Some Long Branch businesses are calling for a major water main replacement project slated to begin in April to be deferred since it will restrict traffic and customer parking for struggling small firms just reopening from lockdown.

Construction of the water main replacement begins in late April and will run until the end of October affecting residents and businesses from Twenty Fourth to west of Thirty Second Streets, according to information from city contractor R.V. Anderson Associates.

Anderson Associates held a virtual meeting with some members of the Long Branch area in January.

The company said it anticipated impacts with roadway traffic, driveway access, curbside parking, pedestrian traffic, transit, water service and dust and noise.

Its officials said in a power-point presentation that lanes affected by construction will be closed to help ensure safety, and two-way traffic will ‘generally be maintained” and dedicated Traffic Control persons or paid Duty police will be required on site.

“Curbside parking on the north side of the street will be temporarily obstructed by the contractor’s equipment staging within their active work area,” according to Anderson Associates.  “Lake Shore streetcars will be out of service for the duration of the project.”

The contractor and City will coordinate with TTC for temporary relocation of transit stops impacted by construction, the company said.

Even though the main replacement is required, residents and members of the Long Branch Better Improvement Area (BIA) are seeking a one or two-year deferral of the project, which they say will force struggling businesses to close

“This will restrict access to the business all while in a pandemic and just when we are finally coming out of COVID-19 lockdown,” said Shelley Porritt, Broker of Record for Royal LePage Porritt Real Estate and member of the Long Branch BIA, in a letter to members. “If this project was to proceed, the only chance that these businesses may have to stay afloat will be taken away from them they may be forced to close down for good.”

She wrote to Mayor John Tory and other City officials warning them that businesses have suffered financially and will face more challenges from the water main  installation by losing their parking for customers, access to their retail spaces due to lane reduction, noise, dust and water shut offs to either run their business or for continued cleaning during the pandemic.

“If this project moves forward, we will create a ghost town as I believe many of our small businesses will not survive and close their doors permanent,” she said. “This project will be detrimental to the survivorship of many of our businesses along Lakeshore Blvd. W. in Long Branch.”

She was told the work will not be issued for tender until March.

“I, along with other business owners requested that the city defer this project one-two years to allow businesses to get up and running after such a devastating year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple lockdowns,” she told residents and the BIA.

“The concern is that we have already been gravely affected as businesses by the pandemic and the various lockdowns issued,” Porritt told Tory. “Most of our businesses here are barely hanging on from being closed and unable to pay their rent, salaries, mortgages, etc.”

The Mayor or other City officials have not replied to calls to defer the installation.

 

People are already complaining online about the traffic congestion.

New plans and updates have been released about a mixed-using community coming to the site of the former Christie’s Cookies plant at Humber Bay Shores.

A resubmission of an Official Plan Amendment application for the 2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W., development was filed in February by landowners First Capital Realty and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The Master Plan introduces a new local street network, a relief road to direct traffic away from Park Lawn and Lake Shor, and an integrated transit hub centred around a new GO station and the TTC.

The development provides a network of open public spaces anchored by squares, a ravine, large community parks and a year-round covered galleria. It includes a ‘diverse range’ of building types and architecture.

Park space and other public space have increased and plans for now includes two daycares, two schools, a community centre, library, a retail galleria and non-profit human agency space.

“The fundamental vision and features remain consistent: a transit-oriented urban mixed-use community complete with housing, jobs, retail, parks, public space and community facilities,” according to the Master Plan.

The six phase project will feature 15 towers, with heights ranging from 28 to 70 storeys, according to information from the company.

The first phase will include buildings located beside the new GO station and Park Lawn Road, as well as the construction of the GO Station itself, the loop road that will serve it, and the relocation of the ramps connecting Lake Shore Boulevard to the Gardiner Expressway at the east end of the site.

Two public spaces will also be completed during the first phase; Station Square and Park Lawn Gardens, linking the GO station with new bus service facilities on Park Lawn Road. Ground floor retail near the station is to be oriented towards commuter convenience.

