True leadership from the grassroots up

Rosemarie Powell.

Where politicians and decision makers have failed, they should look to residents for true leadership.

There are people working on the ground every day in Jane and Finch to affect changes in their community. People like Alicia, who took time in between two jobs to participate in the Green Change training sessions. Or Celia, who, exhausted from a long week of school and studying for exams still made time to participate in the ARC School Closure Public Consultations.

Talking with resident leaders and community activists of this priority neighbourhood one quickly senses a spirit of deep frustration and demoralization. To many of them, it seems like the very fabric of their community is constantly being buffeted from left, right and centre – from threats of hospital and schools closures to cuts in social services.

Except for the fact that they live in Jane-Finch, the one thing residents have in common is their willingness to get down and dirty. To them this is real; when bad policies are made, they are usually the first ones to be directly impacted. They can’t afford to sleep on the job and lately there seems to be no rest. The passion and commitment demonstrated by these grassroots leaders are embodied by a quote from Majora Carter, South Bronx environmental and social justice advocate. She says “I believe that you shouldn't have to leave your neighborhood to live in a better one.”

Instead, it is time for real social change. We need to work collectively with the aim of correcting the inequities that were exacerbated as a result of the policies of exclusion inherent in the initial design of priority communities like Jane and Finch; a design which pooled large numbers of low income and racialized people in one concentrated location with little access to necessary social support infrastructures. None of this desired change can be truly achieved without equal distribution of wealth, power and resources.

Since the problem is multi-faceted, there needs to be a comprehensive response in order to achieve systemic change. There are some glimmers of hope, with several large scale public infrastructure investment projects being planned in the Jane-Finch community such as the Light Rapid Transit on Finch Ave., the Spadina-York subway extension and the redevelopment of Shoreham. These investments are being promoted as significant gains for the community as they will mean good jobs, green spaces and business opportunities.

However, repeated experiences have shown that these positive spin-offs do not extend to people who live in the community; instead major contracts are awarded externally with little accountability. Furthermore, these infrastructure developments seem disjointed, with no evidence of an integrated, coordinated approach among the different levels of government implementing these grand schemes. For example, how can school closures be proposed while at the same time planning expansion of public transit infrastructure directly through the neighbourhood to attract new residents?

It is crucial for members of our community to be a part of the decision making process in the development of a community retrofit master plan. This plan should include binding policies and opportunities for residents who live in the community to participate fully in all aspects, socially, environmentally, economically and politically. It must be sustainable to address the needs of our current population but also include enhancements that take into consideration the needs of the future generation.

Residents should continue the pressure to hold decision-makers, politicians and corporations accountable to implementing their demands. A word to the wise, it would be a mistake to continue with the assumption that residents will keep quiet much longer; a movement from the grassroots is building.

Additional Reading:

http://ecommunityjanefinch.wordpress.com/facts/

http://www.janefinchcentre.org/community-programs/school-closures

About Rosemarie Powell

Zeroing in on better buildings

Julia Langer.

Should the condo or house you buy today be a prime candidate for an energy retrofit tomorrow? 

The reality is that much of what we build today could be much, much more energy efficient with only a modest increase in construction costs (offset, of course, by lower lifetime operating costs).  That’s why I tend to cringe whenever I see one of those giant construction cranes swinging another bucket of concrete skywards.  What we all too rarely see are those cranes lifting state-of-the-art windows, high performance cladding or solar panels.

Let’s give Toronto some credit.  The city has used its new powers under the City of Toronto Act to pass Green Building Standards that will require new construction to be more energy efficient than it would be if we just stuck to the provincial building code.  But let’s also raise our view a bit higher and look at what some other cities are doing.  In Germany, all new homes must now be “net zero” energy users.  In other words, they have to produce as much energy as they consume.    The U.K. is on the same track with a net zero carbon requirement coming into play by 2016. 

Net Zero may sound futuristic, but behind the catchy name is a lot of mundane, completely doable stuff like tight building envelopes, lots of insulation, ultra-efficient appliances and lighting.  By ratchetting down energy demand, the renewable energy systems integrated into the building design -- whether they are solar panels, geo-thermal heating and cooling, or, as in many Danish cities, district heating using biomass and waste heat recovery – can meet residents’ energy needs.  Compare it to the gas you need drive a Hummer or a Prius, and still get where you are going.  

