BROADWAY AVENUE TRAFFIC FORUM and 1860 BAYVIEW AVENUE UPDATE

By byfordwordpress1860 Bayview, 2011, Bonnie Byford, Brennan Pontiac, Broadway Residents Working Group, community, real estate, redevelopment, toronto

A Message From The Broadway Residents Working Group
——————————————————————–

Dear Residents!

Hopefully you have received the flyer from Councillor Jaye Robinson regarding the Traffic Forum on Tuesday. I have attached a copy of the flyer in case you did not see it. The Broadway Residents Working Group has been working on a list of traffic issues that we will be presenting at the meeting, and we suggest you attend the meeting as this is your change to give input into this initiative that Councillor Robinson has started. Here are the coordinates for the meeting:
BROADWAY AVENUE TRAFFIC FORUM
with
Councillor – Jaye Robinson
Tuesday, November 15th

Time: 7:00 – 9:00pm

St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church
1647 Bayview Ave.,
Basement Meeting Room

We have had a number of questions regarding the status of the settlement with the Developer for 1860 Bayview Ave. Here is a summary of the events:

1860 BAYVIEW AVENUE – UPDATE

In 2009 and through 2010, Starbank Developments 1860 Corp. proposed and applied for development of the former Brennans car dealership on the northwest corner of Broadway and Bayview Avenues. Area residents, in substantial numbers, were opposed for a host of reasons, mainly that the proposal was too big and would cause traffic problems. As it was entitled to, Starbanks appealed Community Council’s refusal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
In May of this year, the Broadway Residents Working Group asked The Sherwood Park Residents’ Association (which is incorporated and therefore able to be a Party at the Board) to represent it. A lawyer, a planner and a traffic consultant were engaged, paid with funds raised from the community by the BRWG. SPRA’s time and effort was entirely voluntary. With advice from the experts, we focused on discussions and negotiations with all Parties so that the Board, on Oct 18th, was presented with a de factoagreement which took it less than a day to hear. Approval is pending subject to details being submitted by the developer.

Some of the gains achieved through the process are:
· Overall coverage was reduced to allow for wider sidewalks on Bayview and Broadway Avenues.
· A height limit (17 metres) written into the by-law means that any future applications with an increase over the limit will have to be brought to the public first, rather thanbe negotiated behind closed doors as would have been probable otherwise.
· Residents of Rappert Avenue have approved plantings of the boulevard on the east side of their street and had significant input in improving the design of the west wall of the development, including lowering the height of some sections.
· Trucks will only circulate in from Bayview and out onto Broadway. At that exit, no trucks will be allowed to turn right; only cars and vans will be able to do so.
· The City committed to a traffic survey before construction starts with particular attention to the eastbound queuing lane on Broadway at Bayview. There will be a traffic review after the development is completed and operational. The North York Traffic Department has expressed a readiness to respond earlier if additional measures are required.
· There will be no stopping allowed on Broadway. Private vehicle pickup and drop-off will be shared with the internal taxi area.

SPRA will be involved in discussions to help mitigate the effects of construction (hours, noise, light, sidewalk access, truck queuing) on the neighbourhood.

This would not have been possible without the support of Councillor Jaye Robinson and the willingness to listen to the community’s comments shown by City Planner, Ben DiRaimo.

——————————————————————–
The Broadway Residents Working Group.

For more information please contact us at broadwayrwg@hotmail.com