There will be a one-hectare community park on the 11-hectare property and a 2,500 square-metre Boulevard Square.

The developers say access to sunlight in the proposed community park has been further enhanced by shifting height and density away from towers mostly to the south of the park.

The iconic water tower is now proposed to be relocated in high-profile ‘Station Square’ instead of the community park, due to concerns from the community.

First Capital announced in February they have retained Allies and Morrison, the architectural lead on the master plan design team, to be the design lead for buildings in the first phase.

MORE than $22,000 has been raised so far to help Rocky stay alive.

Pet lovers are digging deep to help Rocky the cat stay alive after being found near death after falling eight floors from a highrise.

More than $22,000 have been donated by Etobicoke residents in a Go Fund Me campaign to help Rocky survive.

The ‘poor, sweet’ cat was found by an animal lover taking a shortcut through a construction site on March 4, in the Weston Rd. and Highway 401 area.

“He tried to give him food but the cat was in so much pain that he could not focus on anything else,” wrote Sarah Maajidah, an organizer of the fundraiser.

Rocky was rushed to an emergency veterinary hospital by the man who found him. He was being helped by Rescue Angels, a non-profit cat help and rescue service.

“On the drive over (to the vet), he yowled in pain, crying, desperate for a chance at life,” said Sarah, who drove Rocky to the vet.

Sarah said Rocky’s plight surfaced after the man sought help for the ailing cat online on a Facebook group for local lost and found cats.

“I drove there right away to help since I was close,” she said online.

Rocky was examined and found to be suffering from extreme body shock, low blood pressure, low glucose, bad oxygen levels, fractured pelvis, fractured tooth, shattered legs and fluid in the lungs.

He (Rocky) desperately needed care and they stepped in, giving me the green light to go to the emergency vet, she said.

“Vet bills were adding up quickly,” Sarah explained. “They asked if I could raise funds somehow.”

She said Rocky had to spend several days in the Intensive Care Unit at the veterinarian clinic. He has now been taken of oxygen support, but may have to breathe with the help of a tube for a couple more days.

More funds will be required to pay for his X-rays, CT scans, leg surgery, dental check; including removal of a tooth.

“The final main costs they are suspecting is leg surgery, which is quoted at $7,000,” Sarah wrote. Rocky’s medical bill is expected to cost about $22,000.

All funds collected will go to the Rescue Angels to pay the vet and for upcoming surgery,” according to the campaign.

“We want to give this sweet boy every fighting chance,” Sarah said as she thanked hundreds of pet lovers who stepped up to the plate to save one of Rocky’s nine lives.

Donations can be made on Go Fund Me.

 

March is Fraud Prevention Month, police warn.

Police said online scams are the centre of this year’s campaign, since people are at home spending more time that ever accessing online services and marketplaces.

“Knowledge is power and the best way to reduce fraud is to increase fraud awareness,” anti-fraud officers said. “We all have to recognize, reject and report online fraud.”

Throughout March, the Toronto Police Service’s Financial Crimes Unit and its partners will be staging a special four-week #Fraudchat series to engage and educate Canadians by providing them with important fraud prevention information.

The #Fraudchats takes place between 1 to 2 p.m. and includes on March 11 Tax Scams, March 18 COVID scams, March 25 Employment Scams and March 31, an eight-hour Fraud-A-Thon.

Detectives said four suspects were recently arrested in a year-long employment fraud probe.

In Project Drop, suspects were sending out hundreds of thousands of text messages to cell phones advertising employment opportunities for couriers to deliver loans for a Toronto area company.

Police said victims were instructed to pick up and deposit what they thought were legitimate business cheques, then pay funds to other individuals in cash, Bitcoin or e-transfer.

All the cheques were discovered to be well-made forgeries and victims searching for jobs were allegedly defrauded.

Search warrants were issued in Toronto and Mississauga, including a downtown Toronto condo unit suspected to be the operations centre for the scheme.
Officers seized cheque forging materials, electronic devices and SIM cards that were allegedly used to blast out the mass marketing texts.

