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Interview by the Globe and Mail with Olivia Chow:

www.theglobeandmail.com

How Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow plans to fix a city in decline

Olivia Chow inherited a financial hot mess when she became mayor of North America’s fourth-largest city last year. So what’s her plan?
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

Two transit-related notes:
  1. She wants to focus on fixing what Toronto has as opposed to building anything new
  2. Agrees with the need for the Waterfront LRT and the Eglinton East LRT, but nothing will be built until the feds and the province pony up
On (2) that's not going to happen while Ford is Premier, and probably not going to happen when Polliviere is PM so...we're gonna be waiting a while. Another Humber Bay Shores in the offing I think.
 
allengeorge said:
Interview by the Globe and Mail with Olivia Chow:

www.theglobeandmail.com

How Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow plans to fix a city in decline

Olivia Chow inherited a financial hot mess when she became mayor of North America’s fourth-largest city last year. So what’s her plan?
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

Two transit-related notes:
  1. She wants to focus on fixing what Toronto has as opposed to building anything new
  2. Agrees with the need for the Waterfront LRT and the Eglinton East LRT, but nothing will be built until the feds and the province pony up
On (2) that's not going to happen while Ford is Premier, and probably not going to happen when Polliviere is PM so...we're gonna be waiting a while. Another Humber Bay Shores in the offing I think.
Click to expand...
I think Reece and others have made this point, but the Waterfront East LRT should be built sooner rather than later, even if that means foregoing the Union upgrades. It is better for prospective Portlands residents to have to walk from QQ to Union for transfers than to not provide LRT service at all while waiting for the funding to come through for the Union upgrades.
 
allengeorge said:
Interview by the Globe and Mail with Olivia Chow:

www.theglobeandmail.com

How Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow plans to fix a city in decline

Olivia Chow inherited a financial hot mess when she became mayor of North America’s fourth-largest city last year. So what’s her plan?
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com

Two transit-related notes:
  1. She wants to focus on fixing what Toronto has as opposed to building anything new
  2. Agrees with the need for the Waterfront LRT and the Eglinton East LRT, but nothing will be built until the feds and the province pony up
On (2) that's not going to happen while Ford is Premier, and probably not going to happen when Polliviere is PM so...we're gonna be waiting a while. Another Humber Bay Shores in the offing I think.
Click to expand...

I don't entirely agree w/your assessment here.

On point one:

I think its clear the province insists on being the builder/owner of such assets as I've noted in the past there are implications on provincial credit ratings and international borrowing and tax vehicles.

The City will not be the builder.

On point 2..........yes..........but the money is coming; admittedly not as soon as I expected or was told, but it is........ (at least for the Waterfront........not so sure about Eglinton, and I'd be fine if that was nixed, as there's a better plan being looked at)
 
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Northern Light said:
On point one:

I think its clear the province insists on being the builder/owner of such assets as I've noted in the past there are implications on provincial credit ratings and international borrowing and tax vehicles.
Click to expand...

Oh - I get what you’re saying, but I was simply quoting from the article.

“I’ve said no to all new projects—very nice, wonderful projects, I’ve said no. Fix what we have first, and the new things will come later.”

Northern Light said:
On point 2..........yes..........but the money is coming; admittedly not as soon as I expected or was told, but it is........ (at least for the Waterfront........
Click to expand...

This is very, very hopeful, but given the political and funding climate I’m in very much a “wait and see” state of mind and am not getting my hopes up. That said, it would be incredible to see the Waterfront LRT move forward.
 
The mayor out today hyping replacements for the City's on-street waste receptacles:

1714066987680.png



Accompanying press release:

www.toronto.ca

City of Toronto reveals enhancements and new initiatives for sidewalk litter bins

News Release April 25, 2024 Today, Mayor Olivia Chow introduced modifications to sidewalk litter bins that improve their durability and functionality, helping to keep Toronto clean. The City of Toronto is working closely with its service provider to implement effective bin enhancements that...
www.toronto.ca www.toronto.ca

From same:

1714067064740.png



Good, as far as it goes................now about the ones in Parks....
 
Damn. Olivia Chow is really on a roll. CafeTO has been more smooth, garbage bins have been improved, a second pothole blitz…

She’s really trying to ensure that people feel that those tax dollars are delivering tangible improvements to their day-to-day. Smart.
 
allengeorge said:
Damn. Olivia Chow is really on a roll. CafeTO has been more smooth, garbage bins have been improved, a second pothole blitz…

She’s really trying to ensure that people feel that those tax dollars are delivering tangible improvements to their day-to-day. Smart.
Click to expand...
Is CafeTO rolling out? I haven't seen any signs of it anywhere yet.
 
Towered said:
Is CafeTO rolling out? I haven't seen any signs of it anywhere yet.
Click to expand...

Same here.

I wonder if the behind the scenes admin costs have limited participation this year.

This may be a blessing in disguise however for some street festivals though if I am not mistaken, Taste of the Danforth was canceled for this year?
 
@Towered @Richard White

www.thestar.com

Smoother sailing, restaurants say, as city says it’s on track to have majority of CaféTO patios open by May long weekend

The program, first introduced as a temporary measure for the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, became permanent last year despite a bumpy rollout.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

“ As she applied for a temporary summer patio in front of her cosy Junction cocktail bar, Marlene Thorne had one thought: Please let this go more smoothly this year.

…

This year? It was a relative breeze, Thorne, other business owners and industry associations say, even though the number of applications fell by 13 per cent.”

“ This year, said Kiru, is already shaping up to be a substantial improvement. Already, roughly 75 per cent of the 320 applications received by the March 1 deadline have been processed, Kiru said. And the city says it's on target to have all but a handful of applications processed within the next few weeks.”

And yes, far fewer applications this year because of fees, and also less pressure to have seating.
 
Looks like the next conservative tempest-in-teacup may be over Toronto’s request for drug decriminalization made last year.
 
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