue bin. Finally, all the rest goes into the traditional garbage can. In this household, the vast majority of our waste goes into the recycling bin. This week, our blue bin was full up to the top.

The classification of waste at the curb is an important and easy way to keep garbage out of the landfill. But there's a lot more that can be done. We also need to get the message out to businesses to reduce the amount of packaging. Consider my latest visit to that popular membership-based bulk warehouse store. You can get cheaper prices on many products (some we actually use), but you also get a lot of garbage along with the deals. Take for example the case of juice drink boxes. There's plastic wrap and cardboard around the 30 boxes. But wait, there's more! For some reason, each group of three boxes is wrapped in yet another layer of plastic. All that plastic will end up in the landfill.

Then there's the packaging around the ink jet cartridges. You could buy a small paper box containing two cartridges at Staples. Or, you could go to that wholesale warehouse store and buy a large plastic container containing three cartridges. What do you do? The package of three with the horrendous plastic package offers a price discount of $5 per cartridge!

Our governments need to pass legislation requiring manufacturers and retailers to be more responsible for the garbage they generate. Consider laws in some European countries which require companies to be fully responsible for the proper disposal of their products after use. Imagine that: In Germany, for example, once you've driven your car for ten years and you need to get rid of it, you take it back to the dealer or to the factory, not the dump. This gives the manufacturer a good incentive to make the product recyclable, or to make parts of the product reusable. Here in North America, we need to get to that point too.

Hans

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First Big Snowfall of the Winter

Mon, 17 Dec 2007, 20:29

About 30cm of snow fell on the city this past weekend. Most fell early Sunday morning. I shovelled the driveway at noon on Sunday, and Monday morning I only had a bit more to shovel out. The sun came out and it was a good time for pictures.

Driving can be tricky after a snowfall. But the driver of this car really must have wanted his car in the snowbank!

Hans

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Christmas Lights, 2007

Thu, 13 Dec 2007, 20:00

This time of year, we enjoy driving around to see the Christmas decorations on the houses. Here are some photos from this evenings drive:

Hans

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Goodbye, Guildwood Presbyterian?

Sun, 02 Dec 2007, 20:33

This morning, Torontonians woke up to find 20cm of fresh, wet snow on the ground. We all know what that means. It's time again to call out the military to help shovel!

But in spite of the cold and snow, a hardy group of about 40 to 50 people were out in front of the Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church to protest the church's plan to let Bell Mobility build a cell phone tower on their land.

I'm not sure if I want a cell phone tower in that spot either. I'm just not a big fan of mobile technology to begin with. But clearly this group is a prime example of NIMBYism. They could have waited until this Tuesday's public consultation meeting. Then, they'll have their chance to hear from all of the interested parties on the issue. But clearly, these people have their minds already made up. What I'd like to know is how many of them enjoy the convenience of mobile technology? Are there any "Crackberries" among them? They complain about the effects of RF radiation on children, but how many of them have given cell phones to their kids? (No kidding - some parents give cell phones to their kids. Do the kids really need to stay connected? Or is it just a status symbol for the parents?)

My point is that people want all the conveniences of modern life, but many aren't willing to support the necessary infrastructure.

What bothers me about the issue, though, is this: Why did the church feel it necessary to sign a lease with Bell Mobility in the first place? For the past few decades in Canada, church attendance had been steadily falling. This church in particular, must be feeling the pressure. Look at the former Washington United Church on Kingston Road. They recently merged with another United Church and became the Scarborough Bluffs United Church. For the Guildwood Presbyterian Church, the deal with Bell Mobility may well give the church the financial means to stave off a slow death.

The community outrage over the plan must be a great disappointment for the elders of the church. They must now be seeing their plans for financial security slip right out of their hands. They will most likely lose members in this fiasco, especially if they stick to their guns and go ahead with the deal. If they back down, they lose the financial security, as well as possible cancellation penalties. And the community will still have bad feelings about the whole mess. The congregation may well have to disband either way.

Does that mean the community will lose a church at the north-east corner of Guildwood Parkway and Livingston? Not necessarily. Consider that although church attendance as a whole in Canada has been steadily dropping, attendance has been rising in conservative evangelical protestant churches. I'm sure the elders of the Firm Faith Community Church is paying attention. Currently, they meet at Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute, just steps away from Guildwood Presbyterian. Perhaps when all the dust clears from this debacle, Firm Faith will have a new home, and Presbyterians living in Guildwood Village will have to travel a bit further on Sunday mornings?

Hans

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Cell tower? Not in my backyard!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007, 23:17

Recently, a proposal became public to build a cell phone tower in the heart of Guildwood Village. Needless to say, some people are not happy about this and are circulating a petition against the facility. For more information check out Bell Proposal.

One of the PDF's at the Bell Proposal site includes a plan for the tower on the property of the GuildWood Community Presbyterian Church. Read the plan carefully. The proposed tower is situated in the middle of the church property, and will rise about 5m (~15 feet) above the tops of the surrounding ash trees which are about 30m tall. Could the neighbors be objecting to the appearance of the tower? Check out the plan: In the summer when the trees are full of leaves, the tower will be barely noticable.

Why does Bell Mobility want to build this tower? The company has customers in this area who suffer from service problems. If they want to fully take advantage of modern conveniences like cell phones and Blackberry's, they need to understand that infrastructure, like repeater towers, is needed. Where do these towers get built? If everyone says "Not in my backyard", then how do you access these modern devices?

Also, consider the church. Many churches these days are struggling to keep their own budgets properly funded. The rent money from Bell Mobility will help to keep the church open and provide services for the community. Services like the Monday morning drop-in play program for toddlers and their care-givers. Those who have young children know how important it is for kids and the parents to connect with others in the neighborhood.

So are the concerns of the church's neighbors justified? Or are they just suffering from NIMBYism? Read the material and decide for yourself.

Hans

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