Police alleged that one of the individuals arrested was in possession of fraudulent government identities under the name of one female.

South Etobicoke will be getting two automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras of six being moved to this area in the spring.

A number of South Etobicoke motorists appear to have lead feet after it surfaced that a traffic camera on Stanley Avenue has proven to be one of the busiest in the city in generating the most tickets across Toronto roads.

Officials said between last Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, the speed camera on Stanley Avenue in the Royal York Rd., and Judson St. area issued 2,888 tickets or 13 per cent of all the fines issued.

The cameras are being rolled out to 50 new locations across the city and are expected to be capturing video of speeders by May.

There are roughly two devices for every ward in the city to capture and record images of vehicles that are speeding.

When a camera catches a speeding vehicle, a ticket is then issued to the owner of the vehicle, regardless of who was driving at the time. There are no demerit points associated with the ticket.

Lookout for the speed cameras in South Etobicoke at Algoma St., east of Royal York Rd., and Lake Shore Blvd. W.,, near Twentieth Street.

Others  will also be placed at La Rose Ave., east of Griggsden Ave., and The East Mall, south of Capri Rd., in Etobicoke Centre.

Etobicoke North drivers will have to watch for cameras at Martin Grove Rd., north of Garfella Dr., and John Garland Blvd., near Kendleton Dr.

The 50 locations have been chosen according to areas where there have been safety concerns around excessive speed and collisions near schools in Community Safety Zones, city officials said.

The fines that accompany the tickets are steeper in proportion to the speed. They start at $5 per kph (kilometre per hour) over the speed limit, with the fine reaching up to $12 per kph, between 30 and 49 kph over.

Along with the victim surcharge, the costliest ticket comes to around $722.

The city introduced the ASE program in January 2020 after running a four-month pilot program in 2018 which detected thousands of vehicles travelling over the speed limit in school zones.

Signs have been installed at all the new locations where the cameras will be active in May to warn drivers that they are coming. The city said it will not be issuing warning letters instead of tickets once the program starts.

Today, I want to discuss how to resolve conflict without a Judge.

Of course, you can go to Court and have a Judge decide, but that’s not always the best. Most conflict can be resolved if people simple listened to each other and limit their discussion to the issue of concern and not drag out a history of upset.

If you wish to maintain a relationship with your opponent then there is no choice but to compromise. If you don’t care about the relationship then why even argue, just walk away.

If a Judge is forced to decide a case its more likely there will be a winner and loser. However, if you attempt to resolve a conflict between two people, both can walk away relative winners by using listening, empathy and compromise.

The classic book on this is ‘Getting to Yes’. Every lawyer reads this in law school. It’s a must read for every parent and teenager, every husband and wife to read together with the other side. In Family Law, the one who attempts a resolution usually has the best chance of achieving their goal.

Just think about what is happening in American politics. You cannot have a winner and loser when two parties want to maintain a relationship. The process is simple. Let’s take for example a husband who comes home late on his anniversary after the partner has cooked a special dinner or you’re a teenager in a fight with his mother over a messy room.

In the first case, the hurt spouse starts demanding where was he? Why didn’t he phone? They expand the conflict to other offending occasions. The late spouse starts defending himself and introduces past events where she was unfair in her demands as an excuse. The argument then covers the last 6 months of their marriage. Stop here! It’s better to bite the bullet.

The first step is “Effective Listening”. Let the angry person vet their upset – blow off steam. Just listen instead of thinking what you want to say in reply. Not listening and self-defense is the usual default reaction. It’s natural but wrong.

Now after you have honestly listened, start in a softer voice (people are forced to listen to soft voices over loud ones) and try to repeat politely the essence of the complaint you heard, such as “You’re upset because it was a special event and you spent all day making a special meal…You cared and you think I didn’t.”

These words show that you heard her and appreciate her feelings. Nagging by a parent or spouse is usually caused by the belief that the other party has not heard their argument. Teenagers could learn if they respectfully repeated their parents concern, the parent would be satisfied the child has heard them and reduce nagging. I didn’t say stop nagging, that’s in a parent’s genes. Listen and show you understand what the other person is saying.

