[toonderly]

In fairness, the Mayor's motion DOES instruct the Parks folk, whether they do anything is the real question and it is asking for earlier activation of fountains etc

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in coordination with other relevant divisions to adjust and modernize park operations and procedures to conduct service improvements at City parks earlier in the spring; these activities include but are not limited to:

a. grass cutting, particularly on sports fields, earlier and on a more frequent basis;

b. speeding up the activation of water assets such as drinking fountains and washrooms;

c. increasing litter pick up earlier in the spring; and

d. making any outstanding service activations in the interim.

They were talking not that long ago about winterizing park bathrooms. Is that in progress (and if so what is the status) or did the antis prevent it from going ahead?

Unless and until the bathrooms are winterized, I understand that they can't turn the plumbing on until the risk of freezing is past, but what criteria should they be using each year and how quickly can they react when the weather warms up/if there is a cold snap? They should really be taking all reasonable risks and staffing in order to keep the bathrooms open as much as possible throughout the year. And when they are open daily they should be doing what they can to prioritize keeping them open for as long as possible throughout the day and not locking them up by 8pm when we have daylight for at least another hour and people are still using the park.

 

[zang]

They were talking not that long ago about winterizing park bathrooms. Is that in progress (and if so what is the status) or did the antis prevent it from going ahead?

That would take a city budget that isn't spent nearly entirely on the police and keeping the Gardiner from crumbling next week.

 

[Northern Light]

They were talking not that long ago about winterizing park bathrooms. Is that in progress (and if so what is the status) or did the antis prevent it from going ahead?

It is going ahead...........painfully slowly.

5 washrooms were done last year:

Per this report: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/ie/bgrd/backgroundfile-171779.pdf

The Capital Budget for this year contained 1M for additional winterization but did not specify how many washrooms that would deliver. I would estimate 5-10; though that depends entirely on the extent of the winterization.

, but what criteria should they be using each year and how quickly can they react when the weather warms up/if there is a cold snap?

Water will not freeze in the pipes if its flowing; that said, no one wants to run the taps constantly; the risk of freeze would occur if the water itself falls below 4 degrees C and ultimately to 0.

That requires a sustained ambient temperature that's that low or lower. Relatively minor insulation of pipes can reasonably mitigate almost any risk of freezing from the May 1st forward.

Heating them to the point where people would find them comfortable is a much larger investment that insulation and/or very limited heating to prevent the freezing of pipes.

Historically, Parks had a goal of opening all washrooms for Victoria Day weekend.

Currently, staffing shortages and deferred maintenance means that target is not being met. (they are roughly 3-4 weeks behind).

They should really be taking all reasonable risks and staffing in order to keep the bathrooms open as much as possible throughout the year.

And when they are open daily they should be doing what they can to prioritize keeping them open for as long as possible throughout the day and not locking them up by 8pm when we have daylight for at least another hour and people are still using the park.

These are a function of staffing levels; along with the retention of arbitrary hours from former municipalities/Metro who ran different hours in different parks.

No money was ever budgeted to upward harmonize those hours.

One of the year round washrooms can be found in Wilket Creek Park where it meets Sunnybrook Park. It was only ever year round because it was also a Parks office. As I've noted in other posts, in other threads, many of those offices in washrooms have been closed.

Regardless, the hours of the washrooms followed the hours of staff. So, for instance, the washroom noted above closes at 2:30pm in the winter.

This is because daytime Parks staff are scheduled 7am-3pm, so they close and lock it up 30m before they go home.

 

[christiesplits]

There was a motion last year by Councillor Layton to expand winter washroom access. It was voted down by Mayor Tory and allies. This is pure crisis management by the mayor's office.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1535305753891946496

 

[Northern Light]

There was a motion last year by Councillor Layton to expand winter washroom access. It was voted down by Mayor Tory and allies. This is pure crisis management by the mayor's office.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1535305753891946496

The motion was for 1.5M for 15 washrooms at 100k a pop.

On the capital side, that's immensely good value and saves certain extraordinary operating costs associating with annual openings and closings.

That said, it does have some operating budget impact, in terms of cleaning, repairs and daily opening/closings.

It was still a good motion; and should have been upvoted.

But the Mayor is inclined to listen to the advice of his political allies (who dominate budget ctte) and the bureaucracy who want to avoid any re-opening of the status-quo budget fearing it may be catchy...

The mayor was wrong, and those on whom he relies for advice were equally wrong.

 

[Jonny5]

This developing Swansea Mews debacle could be a ea hit on Tory. The whole situation appears to be completely botched and the resident's meeting last night was apparently a total disaster.

Swansea Mews residents frustrated after town hall

Two residents of a TCH housing complex say they are scared and concerned following a town hall meeting to discuss their situation.

www.cp24.com

 

[Northern Light]

The Mayor has a motion on 'Modernizing' by which he means 'improving' parks service, particularly by adding and additional mowing to the cycle, and turning on fountains and opening washrooms earlier in the spring, along with additional litter picking.

Swell.

I don't notice in the motion any mention of how to pay for this or any money forthcoming for same.

Agenda Item History 2022.MM45.26

Agenda Item History 2022.MM45.26

app.toronto.ca

Councillors Matlow and Layton have an additional on-point motion with a typo someone should have caught..............

