Which side of tracks fight are residents on?
(Posted Date: Thursday, February 16, 2006)
Survey of residents on both sides of St.Clair shows the community almost evenly split pro and con.
By Town Crier Staff (Karolyn Coorsh, Kris Scheuer, Sandie Benitah)
The majority of businesses and local councillors are against a dedicated streetcar lane but according to an informal Town Crier poll of 200 people living in the vicinity of St. Clair Ave. West, residents in the area are split right down the middle on the controversial issue.
About 40 percent of people who live and shop in the area said they would like to see the streetcar project surge ahead as planned. But 37 percent of those polled said the idea should be scrapped.
The number of people who were either undecided or uninformed about the issue amounted to nearly 23 percent.
However, those who did know about the issue weren’t shy about voicing their opinions on the topic.
"If the purpose of it is to decrease (travel time) by five or six minutes on the route, it seems like a waste of money," said Adam Hirsh, who lives in the St. Clair and Bathurst area. "I support spending money on public transportation but I wonder if they could do a better job spending it."
Hirsh is also worried the concrete dividers, as set out in the design plan, would make the neighbourhood look ugly.
"I think it’s going to be a lot of construction and a lot of headache for what? Saving five minutes? I don’t think it’s worth it," said Angela Mirosa, a frequent shopper on the strip. "Parking is already a nightmare around here."
But Antonella Granieri, a local resident, said she believes it will help solve the neighbourhood’s traffic concerns.
"When there are accidents as results of cars in the streetcar lane it ties up traffic even more than if we did have a right-of-way," she pointed out.
Granieri was one of 80 people who voted in favour of the project. Thirty-eight people out of 200 said no to the question "Do you agree with the St. Clair streetcar Right-of-Way project?"
At times, the question needed to be explained and clarified for people who said they weren’t familiar with the issue.
Twenty-six people said they were unaware of the issue while 20 said they couldn’t make up their mind either way.
The debate around the right-of-way project has resulted in complex discussions, countless community meetings, costly court battles and even threats to boycott businesses that oppose the project. The issue has engaged the entire community, though some preferred to distance themselves from the drama.
"I think it’s okay but I don’t know much about it," said Maria, a senior living on Winona Dr. "In my opinion it’s better if streetcar is arranged and everyone is happy. (It’s causing) too many arguments."
Others just wish the issue weren’t so complex.
"I’m still undecided I guess. I keep hearing conflicting reports," said one resident of Humewood Gardens, who didn’t want his name published. The man said he uses both the streetcar and his car, and therefore, he can understand both sides of the controversy. "I won’t head past Dufferin because there’s nowhere to park there. I heard conflicting reports about the streetcar being faster. I don’t know — I’ve never had the logic for it explained."
There’s no logic to the streetcar right-of-way plan at all, according to some local business association members.
The majority of the 500 businesses that make up the Corso Italia Business Improvement Association (BIA) are opposed to the dedicated streetcar lanes, while some are indifferent and a handful supports the project.
The business community’s main concern is that parking will be reduced along St. Clair. The fear is that reduced parking will only entice customers to shop elsewhere.
A letter on the Corso Italia BIA website states: "We believe that the current TTC proposal for St. Clair is not in the best interest of the merchants, commercial property owners, residents, or the City of Toronto. Main street merchants find it increasingly difficult to survive because of increasing pressure from the big-box stores and malls, lack of access to parking, the fact that the middle class has moved to the suburbs, and high overhead costs (including taxes). Making access to the area more difficult will give shoppers one more reason not to come to St. Clair."
Jeff Gillan, executive director of the Corso Italia BIA, estimated that about 90 percent of business owners are against the project.
He said some businesses have even been threatened with boycott, and are afraid to voice their objection to the plan. Gillan pointed to a website at
www.boycott-stclair.blogspot.com that asks people to sign a petition boycotting any local businesses that are against the dedicated streetcar line along St. Clair Ave.
A petition on that website states: "We, the undersigned, support the construction of a dedicated right-of-way for streetcars on St. Clair Ave. (It) will be a benefit to both the street and the City of Toronto. We believe that the efforts of the opposition group, Save our St. Clair, are not reflective of the views of the majority who want to see improved transit on St. Clair Ave. We are therefore supporting a boycott of all businesses on St Clair Ave. opposed to the streetcar right of way."
Should the dedicated streetcar lanes become a reality on St. Clair, Gillan said the lack of parking, not a boycott, will be the area’s main problem.
"People don’t come to buy suits on the TTC," he said. "If you’re going to buy a wedding gown, you are not going to take it on the streetcar."
Which side of tracks are you on?
www.towncrieronline.ca/ma...tsubcatid=
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Love these local papers..
Granieri was one of 80 people who voted in favour of the project. Thirty-eight people out of 200 said no to the question "Do you agree with the St. Clair streetcar Right-of-Way project?"
About 40 percent of people who live and shop in the area said they would like to see the streetcar project surge ahead as planned. But 37 percent of those polled said the idea should be scrapped.
After doing this survey (38<80) their next article still mentioned that the community was opposed to the St. Clair streetcar project. Guess they didn't get the local results they expected.
You can understand how they expected St. Clair to be full of nimbys as a poll of Towncrier readers on the Fed election showed that 51% of them voted conservative.
www.towncrieronline.ca/ma...lpollid=87
