BPRO has voiced our current concerns at the Site Working Group meetings, and has been working in tandem with our Councillor, Mike Colle, on the following issues:
- To deny lane closure on Lawrence for equipment staging purposes
- To complete the on-site park
- Improve the Douglas Greenbelt ravine
- To deny left turns from the new development.
We’re pleased to report the following big successes:
- There will be no lane closure on Lawrence during the demolition and construction phases of the site. This is great news for traffic flow and should help minimize cut-through traffic on our side streets.
- We had concerns that the new 398 square metre park (which will be on the current 219 Glengarry property) was going to be left derelict. City Council passed a motion on October 30th that the developer must finish the park. The new park will be designed in consultation with BPRO and Councillor Colle.
There is still work to be done on the following issues:
- The Douglas Greenbelt falls under the authority of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), meaning that it’s outside the developer’s scope. Mike Colle is intent on getting it cleaned up for our community. His office is currently working with city and TRCA staff.
- Left turns have been approved for the new development even though they were prohibited exiting the medical building parking lot for years, possibly decades! We are concerned about the effect on traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, especially since someone was struck and killed on this section of Lawrence a few weeks ago. We will stay connected to Councillor Colle as he continues to work on this file, advocating on our behalf.