People come here to have fun.

Toronto Police are investigating to find the culprit who smashed a large plate glass window at a popular New Toronto fun and games store.

Witnesses said the pane of a front window was smashed sometime on November 24 at Funny Bones Games and Lounge at 3029 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

They said this was the second time in a week a window at the lounge was smashed with a heavy object.

The lounge has been a venue for game play, rentals, sales and puzzles, parties, workshops, team building, corporate events and enrichment programs.

The damage comes as a Go Fund Me page was created to save Funny Bones, which was hit hard by COVID.

“Being closed for over two years during the pandemic was crippling,” wrote fund organizer Carol Ledden-Cusson. “And now, government loans are due…Our friends and your community hub are in serious trouble”

So far more than $6,300 has been donated on the Go Fune Me page.

 

 

As the Ontario government work to remove some controversial bike lanes, the City is planning to expand its Bike Share Toronto program.

More than $12 million is being sought by the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) to electrify its bike fleet with the purchase of hundreds of e-bikes, solar stations and e-docks as part of a Bike Share four-year expansion program.

A proposal by the TPA is being considered by City Council whose members will likely approve the spending to become a leader in the use of electric bikes and charging systems.

Some $9 million dollars of the funds will be used to purchase new equipment for next summer and $3 million as a down payment on the order, according to the November 8 proposal.

“TPA’s vision to be the world’s leading provider of sustainable parking, bike sharing, and last-mile mobility solutions for our customers, partners, and the city,” according to the proposal.

Bike Share Toronto plans to add 180 solar stations, 350 electric charging docks (e-docks), 450 iconic bikes and 300 e-bikes to the system next year.

It said the investments will grow the Bike Share network to 1,042 stations, 1,375 e-docks, and 10,250 bikes, including 7,930 iconic bikes and 2,320 e-bikes. It currently has 625 stations across the City.

“The expansion will prioritize neighborhoods where affordable mobility options are most needed, ensuring greater accessibility and convenience citywide,” the report stated.

“The strategy focuses on the electrification of the network through the introduction of E-bike stations and EV charging stations.”

If approved, the plan will introduce new stations in Rexdale, Scarborough Centre, Scarborough North, and Scarborough Agincourt.

It calls for more stations in the downtown area to enhance high-demand areas, ensuring that users can find available bikes or docking stations.

“With demand in the core continuing to surge, this additional infrastructure will help maintain accessibility for members and casual users alike,” the TPA said.

So far this year, riders in Toronto have taken 4.7 million Bike Share trips, already overtaking ridership in 2022 and fast approaching the 5.7 million mark set in 2023, according to Bike Share officials.

They expect six million trips on Bike Share this year.

Bike Share Toronto’s ridership revenue is forecasted to reach about $7 million this year.

The bike-sharing market in the U.S. is expected to see a steady increase in revenue, with projections indicating a rise to $325.30 U.S. this year.

Almost $20,000 has been raised to help a grieving dad who lost his wife, Katie, and had their three toddlers seriously injured, after being hit by a car at an Etobicoke crosswalk.

Mom Katie died in hospital as she and husband, Andrew, and their three young children, aged 11-days, 18-months and four years, were struck by a driver last October 2 while crossing Islington at a crosswalk.

They were hit at Orrell Avenue, just north of Dundas St. W.  Police said the Toyota Corolla was driven by a 77-year-old woman.

Go Fund Me organizer Stefan Pazulla wrote that the family were on their way home from an after-dinner park visit.

He said two of the children were taken to the Hospital for Sick Children with critical injuries, while Katie was taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre with life-threatening injuries.

“Over the following weeks, all three children were released from SickKids Hospital to complete their recovery at home,” Pazulla advised. “Sadly, on November 21, Katie passed peacefully, surrounded by family.”

The funds raised will be used to help Andrew during this difficult time and assist with immediate expenses and care of the children.

You can donate by visiting gofundme.com

Police are asking local residents, business owners, and drivers who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, to contact investigators.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

There has been no report of any charges being laid.

Some residents suspect a man on the run from Toronto Police for killing two women could be the one behind a rash of break and entries in the Alderwood area.

Police at 22 Division said they are receiving more complaints of break and enters to homes that back onto ravines, parks and golf courses.

Crime Prevention Officers took to social media to warn residents of the thefts, which they warn occur after thieves break in through the rear doors from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“Please keep an eye out for your neighbors, especially if they are away,” police posted. “Have your alarm systems on and the louder the alarm the better. Please make sure your video is working.”

The community has experienced a whopping 13 auto thefts and 20 break and enters in one week, police said.