Most Toronto high-rises – even new ones -- are ripe for energy efficiency upgrades, which are especially cost-effective now that the HST is going to add 8 per cent to gas and electricity bills.  Retrofits can’t achieve net zero, but can help you save some serious cash, and the planet – see www.TowerWise.ca for some great advice and tools.

There's no reason not to build state-of-the-art buildings in our world-class city.  And there are very good reasons to build high-quality, super-efficient, environmentally responsible, net-zero buildings which won't spew climate-changing pollution for the next 50+ years. 

About Julia Langer

Toronto needs to preserve its history

Robert Kirsic.

How can you know where you are going if you don’t know where you’ve come from?

For far too long Toronto has been quick to pave over the past for the sake of progress. I’m all for progress, but there should be a plan and some rational thought used for the development of the city.

Façades of former buildings are kept strictly for aesthetics on condos, sports arenas, and business towers. The tavern where William Lyon Mackenzie launched his famous rebellion in Upper Canada no longer exists. The buildings that once stood are quickly forgotten once new structures rise in their place.

The City does not do a good enough job at promoting and protecting its history. I recently visited the Toronto Archives and realized how much of a hidden gem it is. The Archives is a great start but it does not go far enough as it is a very small operation that is funded, and controlled, by the City.

I would recommend the City of Toronto create an independent, arms-length, Toronto Historical Society with the intention of securing, protecting, and promoting the city’s history.

A society overseen by a group of historical experts, architects, business leaders and, most importantly, citizens, with a clear purpose, mission, and the ability to raise money, will make it effective and politically neutral.

The Toronto Archives, sites like Fort York and the EX, need to belong under one protective umbrella. They need to be used as a conduit to promote and attract tourists and, more importantly, locals into taking an interest in the history of Toronto.

The society’s mission shouldn’t be narrowed to only buildings and artifacts. Many great people over the last 300 years have contributed to Toronto and they should not be forgotten.

Currently, people who have made considerable contributions to the city only have small alleyways, streets or parks named after them.

Is this how we want to remember these people? Their contributions deserve greater recognition. These efforts should also be coordinated and not become what they currently are - one-off photo-ops and events only to be forgotten the next day. The society can work with individual neighbourhoods to help promote the people that made them great.

Cities like Paris, London and New York are great historical cities that seem to be able to save their collective past. Toronto should be able to do the same.

What makes something special, and worth keeping, are the memories (good or bad) attached to a particular building, neighbourhood or person.

By not taking the steps to save these memories, we lose out on educating future residents on the way Toronto was. Remembering how Toronto was is important in learning what Toronto will become in the future.

About Robert Kirsic

Let's preserve the Gardiner

The Gardiner Expressway is one of the main transportation arteries that connect our city. While I would like everyone to arrive at each of their destinations by public transit, that is a completely unrealistic desire as cars are such an intrinsic part of our transportation network.

I have heard of many different plans for dealing with the deliberately unkempt and deteriorating elevated section of the Gardener Expressway and I think that any plan that involves demolishing it and putting traffic at grade will be a huge mistake.

We have already seen the increases in travel time for those who must use the east section of the Gardiner that was demolished and incorporated into Lakeshore Boulevard a number of years ago and I don’t think we want to repeat this mistake again. Burying the Gardiner ... well, I think all I need to mention is Boston’s Big Dig and that idea can be sent out the window.

I just heard about a very interesting proposal to cover the elevated section of the Gardiner with a suspended green roof that would also function as an elevated park. The proposal is called Toronto’s Green Ribbon.

I like this idea as it retains one of the main arteries and improves on it. This proposal may reduce the maintenance costs on the roadway as the road will be covered from the elements and will not need to be salted in the winter -- road salt is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of the structure. It also fits with the City’s mandate of incorporating green roofs into the City. While a covered roadway was probably not the original idea behind the Green Roof By-law, a green roof over a roadway fits nicely with the By-law and could be a huge promoter for it.