Agenda Item History 2022.MM45.10

Agenda Item History 2022.MM45.10

app.toronto.ca

From the above:

View attachment 406285

The typo being '3' should read 'C'

Councillor Matlow has been given answers to his questions above:

Drinking fountains............by the end of June! LOL........ that's not a service standard; that's a 'no service' standard!

****

A couple of statistical notes from the above:

Toronto has ~700 drinking fountains.............and ~ 1,500 parks......

So 1 fountain for every 2.15 Parks! Woot! That seems reasonable now doesn't it.

When you realize how many fountains are in a park like High Park............how many parks have no fountain at all? 900?

****

187 washrooms (deceptive, includes golf courses and various pseudo-public buildings within parks).

That's roughly 1 washroom to every 8 parks.........in summer

But in winter, there are only 47 washrooms; which is one washroom to every 32 parks.

 

[ShonTron]

Matlow is one of only a very few incumbents I’d like to see return. There are things I don’t care for, like some of the NIMBY pandering, but he’s one of the few people challenging the mayor on a regular basis. Tory hates any pushback or challenge, which helps makes him a lousy mayor.

 

[Northern Light]

So Council wrapped yesterday without needed a third day.

That means they did get around to the washroom/fountain debate.

Turns out 40% of Council couldn't be bothered to show up for the debate............

Accordingly, we have a list of Councillors who should be considered for 'flushing'.......:

Ainslie, Colle, Crawford, Filion, Grimes, Lai, Minnan-Wong, Pasternak and Thompson.

Of these, Filion is not running again.....the rest sigh......

****

Now as to what happened in the discussion..

Cllrs Layton, Perks and and Matlow called for better service and funding of same.

Cllrs Bradford and Nunziata took time to shame Cllr Matlow for his Tweets on the issue suggesting they were needless insulting to City staff.

Cllr Layton amended the Mayor's motion to:

a) Ensure additional grass cutting didn't harm bees
b) Add Splash Pads to the list of water facilities that should be open sooner
c) Suggest a service standard of ' open as soon as possible after the risk of frost has passed but at the very least by the end of May'
d) Direct staff to submit a request for additional resources, as needed through the 2023 budget process to achieve the above.

That amendment passed, as did the Mayor's motion as amended.

Cllr. Matlow's request for a service Standards review report to the July meeting of Council lost.

 

[christiesplits]

I

Councillor Matlow has been given answers to his questions above:

View attachment 407907

Drinking fountains............by the end of June! LOL........ that's not a service standard; that's a 'no service' standard!

The city saying only 5% of water fountains are out of of commission is very suspect. This has to be creative accounting.

 

[Rufus8]

This suggests Tory isn't a shoo in for re-election. The weaknesses in infrastructure are on the nightly news. The stuff about Swansea Mews, park facilities and even outdoor pools is nothing new. Nearly 30 years ago when I returned to Toronto Summerville pool needed massive repairs. TCHC has hundreds of millions in repairs outstanding, that's why I never applied. The fancy new builds get the photo ops but the old stuff is still occupied and deteriorating every single day. The St Lawrence rec centre had plumbing problems the staff said dated from construction! If there is someone competent who chooses their battles well Tory may be in for a rough ride.

 

[DSC]

This suggests Tory isn't a shoo in for re-election. The weaknesses in infrastructure are on the nightly news. The stuff about Swansea Mews, park facilities and even outdoor pools is nothing new. Nearly 30 years ago when I returned to Toronto Summerville pool needed massive repairs. TCHC has hundreds of millions in repairs outstanding, that's why I never applied. The fancy new builds get the photo ops but the old stuff is still occupied and deteriorating every single day. The St Lawrence rec centre had plumbing problems the staff said dated from construction! If there is someone competent who chooses their battles well Tory may be in for a rough ride.

Though Tory is far from my perfect Mayor, I think he is generally seen as a 'safe pair of hands' who (in his own way) cares for and about the City; as there is, so far, no sign of any significant opponent I doubt strongly that he will not be re-elected.

 

[zang]

The city saying only 5% of water fountains are out of of commission is very suspect. This has to be creative accounting.

If most of them aren't even on yet, they wouldn't know anyway.

 

[zang]

Though Tory is far from my perfect Mayor, I think he is generally seen as a 'safe pair of hands' who (in his own way) cares for and about the City…

…who's overstayed his own promise of maximum 2 terms. And I really hope his opponents hold him accountable for both his promise *and* the infrastructures issues that have gone ignored for the past 8 years.

His care for the city is often misdirected or just plain weak. We should be doing a lot more post pandemic to both make toronto more liveable, as well as making it both enticing and affordable for people wanting to live here (especially to those who may have fled the city because of Covid and are now suffering the buyer's remorse of suburban sprawl). We need to do concrete things to push down housing prices. Hell, we still can't be bothered to properly address the yellowbelt and the missing middle. And unfortunately, that's not likely to happen under Tory.

 

[picard102]

…who's overstayed his own promise of maximum 2 terms. And I really hope his opponents hold him accountable for both his promise *and* the infrastructures issues that have gone ignored for the past 8 years.

I don't think it would get any play with the people who have voted for, and will continue to vote for him.
People who like him won't care that he's going for a third term, and it's only going to look like straw grasping by opponents if that's the issue they take.
Infrastructure might get some traction, as long as the solution isn't more taxes.