Residents in the area are locking up and leaving lights on following the murders of a mother and daughter last August in the Sheldon and Silvercrest Avenues area.

Officers found an 82-year-old woman and a 60-year-old woman dead inside a home, which has since been locked up with no one there.

Detectives were searching for Joseph Ayala, 33, for the slayings of the women, who were his relatives.

Ayala has been on the run for more than three months and police believe that he is hiding in the area and may need food and water, and may be breaking into some of the homes.

Police are warning residents to look out for suspicious vehicles and people around their home, record the licence plate and vehicle description, get description of occupants in the vehicles, do not confront the suspects and call police with your concerns.

 

Three injured young children under the age of five have lost their mom after a car plowed into the family as they were crossing an Etobicoke crosswalk almost two months ago.

An Etobicoke family is mourning the loss of a wife and mother who died in hospital after a car driven by a senior plowed into her, her husband and three young children on Islington Avenue.

The family includes the mom, 39, husband, 45, and girls 4-years-old and one-year old and one-month-old boy.

They were hit on October 2 while crossing Islington Avenue, at Orrell Avenue, just north of Dundas St. W. The woman died in hospital on November 21, police said.

The family has not been identified due to the young children.

Toronto Police in a release said the tragic crash occurred as a result of a 77-year-old woman who was driving a Toyota west on Finchley Road approaching Islington Avenue.

At the same time a family of five were crossing Islington Avenue as a vehicle made a left turn from Finchley and struck them while at a crosswalk.

The driver remained at the scene.

There has been no report of any charges being laid.

Police are asking local residents, business owners, and drivers who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, to contact investigators.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

Plans are underway by the City to install 75 new automated speed cameras on Toronto roads next year despite a rash of vandalism to the devices.

A Vision Zero Road Safety Plan by Transportation Services is also proposing a reduction of speed limit on local roads to 30 miles an hour and narrower roadways to slow down vehicles. Staff are now identifying areas across the city where the new speed cameras can be installed.

The Vision Zero plan will be presented to an Infrastructure and Environment Committee and then City council for consideration.

It said vandalism is a concern and called for the new cameras to be installed on secure extended poles that will be make it harder to be tampered with. A few days ago one of the City’s most prolific camera on Parkside Drive was cut down by vandals.

The plan said the devices will be installed using a data-driven approach that considers vehicle speed and collision history rather than evenly distributed between wards.

“This will provide an opportunity to target locations in the city with the most problematic vehicle speeds and provide the greatest safety benefit,” according to the report. A minimum of three of the cameras will be provided for each of the City’s 25 wards.

“It does require considerable time and resources to relocate the cameras, so initial location evaluation time is well-spent,” the report stated, adding that warning signs must be posted 90 days prior to their use.

A Toronto Police Vision Zero Enforcement Team targets aggressive, distracted, impaired driving and speeding. The team this year has issued some 42,929 tickets: consisting of 18,593 for speeding, 3,429 for aggressive driving, 3,934 for distracted driving and 16,973 tickets for other infractions.

The report recommends that the speed limit on local roads be decreased to 30 miles an hour and the creation of 20 new Community Safety Zones with speed cameras near schools to improve safety.

Also being considered are more traffic calming measures, mobile watch-your-speed signs, in-road flexible speed signs and the narrowing of roads to slow down traffic.

City staff also have a plan to issue computerized tickets to red light runners, those who block bike lanes, signs or parked illegally through the use of cameras connected to transportation ministry databases with the tickets of offenders mailed to the owner of the vehicle.

As of last September some 30 people have died in traffic incidents in Toronto, including 12 pedestrians, eight motorists, six cyclists, and four motorcyclists. This is compared to 25 road fatalities at the same time last year.

The Vision Zero strategy began in 2016 to reduce traffic-related deaths and serious injuries to zero. The goal is to get to zero fatalities and much lower serious injuries.

The City is being asked to pay almost $3.5 million to mostly Black churches and organizations for helping to provide temporary shelter to hundreds of refugee claimants last year.

City staff are also being asked to create a tracking system that will monitor anti-Black racism in the shelter system.

The requests by an Economic and Community Development committee will be considered by City Council on December 17.

The Committee in a report said the $3.475 million will used to ‘reimburse churches and community organizations for their eligible expenses towards providing temporary shelter to refugee claimants incurred on December 31.’

A handful of churches and community groups had complained they did not receive compensation and lost money by sheltering some of the hundreds of mostly-African claimants who were sleeping on the sidewalks of downtown Toronto.

The large number of claimants led to the opening a temporary shelter on the CNE grounds.