We fight to preserve building and structures with far less history and purpose all over the city. The Gardiner was originally conceived to link the towns and villages that were incorporated into Metropolitan Toronto and is a symbol of that amalgamation. It also serves to transport many, many people on a daily basis. Let’s not try to wipe out a productive piece of our City’s history, but let’s work with its challenges and try to improve on the Gardiner and our City in the process.

About Adam Zendel

Budget for an active Toronto

I am one of those people that anxiously awaits the always entertaining federal and provincial budget announcements every year from Ottawa. I hope for the best, expect the worst and keep my fingers crossed that maybe this will be the day that they wake up and realize what will actually make this country and our cities a better place. 

I have to admit, though, I am constantly amused by the number of complaints upon complaints from every single person that wants their needs to be met, their programs to be flooded with resources and their lives to be bettered. I find it ironic that it becomes a battle between provinces and a clash between people and certain groups that are all out for "me."

To be honest, I am not going to sit here and say that I haven't thought of my needs over others and preach to all of you to be more altruistic. But I will say that on the whole I think we all need to commit to think about what's best for all of us: WE all owe it to each other to make this a better place to live.

Realistically, it all ends up with the privileged few politicians that hold the fate of our city in their hands. The last few years it has become increasingly more apparent that Toronto has one of the largest municipal infrastructure deficits across the nation. This has been a weight that we have been struggling under for years and it shows. 

In November 2009, the city declared that more than half of its capital budget for 2010 will be going towards the maintenance and expansion of the TTC. Actually, transportation is eating up about 70 per cent of the entire budget over the next 10 years, putting aside $11.7 billion.

To put it into perspective, Toronto is already running a $382 million debt and balancing the books calls for, you guessed it, higher taxes and service cuts. But hey, we're going to have some new streetcars out of it. This is a classic case of when all else fails, just cut programs. It seems to be the easiest thing for our government, so they can say they're helping our city by getting us out of debt, when in fact hundreds of thousands of people are going to suffer for it. 

Last year 39 public pools were closed leaving 700,000 kids, students, athletes and adults with nowhere to go for physical activity. With not only childhood, but adult obesity on the rise and health care costs going through the roof, we are cutting after-school programs and increasing the time our citizens can opt for the couch over getting active. You'll be hard pressed to find modern, up-to-date community centres in areas that are desperate for that kind of facility. The access to get active is lacking.

The connection between sport, physical activity and health is a no-brainer. We know this, our politicians know this. By investing in real, quality programming through schools, community centres and local recreational groups, there is the great potential to reach the lives of thousands of Torontonians. Healthcare costs would decrease, albeit not over night, but the development of a city that prides itself on being active is a long-term solution that would dramatically help these costs over time. 

Cutting services and programs is just a means to look good on paper, but off the page is an uglier picture that even a smoother road or faster streetcar can't fix. 

About Alexandra Orlando

Spending smart at City Hall

Justin Van Dette.

It’s budget season again and obviously we’re going to be hearing a bit of the recycled excuses on why the budget is so challenging. We’ll be hearing the blame game, about who did what many years ago, and why the city can't cut anymore. Personally I'm getting a little tired of the words "previous administration" that we hear from time to time especially when the current ones at City Hall and Queen’s Park have been in power since 2003.

What amazed me is how all of a sudden all of this new money – about $100 million taxpayer dollars - was found in an almost "hocus pocus" magical way -- almost the kind of thing you would read about in a fairy-tale. Toronto Star columnist Royson James called it “political theatre” and it was simply just that.

I agree with Toronto mayoral candidate George Smitherman who added that these kinds of “tricks are for kids.”

We hear it over and over again from many inside the twin towers at the corner of Bay and Queen; how difficult it is to find any savings. We’re reminded that the City isn’t running a deficit but what we are running is a “structural deficit” which involves the spending of precious dollars that we simply don't have and looking to the taxpayer and asking them to pay more and fund more pet projects.

Many of these tax increases year after year have been above the rate of inflation, and as the famous John Smith recently told the Budget Committee, the tax increases are taking their toll on taxpayers who simply can't afford to pay more.

