Sylvia Watson vs. the Parkdale-High Park waterfront

[green22]

Sylvia Watson

Recent offenses:
1. Trying to lease Dowling beach; half to Boulevard Club, half to Toronto Sail & Canoe Club (without consulting residents)
2. Trying to lease waterfront park (and now median parklands) to Palais Royale for 150 car parking lot and 10 ton truck turn around (without consulting residents)

3. Trying to construct a 4 phase sport project for Marylin Bell park,
1) olympic bmx course (fenced off)
2) olympic bmx freestyle course (fenced off)
3) concrete skateboard park (they are building one a mile to the west on the waterfront as well)
4) Extreme sports facility
surface parking lot to serve above uses
and private dragon boat clubhouse and launching area

After 200 people came out to a meeting (audio recording on PRA website) she did not back down and lied that it was too late because a private contract had been signed between city and the proponent Terry Tisianos (Palais Royale).
Miller found out about it from us and told us that there was no deal between the city and Terry Tisianos. He then stopped the project before a lease could be signed. The Boulevard Club has also backed down and says it will listen to the public.

Our councillor will never back down and is cooking up further schemes to privatize the waterfront. She is now planning a parking lot across from the Palais Royale in city parklands in the Lakeshore median. She submitted a plan for the waterfront which divides the ward in half at Dowling avenue leaving Marylin Bell Park out of the planning (as well as all projects in negotiation with the city).

Sylvia will be at a pulbic meeting on May 29th
Meeting on the Palais Royale parking situation
With Councillor Watson
Monday May 29th, begins at 7:00pm
Fern School, 126 Fern Avenue (just east of Roncesvalles)

Here's some of the media reports

Life’s a Beach, Toronto sun (Thane Burnett)
www.torontosun.com/News/C...61732.html

Beach side Parking, Eye Weekly (Allison Martell)
* 2nd article*
www.eye.net/eye/issue/iss.../news.html

Residents claim Victory in Beach Battle, Toronto Star (John Goddard)
www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...6606640275

CBC TV (David Craig) parkdale.to/?q=node/90

Motorhead Beachhead, Spacing wire (Shawn Micallef ) spacing.ca/wire/?p=719

Battle brews over western beaches, Toronto Star (John Goddard)
www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...6174637038

Pave Paradise and put up a parking lot, The Globe and Mail (John Lorinc) www.theglobeandmail.com/s...rtainment/

Residents not happy with Palais Parking Arrangements, Bloor West Villager (Lisa Rainford)
www.insidetoronto.com/to/...c=villager

Parkdalers seek help fighting city hall
www.thebulletin.ca/cbulle...id=1000767

Not on line: Globe TV News-Tuesday

For more waterfront news including Councillor Watson’s update go to
parkdale.to/?q=node/92

We plan to flyer the Parkdale-High Park this week to get people to the meeting to oppose her latest schemes to convert lakeshore parklands. Want to help, contact
Roger Brook green22@sympatico.ca or 416 538-1285

 

[janschot]

¿Have any of the three confirmed opponents to Ms. Watson in the upcoming council race made any noise about these issue? ¿Is there anyone who you are thinking of supporting?

 

[green22]

Yes, there is a 90% chance that someone who is heavily involved in these issues will run, probably come out in 2 weeks (not myself of course). He's probably one of the people that Watson would least like to run against and debate. I know two of the three official candidates.

Walt Jarsky is on the Parkdale Residents Association along with myself. He ran last time and got about 700 votes. He's a very nice guy, kind of eccentric and a dull speaker. I would still much prefer him to Watson.

Rowena Santos is also a challenger from the left end of the spectrum. She is photogenic, organised, articulate & interested in the environment and other issues. She is slightly inexperienced (didn't know what residents associations were, will hold fundraiser near Dufferin & Lawrence where she and her core team live) and she is also fairly theoretical and not specific. She has an MBA and works as a fundraiser. She also runs a service which advises corporations on charitable donations. She's missed a lot of key events that she said that she and the core team would attend and doesn't seem to have any specific positions or ideas, more general. I would most likely prefer her to Watson but would have to be more familiar with her, it's still early in the campaign.
Three years ago, I worked on David Smaller's campaign and he may run again. He's a great guy, good on the issues, charasmatic, etc. Only drawback is he hasn't been involved much in the issues of the ward (currently works at St. Christophers) I would still be very happy to see him as councillor.
I don't know the third official candidate and it is possible that others may join the race including the unnamed man I will probably end up volunteering for. (if he doesn't run, David S. or someone else perhaps).

The two candidates have said that they would have handled the issue differently. They both would have notified, consulted and worked with the community on the issue. David Smaller has gone further and said that turning the park into a parking lot was an awful idea. Of course this would have also been discovered by the first two candidates when consulting residents.
Sylvia Watson told the newspapers the fallacy that people had told her loud and clear on the campaign trail to do something about the Palais Royale. On the campaign trail I spoke to people all over the ward and this never came up, in fact Miller was to have endorsed David Smaller at a July 2003 event with local musicians at the Palais Royale.