The report called for assessment supported by Toronto Public Health to continue overdose prevention at large temporary shelter hotels.

“The City aims to maintain and expand lifesaving supports available in large shelter hotel sites,” it stated. “If passed, may lead to a significant decrease in the availability of overdose prevention services across the city.”

The City is asking the Ontario government to provide ongoing funding to ensure that appropriate health care, mental health and crisis intervention services are available to those experiencing homelessness and sleeping outdoors in Toronto.

 City officials are bowing to public pressure against an auto ban in High Park and are putting in place a shuttle service to get people to visit the sprawling park.

Staff are seeking proposals for a ‘reliable and accessible’ shuttle service to help visitors to get to popular park locations as the petting zoo and other attractions.

City staff said they are ‘marketing the opportunity for a supplier to maintain and operate a passenger transportation shuttle service at the park.’

Those interested are asked to submit a proposal or contact the City website by December 3.

The move comes as an advocacy group claim the park is now empty except for cyclists and restaurant and other businesses are suffering due to a lack of visitors from the vehicle prohibition.

Diane Buckell, of High Park Access For All, said prior to the closure of the park to vehicles five years ago there were line-ups at the popular Grenadier Café for brunch or lunch with friends or family.

“Only three tables were occupied when I visited,” she wrote an Open Letter to Mayor Olivia Chow. “In a period of 15 minutes only six joggers or walkers and 17 cyclists went by.”

She told Chow the auto ban has left the park unaccessible for seniors, families or those with mobility issues.

“High Park these days is unvisited,” Buckell said. “Why does the City want to discourage people visiting what was once one of the most utilized parks in the City.”

She cited an online petition to reopen the park to vehicles that was signed by about 23,000 nature lovers.

The group is seeking a meeting with Chow to discuss the situation they face.

City residents may soon be able to call 311 to report potential parking offences on our streets.

A staff report will be considered on November 25 to determine if the change will be approved by a City Customer Experience Division.

The consultation will include the Parking Enforcement Unit of the Toronto Police Service to review the possible change.

The move focuses on improving the coordination of non-emergency services to improve overall customer experience.

The report by Division looks at opportunities regarding enhanced parking infraction reporting, and other improvements for non-emergency service coordination.

It will feature a live person processing the 311 call before it is passed over to Toronto Police for non-emergency issues.

Since January, 311 Toronto has received about 920 calls monthly regarding police parking infractions. It is about 1 per cent of 311 call volume.

It provides a “no wrong door” customer-focused approach.

Last year almost 110,000 parking infractions were reported by residents using the an online portal and 82,359 via the police non-emergency line.

 

Area politicians and dignitaries took part in a New Toronto ground-breaking ceremony of a multi-unit Canadian Helen Keller Centre (CHKC) for deafblind people.

The 56-unit accessible apartment complex, at 158 Eighth Street, is slated to be completed by July 2025.

‘’This is a critical step in addressing a significant housing shortage in Ontario,” Centre CEO Jennifer Robbins told supporters and donors on November 18. ’’Deafblind consumers from Toronto and beyond can apply for housing in the new building.”

She said the facility will include a 6,500 square foot training centre where more deafblind people can learn essential life skills to aid in their independence while caring for their families and homes.

The complex will help reduce a lengthy CHKC waitlist and give more people with vision and hearing loss access to an independent life. People with other disabilities will use any remaining units.

“The apartment complex will also help to reduce social isolation, improve the quality of life for vulnerable deafblind individuals experiencing homelessness or living in unsafe environments,” Robbins said.

The facility is a partnership between CHKC, the City of Toronto and the federal government through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The new six-storey building will have one-, two- and three-bedroom homes alongside a range of shared spaces and amenities, including a rooftop garden.

MP James Maloney said the centre was a ‘made in Canada” project in which all parties worked together to make happen.

“A safe and secure home is of vital importance for a better quality of life and strong communities,” he told a gathering of social workers, CHKC and construction staff. This “will provide housing stability for people with disabilities from our community along with the support they require for their success.”

Deputy Mayor Amber Morley said the project “serves residents seeking not just a home that works for them, but a community that can provide them with supports and a sense of belonging.”

Angele Periard, who will be moving into the new centre, said she is excited and cannot wait to move in.

“Now I can save money to buy groceries and visit my family back in North Bay,” she said. “Now I will have a safe space to live in.”

The CKHC also operates Canada’s only residential training centre for people who are deafblind.

CHKC’s training centre has played an important role in the lives of individuals, their families and the community since opening its doors in July 2001.

Dedicated staff and instructors offer classes to improve skills needed for daily living, which facilitates independence and helps people who are deafblind.