Some have talked about a “hiring freeze” but we still have job postings on the City website. Not much of a freeze that I can see.

Non-unionized employees are told to take a freeze but the elected council and unionized staff are getting wage increases. No fairness or demonstration of fiscal restraint there. In fact, when council had a motion from Councillor Case Ootes calling for a freeze last year, which would have demonstrated strong, symbolic leadership before going into important negotiations with the city’s unions, council chose not to take that position.

The bicycle lane budget is another area that I would revisit and think twice about devoting all those dollars. Did those approved and expensive changes on Jarvis really need to happen especially since the next arterial road to the east, Sherbourne, already has a bicycle lane. The amount of spending has me concerned. And of course we heard just this week that a movement is afoot to bring a 24 km bikeway on Bloor-Danforth.

To me, it’s all over-spending, especially when we don’t have two nickels to rub together and when the city has next to nothing in the reserves to deal with increased unemployment and welfare claimants.

I would rather see those funds allocated for the city’s bicycle plan directed to the backlog of road and sewer repairs that we have in our city, and apparently the backlog amounts to multimillions of dollars. Too bad we can’t go back and revisit the bicycle racks that were installed on all of those buses. I ride transit every single day, and being brutally honest, I think I’ve only seen three or four bikes on those racks since they first got installed.

Some reading this might think that I’m anti-bicycle, which I’m not. To me, it all comes down to investing in core and very important municipal services. The comedian at the recent Ireland Fund Lunch talked about how the Mayor cleaned his office and found $100 million. Seriously though, it makes me wonder how many more savings can be found at City Hall.

About Justin VanDette

TTC: Make it better, Mayor X

Kimberly Silk.

I’ve been a TTC customer since I moved to Toronto in the early '90s. For the most part, I am satisfied with my daily commute, enjoy weekend streetcar trips with my family to different neighbourhoods, and find it to be the “better way” in comparison to car travel. My 4-yr-old son likes riding the buses, streetcars and especially the subway when we can get the front seat. I can’t blame him – it is thrilling to be at the head of a train as we enter or exit a tunnel.

I’m also a fan and willing participant in social media, and, along with hundreds of my fellow TTC riders, follow Twitter to get updates on TTC status. Social media has made transit easier to use, in many ways, since I find out ahead of time if trains are delayed or buses are re-routed.

For instance, just last week College station was temporarily closed do to a “security investigation” (not unusual, given the proximity of the provincial courts); this news was broadcast on Twitter, and as a result I walked to Queen’s Park station to avoid being late to pick up my son from daycare.

However, while social media has been good for the TTC, it’s a double-edged sword that also exposes the system’s weaknesses. Due to the prolific tweets provided by TTC riders like myself (@ttcupdates) and TTC’s communications director (@bradttc) most delays and service interruptions are reported within seconds of happening.

Over the course of a day, I might receive six to 10 alerts that the system is under stress. It’s a big city, with who-knows-how-many vehicles on the road to provide us with transit service, and of course many alerts aren’t on my route and don’t affect me – but most days, the volume of alerts seems too high.

In particular, I’ve noticed over the last year that the TTC is increasingly under stress, and at the moment there doesn’t seem to be anyone interested in addressing the problem.

It’s no wonder that the system is suffering: the number of condominiums going up in the core is impacting infrastructure that hasn’t been updated in decades. I live in mid-town Toronto, and most days the southbound Yonge line subways are so packed that you need to wait for several trains to pass before you can board. Some months ago I began going a bit out of my way to board at Eglinton instead of my usual Davisville stop, thinking I’d beat the crowds.

Silly me; instead of beating the crowd, I’ve joined it. The new Minto condominium complex is filling up, and these new urbanites, like me, value living in the city and depend on transit.

The TTC is becoming so full and unpredictable that I can’t help but wonder what’s worse: standing on a slow-moving, packed train with dozens of exasperated commuters, or sitting in a slow-moving car, stuck in traffic but at least I get a seat and get to choose whom I share my air with.

