Dear Friends,
By now we have had many discussions about what our business and residential communities need in terms of transit for Finch Avenue West. The Province, through Metrolinx, decided to give your community an LRT ( Light Rail Transit) but you were never given the opportunity to voice your concerns. As of today, neither the Province nor your local MPP, Mario Sergio, have had any public consultation leaving the Emery Village BIA and our community in a very difficult position. That changed on June 17th, when the Emery Village BIA had no choice but to hold a community consultation so that you could be heard.
In addition to myself, Mayor John Tory and representatives from the City of Toronto and Metrolinx were on hand for a meeting to hear what you had to say – and it was clear, the LRT as it is proposed, is not what you want.
Unfortunately, your provincial representative, MPP Mario Sergio, sent a letter after the fact saying that he had scheduling conflicts and could not attend. At a time when we need him the most, when we need him to be our voice at Queen’s Park, he chose not to be there to hear us. If he doesn’t want to do his job there are many people out there who are prepared to do it for him so that we in Ward 7 get the transit system we deserve.
It was made clear that night that what you want is a subway. However at this point, without our MPP, Mario Sergio, backing us at Queen’s Park, we are being forced to accept an LRT.
If that is the case then there are conditions that the Emery Village BIA outlined that need to be met in order to make this transit line more palatable, such as ensuring it is more visually appealing by incorporating the BIA’s colours, enhancing the street furniture and ensuring the new bike lanes are safely separated from the roadway. During the meeting Mayor John Tory made his commitment to you to find the money in order to be able to meet the conditions of the Emery Village BIA. If we are being forced to accept this LRT, we do so in a way that makes it fit in with our community standards. I stand by my belief that Finch Avenue West would best be served by a subway. LRTs move slower than buses, will cause increased traffic and, as they will prevent tractor-trailers from doing U-turns on Finch at Weston Road, will cause the diversion of heavy truck traffic onto smaller roads that cannot bear it. I believe we deserve a transit strategy that will move our people efficiently and endure our growth and expansion.
If you believe the same I encourage you to visit my office at 2930 Islington Avenue, Unit 3 before July 15th to sign a petition asking for a revised transit plan for Finch Avenue West that will be delivered to MPP Mario Sergio to bring to the Ontario Legislature when the house meets again on September 14th. Call his office at 416-743-7272 and let him know we need him to stop Finch Ave West from becoming a disaster like St. Clair Ave West.
Ward 7 Councillor
Giorgio Mammoliti
“Views expressed in Councillor’s Corner are those of the Councillor and may not necessarily reflect those of the Emery village Voice or the BIA.”