The second important step is to show empathy or understanding for the other persons position. Don’t try to defend yourself here. The partner could say “I understand how upset you are, I was inconsiderate. Accept responsibility. The teenager would answer, “ I know your sister is coming over tomorrow and you want the house to look neat and tidy including my room. These aren’t the exact words you use – but you get the idea.

Do not expand on issues of the past, keep the discussion focused. You cannot resolve an entire relationship in a forty-five-minute argument. You can only resolve the one issue – the room or lateness. That is why many Judges after the lawyer makes his argument , will condense what they think they heard and say, “If I understand you correctly your position is …… and the lawyer will either agree or correct the error. It shows you understood the complaint. Once you have shown you understand the argument and have displayed empathy, offer a solution, a compromise – “I will phone next time, I am truly sorry here” or for the teenager, “I will clean my room before supper.” Offer concrete steps to ensure the matter will not happen again.

This technique is easy to teach but difficult to do – even I fail to follow it. We don’t like to listen or admit responsibility but it often works. Read the Book. Read it with your spouse or children.

Judge Lloyd Budzinski retired after 28 years and was a former Crown Attorney, Defence Counsel and Ontario’s Assistant Deputy Minister for Criminal law. He was the Chief Prosecutor in the high-profile trial of former RCMP officer Patrick Michael Kelly, who was found guilty of murder for throwing his wife from the 17^th floor balcony of their Palace Pier condo in March 1981.

Let us Spring into Spring!

With spring in your step and the warm sun on your back, you are finally getting out into the great outdoors, right?

If not, let’s go. This is the time of year when everything is awakening on the surface. As the earth warms, the wildlife, the new growth underfoot is encouraging us to begin on new adventures. This year, it may feel different – for sure. This year, we are still amidst unsure times. Yet, I say, you draw upon the strength of spring time.
How?

The seasons don’t stop. Time keeps on ticking. ‘The Big Wheel in the Sky keeps on turning’ Journey reminds us (The song reference is for all you music lovers!) As Journey sings about time, let us be encouraged by that and choose to grow with spring. Spring coming upon us is a welcome, predictable, comforting sign. It is a natural stress reliever. Let’s use the longer days, the warmer sun to get out into the woods. Take up foraging or bird spotting.

If you enjoy the great outdoors only once it is warmer (and I don’t blame you – I love the heat), how about choosing a healthy new hobby like sprouting your own food?  Seeds are just about everywhere!

Did you know you can sprout just about any seed or legume that you usually eat in the kitchen? The next time you prepare a batch of chili, I encourage you to soak your black beans, your garbanzo beans and even the dried lentils (soak dried seed and legumes, not the canned ones!) for 4-6 hours. They become softer and the soaking ‘wakes’ them up into pre-sprout mode. This unlocks their tremendous, nutritious power.  As seeds begin sprouting, they expand in size, in nutritional value and often become much more digestible. You literally grow healthier.

Did you know that most seeds, when sprouted are 10-40x their nutritional value compared to their adult vegetables or grains?

There are many ways to learn about sprouting, growing microgreens and even wild foraging for spring foods. Check online on You Tube or your local garden groups like LegsEtobicoke.ca to see what’s new in the garden. This is a great time to get your hands on a new green hobby. We have so many parklands that are waiting for you to go meander, enjoy the walking path and even wander off along the Humber River or Etobicoke Creek to soak up the beneficial sounds of bird songs, water flowing, the earth welcoming us back into action.

Despite the closures of many spaces, you can wander around our many parks, you can visit the Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington) and you can even check out TUG – Toronto Urban Growers (Urban network in the GTA!) for local seed libraries, community gardens and urban farming adventures. Now is the time to begin growing green!

See you in the garden!

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ” May Sarton

Monika Meulman, Zen Life Guide 416-347-5449: The Healing Muse Apothecary @healingmuse, www.healingmuse.com