blogTO | Posts by greg

Metrolinx Delays Transit Plan. Again.

Greg — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:50:29 PDT

What ever happened to the talk of a new approach to transit planning that takes into account the whole GTA region?

A report due this summer was expected to kickstart implementation of a plan. Unfortunately it has been delayed until the Fall. Delays happen, but this wasn't the first time, as it was originally expected in the Spring. July 25th was the second scheduled date the "Regional Transportation Plan" was to have been provided to the Metrolinx board. Now it's moved back to September 26th this year.

Metrolinx, (otherwise known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority) is the public authority set up to oversee the new approach to regional transit planning. Not surprisingly, it's been reported that the major holdup is due to reviewing of the funding aspect of the plan.

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2008 Record Summer Rain

Greg — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:01:20 PDT

Photo: StarbuckGuy's photostream

Last night's storm brought the City closer to a new record high summer rainfall. We're now certain to surge past the 28-year old record of 1980 with rain in the forecast through to the weekend.

The previous record for the months of June and July was 271.5 mm. Surpassing this level, we are well above average rainfall levels for the region (last year over the whole summer we had 88 mm). Interestingly, back in 1980 a good chunk of the rainfall was in the last week of July!

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What Was Grappa Thinking?

Greg — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:14:16 PDT

As a resident of Little Italy, I just have to ask: what is a fine Italian dining location like Grappa thinking putting this eyesore of an advertisement on their storefront?

This Yellowpages zeppelin of an ad showed up a few weeks ago and leaves me scratching my head. How did Yellowpages possibly pitch this idea? They better be offering some serious compensation.

Fingers crossed that this is not part of a wider campaign to hit more spots in the city.

The Green Majority - Broader Local Environmental News

Greg — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:50:00 PDT

As the name implies, The Green Majority radio show aims to bridge the gap between polls that show Canadians want action on environmental issues and the political barriers to that happening. It's the "nation's first and only all-environmental newshour" and it airs live from here in Toronto at CIUT 89.5.

The show is produced and hosted by Jordan Poppenk, a UofT PhD Pyschology student who has been working on it in his spare time since 2005. He thinks his show is unique in that it "de-regionalizes" national environmental news by bringing to light stories from small communities you wouldn't otherwise be exposed to in the mainstream media. While each show covers Canadian and national headlines, there are also two 15-minute segments of "non-condensed" feature content, usually with an expert on an issue.

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Building An Eco-Modern Home

Greg — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:51:08 PDT

Take a good look because this house at 360 Winnett Avenue is about to be demolished in favor of a new "Eco-Modern" house to be built in its place.

Jeremy Bell and his wife have embarked upon quite a project- to document their experience designing and constructing a brand new home on the lot they have lived in for the last five years. They have set up a blog with the aim of sharing the details involved in choosing to build an eco-friendly home over simply buying something new.

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Greening Greater Toronto

Greg — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:34:32 PDT

Greening Greater Toronto is the name of a report released today by the Toronto City Summit Alliance. It has been mentioned in media reports (keep reading below) leading up to its release and will be made available online by the TCSA.

In a gesture of political support, the plan's launch was announced today at the Steam Whistle Brewery by Mayor David Miller.

The document is a plan put together collaboratively between local politicians, the business community, and major NGOs, to make Toronto "the greenest urban region in the world". The Greening Greater Toronto coalition will be releasing more recommendations in coming months but has started by identifying these major goals:

1) reduce GHG emissions;
2) improve air and water quality;
3) increase sustainable land use with more green space;
4) implement waste reduction that makes sense.

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Inside The Healthy Butcher on Eglinton

Greg — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:45:45 PDT

The opening of a new location for The Healthy Butcher at Avenue and Eglinton had me pretty excited. If you like buying meat from a butcher but expect them to be able to answer a question or two about where the meat actually came from, this is certainly a welcome addition to the city's butcher selection.

This week is the grand opening of their second (larger) store at 298 Eglinton West. From June 12-15th they've got some sweet specials (great offers by this store's standards) and samples (ranging from cake to sheep's milk cheese).

Read my first look of the Healthy Butcher in our grocery section.

FishNet Great Lakes Craft Project

Greg — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:45:03 PDT

Art exhibitions don't often catch my attention but FishNet's "The Great Lakes Craft & Release Project" certainly did.

I guess I'm a sucker for pictures of kids holding fish.