And so, here is my advice to our next Mayor: pay attention to the TTC. It’s a crucial part of Toronto’s infrastructure, and should it continue to deteriorate, it could be responsible for Toronto’s downfall. It’s a truism that the best systems are invisible and we only notice them when they are broken; the TTC is broken. I urge our Mayoral candidates to do make a commitment to fixing it.

About Kimberly Silk

A 905 dweller with downtown dreams

Ainsworth Morgan.

Like most people who migrate to a new land, there is often a sense of nostalgia associated with the return to “back home” or the “old country.” There is an unspoken expectation that the stay is never to be permanent; just enough time to secure the financial independence that would facilitate one’s return.

I grew up in Toronto and I am currently in the tenth year of my migration to the 905 world of mega big box stores and readily available free street parking. Yet I still dream of the day that I can return to the “old country” of corner stores and eclectic night life that is the land of Toronto.

For many immigrants, like myself, the true sign of “making it” in the new country is in becoming a homeowner, with a backyard. Unfortunately, with the ever increasing cost of homes and the limited access to affordable housing, the thought of home ownership in Toronto, especially when you’re raising children, is merely a dream for most. So insert plan B: a move to the suburbs to fulfill the immigrant dream.

And thus begins, what I call, community envy.

Let’s be honest, we all have it. Perhaps I should define exactly what I mean by community envy. It’s that desire we all have to step out of our front door and take a mid-afternoon stroll with the family along the (insert your neighbourhood of choice here) The Danforth, Yonge and Eglinton, Cabbagetown, College St. W., etc. for ice cream, without having to pack up the mini-van and leaving for that mid- afternoon stroll at 8 a.m. in an effort to ensure that we are able to secure parking that is relatively close to our destination; while praying that we’ve brought enough snacks and multiple “educational” toys to keep the children distracted - sorry, I meant engaged, for the journey.

I will admit that I have often fantasized about waking up one morning only to discover that a giant hand had swooped down and scooped up my house in the middle of the night and gently placed it at the corner of Bathurst and St.Clair. Crazy I know; but I would bet that I am not alone in my delusion and my wishful thinking.

Yes, I am a 905er and like many other 905ers who work and play in Toronto, the reality of community envy connects me to the upcoming municipal election. Issues such as the universal transit pass make my connection all too real. As a 905er, I would like to see the issue of linking the TTC to other GTA transit systems and the GO transit addressed. It should not be cheaper for me to drive from Brampton to Toronto and back, than it is for me to use public transit.

Given our interconnectedness, Torontonians should not take us 905ers for granted. Like Toronto residents we also pay into the city’s infrastructure and play a role in its growth and sustainability.

There is no doubt that the suburbs are growing and that more and more newcomers to Ontario are actively choosing to make a life for themselves in the GTA instead of settling in Toronto proper. At this rate of expansion, it is not difficult to conceive that eventually the suburbs will be on par with Toronto in terms of employment opportunities, lifestyle options and daily living conveniences. As a result, there will be fewer reasons for people like me to trek into the city; which is more reason to broaden the dialogue to include the contributions of 905 residents.

I’ve said all of this to say that what I don’t want to see is downtown Toronto falling prey to the ills suffered by many large American urban cities, in which their downtown core has become primarily a space for the super-wealthy or the ultra-poor. Cities that operate in those extremes are not sustainable and ultimately become quite costly.

Part of what I will be looking for from the candidates, in the upcoming municipal election, is their individual ability to understand and articulate a message that speaks to the needs of their Toronto constituents while not alienating their 905 neighbors and supporters. For this to happen, we need leaders who are forward thinking and who are willing and able to look beyond their personal interests in order to address the needs of the collective.

At this rate, I am unsure that I will ever be able to go “back home”. But just like any self-respecting ex-patriot, I keep abreast of all the news from home, hoping that my knowing will somehow lessen my longing for the “old country” and diminish the intensity of my community envy.

About Ainsworth Morgan

Retail in our neighbourhoods

Adam Zendel.

Why do we have such an aversion to the development of retail space in the city of Toronto?

We all use retail spaces on a daily basis, and if we had easier access to retail spaces we would not need to use our cars as much to drive outside of the city or far away from our homes to get to the stores that we need. If we made it easier to develop retail spaces in closer proximity to residential spaces we could walk to stores.