My own biases: I'm generally a left winger, pro-transit, cycle-walking, affordable housing, pro-'positive' intensification, environment, consulting with community etc..

 

[green22]

Latest articles

www.parkdaleliberty.ca/ (scroll down to articles)

Charting a course for the western waterfront

It’s who makes future decisions that will keep the beach debate burning

BY ERIN GOODMAN
The soothing strains of swing music and the soft sunlight that poured through the lakeside
windows of the Palais Royale ballroom did nothing to soothe the tempers of angry citizens who came to an Apr. 24 meeting bearing signs like “Beach 4 $ale.â€
In a furious and, at times, chaotic question-and-answer period, Ward 14 Councillor Sylvia Watson defended current plans for the western beaches against a community vehemently opposed to them.
Residents say Watson’s approach to the western lakeshore seems to be at odds with the vision they have for the area. And they say the City seems bent on leasing public parkland along the Lakeshore to private interests.
Recent examples include:

• Two adjacent local boating clubs with designs on the city-owned beach and parkland between them.
• A plan for the new owners of the Palais Royale to build a 120-car parking lot to the east of the restored ballroom.
• Plans for expansion of the extreme sport facility already being built in Marilyn Bell Park.
• A rumoured plan for a dragon boat clubhouse on the lakeshore to complement the new breakwater being built for an event this year.

All of this, say objectors, happened without long-term planning or adequate public consultation.
While the waterfront to the east of Dowling Ave. is under the jurisdiction of the central waterfront plan of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation, there is no such blueprint for the lakeshore west of Dowling.
And that means no one’s looking out for the long-term welfare of the western waterfront.
Recently, Watson put a motion before City Council calling for an Integrated Beach Management Study that will focus on the waterfront between Dowling and the Humber River.
This new study will examine parks, infrastructure, transit, parking, transportation to the beaches, improving connections to the beaches for pedestrians and other issues. Watson maintains that there will be significant public consultation within the IBMS.
The apparent lack of public consultation on recent projects has been one of the main complaints of local residents’ groups.
When a member of a local boating club leaked news of two proposals that were in the works concerning public green space at the foot of Dowling Ave., it was the first time most people had heard of the plans.
Initially, the Boulevard Club and the Toronto Sailing and Canoeing Club planned to split Dowling Beach. Watson called this green space “orphaned land†which the city would no longer have to clean and maintain once it was taken over by the two clubs.
Roger Brook, co-chair of the Parkdale Residents Association’s community development group, says the unloading of Dowling Beach was about money, plain and simple.
“The fact that the City actually went to the two clubs to seek proposals tells me that [it] doesn’t value the public lands because they’re not making money for them,†Brook said.
Both clubs had yet to send final proposals to the City when public outcry forced them to scale back their plans. The Boulevard Club dropped its request for a permit to fence-off public green space to its west side, and the TS&CC appears to have benched its plans to lease public land to its east.
However it was the proposal for a parking lot on parkland east of the Palais Royale that was the issue that really galvanized the community. The Pegasus Group, owners of the newly restored Palais, maintained that the parking lot was necessary for their business to be viable.
Residents’ associations complained that the lot, as originally planned, was not acceptable. In response Watson proposed that the City study the possibility of parking on the Lakeshore Blvd. median. That too has met with some resistance.
Overall, it seems that proposals for land use along the western lakeshore have been considered on a case-by-case basis and with a marked lack of direction. This is the problem that Watson’s IBMS hopes to address.
“The idea is to make sure that this is as inclusive as possible; a consultation that takes into account the interests of everybody in that waterfront,†Watson said.
The first stage of Watson’s Integrated Beach Management Study is slated to begin in September.
As Watson began to put together the study, local residents associations banded together and released a list of five demands for the waterfront.
Aside from calling for a comprehensive plan to guide western beach development, the list also calls for greater public consultation on land usage, better pedestrian access to the beach and a proposal to reduce parking on the lakeshore.
The Parkdale Residents Association has some issues with Watson’s IBMS. Plans currently in the works – such as the Palais parking and the TS&CC proposal – are not covered under the study.
Furthermore, this first stage of the study only includes the stretch of lakeshore between Dowling Ave. and the Humber River. This effectively cuts Ward 14 in half and leaves Marilyn Bell Park just outside the study’s boundaries.
Watson has argued that the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation has jurisdiction over the area east of Dowling. Watson said she does plan to consult the TWRC as she conducts the IBMS.


