Gord Perks City Councillor, Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park

I have attached the decision from the Canadian Transportation Agency regarding the complaints received by the West Toronto Diamond residents on noise and vibration caused by the Metrolinx grade separation project.

The CTA agreed with the City of Toronto and local residents that the noise and vibration was unreasonable and that proper mitigation measures have yet to be put in place.

The CTA has given GO Transit 14 days to advise why it should not be required to implement the proposed mitigation measures – folks will get 5 days to comment on their submission prior to the CTA releasing their final recommendations.

As Chair of the Toronto Drug Strategy I wanted to share the attached information regarding

Risk Management Workshop for Licenced Establishments in Toronto.

Feel free to circulate to any interested parties.

bar-policy-brochure-october-2009.doc

The Keele Trestle Bridge which carries the Bloor subway line over Indian Road and the Keele Station parking lot at the east end of Keele Station requires emergency strengthening. This work resulted from a recent consultant report that identified deficiencies in the bridge structure.

The immediate concerns have been alleviated through a slow order to reduce the speed of trains while crossing the bridge and removal of ballast from the bridge deck to reduce loading. Work is required to be carried out as soon as possible in order to strengthen the bridge before the winter season.

In general, work will consist of the construction of four new piers to support the bridge deck, which will be located in the parking lot. This work necessitates the full closure of the parking lot from October 13th to the middle of December 2009 and partial closure until early January 2010. While the project is scheduled for completion in January 2010, any asphalt resurfacing of the commuter parking lot will be conducted in the spring. The east entrance to the Keele Station will also be closed for the same time period (October 13th to mid December) and an alternate temporary emergency exit will be constructed.

To get the work done as quickly as possible, the contractor will be working extended hours throughout the week until completion. The majority of the work will be carried out during regular daytime shifts, however, there will be some night time work involving jacking operations to transfer loading from the bridge onto the new piers and other work as required will be carried out at night when subway is not in service (2 a.m. to 5 a.m. typically).

The egress routing from outside of the emergency exit of the Toronto Lithuanian Senior Citizens Building will be altered for the same time period. Additional lighting and security cameras will be installed in the outside passageway.

A notice regarding this project has been distributed to the surrounding community prior to any work beginning.

If you have any questions, please contact my Assistant Meri Newton, mnewton@toronto.ca or 416-338-5178.

Food, Earth and Culture Festival

Last weekend, I had the honour of kicking off the third annual festival for Greenest City, celebrating food, earth and culture. Moreover, the event was also in celebration of Parkdale’s new rainwater harvesting system which will save the City money and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. This was a very timely event as the City is producing a new strategy for food and health and Parkdale is a perfect model of what makes Toronto a great city for its people.

It was also a great pleasure meeting Carolyn, who is Greenest City’s new Executive Director. Carolyn has over seven years of experience organizations around the Greater Toronto Area and Calgary, developing and managing regional programs with a focus on community development through greening and gardening projects. I look forward to seeing what great ideas Carolyn will bring to Greenest City!

Parkdale Basketball Mini College

Parkdale Basketball extended their program this fall to include a one day mini-college that was held on September 26, 2009. The objective of the event was to broaden the experience and education of disadvantaged youth, empowering them to lead more fulfilling lives.

The organization also has other programs like Power Basketball, which aims to present inner-city youth with an opportunity to advance their basketball skills, further their education and position themselves for a job and career.

I am proud of the success of this new youth programs in South Parkdale!

For more information, contact:

Bruce Whitaker T: 416-737-3339

E: bruce@bar5w.com

GreenSceneZToronto Video Challenge

GreenSceneZToronto, a video challenge designed to give Toronto‘s youth an opportunity to express their passion for the environment and help inspire Torontonians to live green, is now being launched for its second year. Please help us to get the word out to your young constituents.

Youth in grades 7 through 12 at Toronto schools are invited to submit their idea for a 30-second ‘live green’ video on a storyboard; no previous video or filmmaking experience is required. Six winning teams will have the opportunity to work with professional filmmakers at Planet in Focus to turn their great green message into a 30-second video.

Winning videos will premiere at the 2010 Green Toronto Awards and be featured on the Live Green Toronto website at livegreentoronto.ca for all of Toronto to see.

The deadline to enter is December 18, 2009, and details and entry forms are available at livegreentoronto.ca. Winners must be available to attend a video production camp during March Break, from March 15-19, 2010.

Allstream Centre Open House October 25^th from 1-3pm

Come discover the transformation of the historic Automotive Building into

a world class conference facility – Allstream Centre at Exhibition Place

allstreamcentreopen-house-oct25.pdf