I just spent a weekend visiting a friend living in an area of Chicago call Lakeview and had the opportunity to see how great it can be to live in close proximity to retail. I didn’t get in my car once over the weekend and when we wanted to go out shopping, all we did was walk down the street (no more than one minute) to the grocery store (2), pharmacy and many other retail shops, cafes and restaurants. When we ran out of milk it was a quick walk to get some more – not a drive!

What if we all lived like in areas like this? We would not need to get in our cars for simple little tasks like getting a litre of milk or a head of lettuce.  We could walk down the street, see our neighbors and get what we need. 

I don’t think that we can develop retail spaces like this overnight. However, if we thought outside of the box and allowed for these types of developments in close proximity to residential areas, I think we could create a more livable and more enjoyable city!

About Adam Zendel

A visionary and a doer: a full glass

Gil Penalosa.

As we move forward towards a new municipal election across Ontario, we must think what is needed from the candidates, what characteristics would make a great mayor or councillor.

There are many useful qualities but two are absolutely necessary: to be visionary and a doer.

Visionary means to have the capacity to see where we should be in 20 or 30 years, as well as to know what needs to be done today, to get us there.

Nevertheless it is not enough to know where we need to aim; the politicians also need to have the managerial and political capacity to make the necessary decisions to get things done. A “doer”

Let’s see two examples of “successful politicians” in the GTA who each represents a half full glass: Hazel McCallion and David Miller.

Mayor McCallion has been very successful at doing things right, unfortunately not necessarily at doing the right things.

She took over Mississauga almost three decades ago, when it had a little over 200,000 residents, distributed over nice villages in Port Credit, Streetsville, Clarkson, Meadowvale, etc. Most of the land was empty, with beautiful creeks, woodlots, the Lake Ontario waterfront and the magnificent Credit River. Now it has over 700,000 residents.

What things were done right? Well, the city has no debt, home of many large businesses, and stability in the public sector.

At the same time, it seems impossible to find any area of the city where the new 500,000 people live which is quite as nice as the villages that existed long before the city was created.

It is not a pedestrian-friendly city, it's terrible for cyclists, has a poor transit system, and it has just developed as fast as the market wanted totally centered on the car. It is evident that the priority has been car mobility and not people’s happiness or healthy communities.

Another negative symptom is how it missed the opportunity when a few years ago all universities and colleges were building new facilities to satisfy the double cohort and it did not attract a single one, leaving just the UTM; no wonder so many parents complain that their kids want to move as soon as they can as “there is nothing to do in Mississauga.”

Another worrisome symptom is how although 51 of every 100 residents were born in another country and 41 per cent are visible minorities, amongst the councillors, city manager, commissioners, and directors (over 50 people) there is just one visible minority, which is not a proper representation of the city’s residents; no one is suggesting to have the same proportion of residents, but one is clearly not enough, and this is a time bomb.

On the other hand, Mayor David Miller represented a fresh change from the mediocre Mel Lastman, whose lack of education and world exposure made us look bad quite often. Toronto had the bad fortune of having had a mayor with neither the vision nor the capacity to get things done at a most critical time, which was the amalgamation, and excessive wrong decisions were taken with long term impact.

Miller represented a new politician: well-educated, visionary, with a great understanding of where Toronto was and what was needed to do to become a world class city.

Unfortunately, as he concludes the second and last term, it is evident that he did not fulfil the high expectations. He brought back the respectability and aura to the office and the city, but not much more; so many expectations and so little done.

This shows why it is important to elect mayors with both a clear vision and the capacity to get things done. Vision alone creates frustration, while action by itself results in chaos.

The democratic system provides us with the magnificent opportunity to choose our leaders. Let’s take full advantage of this privilege and over the next few months approach all candidates across Ontario to drill them on issues, knowledge and experience, in order to have the necessary elements to decide on who to vote for.

It would be an enormous privilege for any municipality to elect a mayor with Miller’s visionary capacity and McCallion’s ability to implement it. Those two half-full glasses would make one full with the real possibility of transforming any municipality in the next four years.

About Gil Penalosa