Diane Rajaram echoes the sentiments of many protestors attending an information session hosted by Councilor Sylvia Watson at the Palais April 24. Photo: Lisa Kannakko

“The idea will be to mesh together the TWRC work at the Marilyn Bell end with the ongoing study to the west,†Watson said.
But Roger Brook of the PRA speculates that a number of proposals to build sports facilities at Marilyn Bell Park may have influenced the geographic boundaries of Councillor Watson’s IBMS.
Designer Michael Heaton has been given the go-ahead to raise funds for a BMX racetrack that is slated to be built at Marilyn Bell Park this summer.
There are also plans to build a BMX freestyle facility, a skateboard park and an indoor extreme sports facility at the park. Heaton has already suggested that Marilyn Bell Park will require parking for these new facilities.
But instead of cars, better pedestrian access seems to be at the top of area residents’ wish lists for the western beaches.
Both pedestrian and transit access to the lakeshore are inadequate in this area. Numerous calls by the community for traffic lights at Jameson and Dowling Aves., where crossing to the waterfront is most treacherous, have gone unanswered by the City,
according to Brook.
The PRA is adamant the Councillor Watson’s IBMS seriously consider reconfiguring the roads at the southern edge of Parkdale and improving pedestrian and transit access to the waterfront in this area, as per the Waterfront Official Plan.
With Watson’s waterfront study a few months away, area residents have time to think through and develop a position that reflects their vision for the western
waterfront. Future debates will be determined by how different that vision is from the direction
the City chooses to take.

Posted in News | No Comments »


*** also an interesting article (picture) of the Alsop pedestrian bridge in another story***

Related article
Former mayor shares his neighbourhood vision
www.insidetoronto.ca/to/v...9675c.html


<Now article coming out Thurs.>

 

[interchange42]

I attended a big (fun) bash at the revamped Palais Royale last night. There was sufficient parking in the park lots that already exist there, although signage at the inlet to the lot and at the turnaround from Lakeshore westbound needs to be improved so people can find it more easily. Sure there's a bit of a walk from the lot, but no big deal, the venue had a golf cart they were using to ferry those didn't want to walk back and forth. A similarly small but weatherproofed vehicle could be found to do the same thing in inclement weather.

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[Darkstar416]

Palais Royale should also advertise their TTC connections. I think few realize how easy it is to get there from downtown, Dundas West, Etobicoke, etc. It's just basically a walk across the bridge from many streetcar lines.

 

[Ed007Toronto]

I took the King car to the Palais last week. First time crossing that bridge.

 

[spmarshall]

And good ol' Silvia departs, leaving us with her parking lot.

Median parking lot approved
For the use of Palais Royale customers
Cars can use grass centre on Lake Shore
Jun. 30, 2006. 01:00 AM
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

Toronto city council has endorsed building a parking lot in the middle of Lake Shore Blvd.

The unusual parking plan — on the grassy, treed median between eastbound and westbound lanes — is to accommodate those going to the city-owned Palais Royale banquet hall.

The operator Terry Tsianos says he has spent $3.5 million renovating the historic building, and he needs parking to accommodate customers. There is no parking or transit in the vicinity.

Moron. There's plenty of parking to the west. The 501 and 504 are a three minute walk away via the bridge.

The idea for parking up to 130 cars in the median of Lake Shore Blvd. was first proposed by area residents, who later objected to the plan.

The area's Councillor Sylvia Watson (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) supported the median parking as a better solution than a previous proposal to park cars under willow trees on a waterfront beach area. That earlier plan conflicts with city policy to open up the waterfront for people to use.

Watson clashed with residents when she stressed that the residents themselves had touted the median parking back in February.

Residents now say they don't like either plan and would prefer that Palais customers park in the eastbound curb lane of Lake Shore Blvd. and have the posted speed limit on that stretch lowered to 50 km/h from 60 km/h. That proposal was nixed over safety concerns that drivers could be hurt trying to get out of their cars due to speeding traffic.

"It sets a bad precedent. It's contrary to what the waterfront corporation wants," said area resident David Hanna after the vote.

"We keep losing a part of the Parkdale waterfront. It's another big loss," said Roger Brook.

The estimated cost of building the parking lot is $500,000. It will be leased for 20 years to the operator at rate of $49,000 a year. In addition, city transportation staff recommended $160,000 for a traffic light, including pavement markings and signage, so patrons can cross the three lanes of eastbound traffic separating the parking lot from the Palais.

Why do they need to spend money on a traffic light? There's a bridge with a ramp into the median.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Residents now say they don't like either plan and would prefer that Palais customers park in the eastbound curb lane of Lake Shore Blvd. and have the posted speed limit on that stretch lowered to 50 km/h from 60 km/h. That proposal was nixed over safety concerns that drivers could be hurt trying to get out of their cars due to speeding traffic.

Well, clearly it is the speeding traffic on Lakeshore that is the problem, not the parking issue. Is there any reason why the forementioned road should behave like an expressway at night?

AoD

 

[interchange42]

No, but dropping the speed limit to 50 will also affect the street during the day, and it carries a lot of traffic, especially at rush hours. Since we don't do variable speed limits in this province, you would be inconveniencing many more people for the sake of a minority of partiers.

I know it's sport on this forum to blame drivers for most of this city's ills, but I think you have to find a balance, and dropping speed limits in areas that have functioned fine for years is just knee-jerk reaction, like building the unneeded parking lot in the median is in the first place.

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