Categories
Infrastructure Ontario Toronto Transit

Still waiting for the Finch West LRT

There’s not one easy fix for the Finch West LRT. Not only does it need transit signal priority, but it needs tighter schedules and better operations to live up to early promises.

Categories
Infrastructure Ontario Toronto Transit

Waiting for Finch West

Can a brand-new light rail line outrun the local bus it will soon replace? I went out to Finch Avenue West to see for myself.

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About me Development History Toronto Urban Planning

Woodbine Centre: the end of a Fantasy

Woodbine Centre, built in 1985, was an adventure for a child of the 1980s and 1990s. The once-thriving mall has hit hard times and will likely see redevelopment in the next decade.

Categories
Development Infrastructure Toronto Transit

Toronto’s saddest subway stop

Islington Station, opened in 1968 as part of a major expansion of the Toronto subway system into Etobicoke and Scarborough, is now literally falling apart. At platform level, Islington looks little different than most stations on the Bloor-Danforth Line with the faded wall tile, coated with a layer of brake dust. Upstairs, on the concourse […]

Categories
Infrastructure Roads Toronto Walking

Deadly by design: The East Mall and Burnhamthorpe Road

On Tuesday, August 11, just after 11AM, a father and his two children were attempting to cross The East Mall north of Burnhamthorpe Road. They were crossing from the west side of the minor arterial street, where there is the main entrance to a long term care home, to the corner of Montebello Gardens, a […]

Categories
Ontario Toronto Travels

Signs of the times in Northwestern Toronto

Idled rental cars and drive-through COVID testing in north Etobicoke

Categories
Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the council races in Etobicoke Wards 1 and 2

In 2018, Etobicoke went three for three in returning hard-line conservative councillors to City Hall. In Ward 3, Mark Grimes was re-elected despite several controversies, with Mayor John Tory’s help. In Ward 1 and Ward 2, councillors with famous names were re-elected, cementing local political legacies. While the results in Ward 1 Etobicoke North were […]

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Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the council race in Ward 3 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Etobicoke-Lakeshore represents the southern third of Etobicoke, stretching from Dundas Street in the north to Lake Ontario in the south, encompassing the historic villages of Islington, Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico, as well as sprawling industrial areas and post-war subdivisions. It also includes the rapidly growing high-rise communities of Humber Bay Shores and Six […]

Categories
Toronto

The controversial Judson Street zoning change

Earlier this year, Etobicoke Councillor Justin Di Ciano (Ward 5) pushed for a zoning change to several industrial properties on Judson Street, adjacent to GO Transit’s Willowbrook Yards. Local residents had enough with a concrete batching operation and Dunpar Homes applied to build a townhouse development on the site. City staff recommended against the rezoning, which would allow […]

Categories
Election Maps Politics Toronto

Mapping the Ward 2 by-election

Poll results of the 2016 council race in Ward 2 On Monday, July 25, residents of Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) went to the polls to elect a new councillor to replace the late Rob Ford, who was elected as councillor in the 2014 general election after a disastrous four years as mayor. After Rob Ford’s death […]