Over the past ten years, if you've driven north or south on Allen Road and Dufferin Street between Sheppard Avenue and just north of Finch Avenue, you will notice shoulder lanes that are almost always empty and yet motorists cannot use them. These are "diamond lanes” reserved for transit buses all day and all night, 7 days a week. The lanes have long been a source of great frustration for residents in our community. Since my arrival in Toronto City Council, I have been working to loosen the restrictions on these lanes. Over the years, I was repeatedly told by City staff that once the subway extension to Vaughan was complete, these lanes would be converted back to regular traffic lanes, open to all. Recently, we made some great progress. At the City of Toronto's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting on February 27th, I worked with Councillor Anthony Perruzza to have the committee pass a motion that will convert the diamond lanes on Allen Road and Dufferin Street to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes for vehicles containing a minimum of two people. In addition to busses, the lanes can now be used by cyclists, motorcyclists and taxis. The item will now go to City Council on March 26th for approval. We are also seeing the other positive impacts of the new subway extension on our local streets. With more residents north of Toronto taking the subway downtown to work, there are less cars cutting through our neighbourhoods. With new commuter parking lots along the north part of the subway extension, dozens of parking spaces at the Wilson and Sheppard West subway station lots have opened up. The opening of the new subway proves that investing in transit provides dividends for both transit riders and motorists. Keep up with our progress and check back for regular updates at www.JamesPasternak.ca.
Councillor Pasternak joined by Mayor Tory at his Annual Ward 10 Town Hall
On January 25th, I hosted my annual Ward 10 Town Hall at Antibes Community Centre. For the 4th year in a row, I was joined by Mayor John Tory to listen to residents' suggestions and ideas and to respond to their concerns.For over two hours, Mayor Tory and I answered dozens of questions from attendees on a variety of important topics including community safety, traffic congestion, transit, local developments and affordable housing. We also heard many suggestions for improving our local neighbourhoods.We also heard from the members of the Ward 10 Emergency Roundtable group that was formed after the ice storm of 2013. This remarkable group meets regularly to develop local plans of action in the events of serious emergencies, extreme weather or industrial accidents in our neighbourhood.One of the reasons my office strives to host so many town halls and community consultations is that, since being elected to City Council in 2010 for the first time, I have been determined to ensure that City Hall and Toronto's municipal government do a better job of listening to residents.In addition to my Annual Town Hall, we recently hosted community consultations for upcoming park improvements in Irving Chapley Park, Garthdale Park and Champlain Parkette that will be built in 2018. These meetings allow residents to directly impact the type of investments the City of Toronto is making in their neighbourhood parks.My office has also hosted neighbourhood town halls on community safety, transit, affordable housing and the Toronto Seniors Strategy.Using the feedback and ideas we receive at these meetings, I will continue to push for more smart investments in Ward 10, to protect the value in our homes and to enhance our parks and playgrounds. Our neighbourhoods deserve nothing less.Keep up with our progress and check back for regular updates at www.JamesPasternak.ca.
RALLY TO SAVE BRANSON URGENT CARE CENTRE TO TAKE PLACE TODAY
Tuesday, May 8, 2017FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TORONTO –May 4, 2017 The Branson Community Action Group and the residents of the Bathurst/Finch community are planning a rally outside the Branson Division of North York General Hospital to protest the imminent closure of the Urgent Care Centre. The rally is to take place: Date: Wednesday May 10thTime: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.Where: on the sidewalk in front of the Urgent Care CentreOn the north and south sides of Finch Avenue555 Finch Avenue West, Toronto, ON The Branson Community Action Group (BCAG), a local citizen’s group, believes that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is an extremely important part of this neighbourhood which provides necessary medical services within reasonable walking distances to a community with a high concentration of seniors, disabled, new Canadian residents and families of limited income.The members of the Branson Community Action Group feel that closure of the Urgent Care Centre would cause a great hardship in the community that might lead to avoidable deaths due to a lack of easy access to urgent and emergency medical care. Collectively the Branson Community Action Group strongly advocates that the Urgent Care Centre should remain open to serve the community to ensure that the community has access to health care. The Branson Community Action Group feels it is important to postpone the closure of the Urgent Care Centre to at least November of 2017 to allow a reasonable amount of time for public consultation on the matter. It is the hope of the members of the Branson Community Action Group and the affected community that, with proper public consultation, an alternative solution to providing the medical needs of this area can be found.Contact:Kenneth Schafer, Co-chairperson, Branson Community Action GroupEmail: drkschafer@rogers.com Tel: 416 618 4114
Ward 10 Community Update: Town Hall on Monday, April 24th to Oppose the Upcoming Closure of the Branson Urgent Care Centre
Moderated by Sean Meagher, Executive Director of Social Planning TorontoFriday, April 21, 2017The Branson Community Action Group (BCAG) has been formed by the residents of Bathurst-Finch area after learning that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is being closed down by North York General Hospital.On March 1, 2017 Mr. Tim Rutledge, CEO of North York General Hospital announced through the hospital website that the Urgent Care Centre of North York General hospital would be closing effective June 1, 2017.The services provided by the centre will be transferred to the North York General Hospital main campus at Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue East at least for the foreseeable future. Residents are crying foul for such short notice with no community consultation, and are mobilizing opposition to the closure.What: A resident led town hall to obtain and organize public input on the closure of the Branson Division of North York General Hospital.Where: Northview Heights Secondary School (550 Finch Avenue West), AuditoriumWhen: April 24, 2017, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Further background:The Branson Community Action Group feels that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is an important part of this neighbourhood providing necessary medical services within reasonable walking distances to a community with a high concentration of seniors, disabled and new Canadian residents and families of limited income.BCAG feels that closure of the Urgent Care Centre would cause a great hardship in the community that might lead to avoidable deaths due to a lack of easy access to emergency medical care. It is the feeling of BCAG that the Urgent Care Centre should remain open to serve the community for the foreseeable future, as BCAG believes that the Bathurst-Finch neighbourhood should remain a walkable neighbourhood.BCAG feels it is important to at least postpone the official closure of the Urgent Care Centre to October of 2017 to allow a reasonable amount of time for public consultation on the matter. It is the hope of BCAG and the affected community that, with proper public consultation, a different solution to providing the medical needs of this area can be found.Media contacts:Ms. Vicki Jewt, Co-chairperson BCAGvictoriaajds@gmail.comKenneth Schafer, Co-chairperson BCAGdrkschafer@rogers.comBranson Community Action Group