Students from local elementary schools were armed with life-size models of fish species from the great lakes, to create a walkable hatchery with over 1000 fish hanging from the gallery ceiling. It's called the "Release Phase" and is meant to be a virtual underwater tour of the Great Lakes including details of Great Lakes history and ecology.

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Barefoot in Toronto

Greg — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:12:54 PDT

Going barefoot in Toronto might sound a little out there at first. If you saw someone walking down Yonge St. or around your neighbourhood with no shoes on you might assume it's not by choice.

But isn't going barefoot the "natural way"? That is the part of the case made by Barefoot in Toronto, a local chapter of a national advocacy group for ditching footwear. Mauricio Morales, known as "Barefoot Moe", runs the Toronto chapter's website which contains some convincing arguments for not being shy of going barefoot in public.

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Toronto not taking the LEED?

Greg — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:15:59 PDT

Green buildings and LEED certification are virtually synonymous in North America. But green buildings and Toronto are not. The city is failing to embrace the "green revolution" in building design, which takes into account sustainability criteria such as energy efficiency, materials, indoor environmental quality, and water use.

According to the CaGBC's data (the LEED authority in Canada), Toronto only has 8 certified buildings, which puts us well behind smaller cities like Vancouver (15 buildings) and Calgary (11 buildings).

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CineCycle Bike Culture

Greg — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:00:23 PDT

Bike culture. It's as much a part of biking in the city as the actual cycling. This week, as part of Toronto Bike Month, CineCycle begins a series of events that use local photography and film to illuminate that point.

Included are some bicycle art showings featuring historical, stenciled, and otherwise just really cool images. And in the theater, the best gems from their vast archives of bicycle related films can be seen. Event details can be found on their website.

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The Toronto Cyclists Union

Greg — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:18:20 PDT

Earlier this week the Toronto Cyclists Union announced they are officially up and running. The official media launch took place on Tuesday at City Hall Peace Garden amongst cyclists from across the city.

The idea for the union is to be an advocacy organization that provides a unified voice to advance biking as a viable mode of transportation in Toronto. "We will work together with citizens, community groups, bike shops and the City towards the common goals of ensuring that cycling is a legitimate, accessible, and safe means of transportation."

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Plant A Tree Challenge

Greg — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:30:04 PDT

The Minister of Natural Resources (MNR), Donna Cansfield, was in Toronto yesterday to launch the province's Plant A Tree Challenge. Pictured above at the Ryerson University campus, she presented to a crowd of Ryerson and University of Toronto students in grad programs with environmental relevance. Although clearly a photo-op for the Minister, it can't hurt to have things kicked off here in Toronto which deserves its share of the 50 million trees Premier McGuinty announced would be planted in southern Ontario by 2020.

It was claimed that funds are being made available to make planting projects happen through partnerships and grants. However, details are hard to come by as far as how you would actually take advantage of any funding if available. A look at the newly launched Plant A Tree website appears to be mostly about the province trying to include as many private plantings (pledges) as possible towards their targets.

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Waterlution in Toronto

Greg — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:45:22 PDT

Photo: Yvonne Suchislife

Do you know where your water comes from? That was one of the questions posed as Waterlution's 2008 workshop series came to Toronto this past weekend.

Participants were shuttled around the city to look first hand at current water issues facing Canada's largest municipal water system. Those involved came from various backgrounds in academia, public sector, and the working world with the notion that a multitude of perspectives might shed some light on the best strategies for water management. Toronto definitely has its share of issues to look at.

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Hiking (out of) the City

Greg — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:45:14 PDT

Photo from The Toronto Bruce Trail Club

How does going for a hike outside the city sound this time of year?

If you're stuck in the city without a car, you might think your options for a walk in the woods are pretty limited. If you're lucky, you live near an urban getaway such as High Park. But even then its not quite the same experience as actually getting out of the city.

I'm going to share with you a great way to enjoy the a gem of the golden horseshoe area: hiking on the Niagara Escarpment. The Bruce Trail contains 40 great official hiking routes spanning 845 km of main path and 430 km of side trails. Sounds great, but for many of us its simply inaccessible.

That is where The Toronto Bruce Trail Club comes in. The club offers weekly bus trips out to various locations on the trail accommodating up to 48 people to take part in day trips. The trips are open to the public and you can just show up at the pickup location- one of three spots- York Mills and Islington subway stations and Clarence Square. Check out their schedule of public bus trips which is in full swing as spring is upon us.

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