This morning in Longbranch

Cut out that off the wall jive....

Our weather forcast today called for chance of flurries. Not much happened on the north side of the city, but down here by the lake the snow started at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning and is still coming down, now after midnight. I shovelled at 10:00 but looking out the window a few minutes ago, you can't tell. At least it's a light powder.

New Years Day walk - Lakeshore

New Years Day walk - Lakeshore

Waterfront West LRT

I attended an open house tonight set up to inform residents of the planning for a Waterfront West Light Rail Transit line from Parklawn to Longbranch. Longbranch is my new neighbourhood and it sits at the extreme south-west corner of Toronto. For those readers not from the Toronto area, transit development in this city has been contentious. In the St. Clair W. area, it divided the community.

Here is the purpose of the project, as expressed in the documents I picked up at the open house:
"The WWLRT line is intended to provide fast and efficient service between Long Branch and downtown Toronto at Union Station serving numerous communities along the way. Work has been underway for some time to develop a reserved right of way connection between Union Station and Exhibition Place, and more recently between Exhibition Place and The Queensway at Roncesvalles. The conversion of the existing streetcar service on Lake Shore Blvd West to LRT in the section from Humber to Long Branch will address the last piece of the proposed line. TTC and the City of Toronto want to identify the best way to provide this high quality transit service in a manner that:
i) is affordable,
ii) makes transit a much more attractive travel option relative to the private auto, and
iii) supports the City's reurbanization objectives for this section Lake Shore Blvd West which is designated in the Official Plan as an "Avenue", including enhanced housing, jobs, and other transit-oriented developments, and improved streetscaping and pedestrian environment."

This is early stage planning for a line which, if approved by City Council, would be constructed in 2014/2015, and which is projected to cost $125 million + vehicles.

I appreciated the way the plan was laid out in the cafeteria of a local school for the Open House. There were representatives from the City floating around who were happy to talk to me, hear my concerns and discuss the issues. I was able to get a clear idea of some of the issues quite quickly.

I have shared on this blog some of my concerns with the TTC right-of-way under construction in my old neighbourhood, along St. Clair Ave. W. If this plan goes ahead on Lake Shore, the City has to do a better job of protecting the interests of local businesses through the construction. The City also needs to recognize the concerns of residents. The St. Clair construction divided the neighbourhood, for and against. It felt as if the Mayor was determined to force the project through. I'd like to see improved public transit from Longbranch to downtown, but not at all costs.

I'll be attending the next Open House in late winter and will report back at that time.