A Toronto entrepreneur! Cycles at 707 Dundas is a full service bike shop. If you're outside the 'hood and need a tune up or other assistance, stop by and say hello to the owner. Thanks for the chat!

Congratulations on another successful gathering courtesy of the Laneway Project! Rush Lane between Augusta and Portland was the place to be Sunday with hundreds of people enjoying laneway life. Activities included brightening up waste bins, games of giant checkers, Jenga, and ping pong, and a record swap, but it was the fabulous drumming and live music which helped maintain the vibe throughout the afternoon. Food was laid on by members of the Queen Street BIA and drink stations were there to quench a thirst, all helped add colour and bring excitement to the 'hood. Even the Alex Wilson Community Garden, welcomed many visitors appreciative of the green space in this corner of the city. Thanks to all for coming, and cheers again!

Great windows from DeSerres on Spadina. This one is full of colour - Yay Pride indeed!

As a cyclist I just had to stop. Canadian pride since 1908. Congratulations DeSerres, and  Happy 150!

Once again, Camden is the place to be! Staff of the Playwrights Guild of Canada join Sonia from Avenue Open Kitchen with their sign, 'Woodland Play Walk'. This was the starting point for a gathering of playwrights who were heading out to the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford/Six Nations for a unique event. Once on the bus, playwrights were able to curate their own path by choosing  readings by each of five talented Canadian playwrights. Thanks for the warm welcome!

Gardeners and neighbours alike are thrilled the protective fence is down with new plantings in place, the gorgeous new sheds, boardwalk and railing, but above all, the chance to be back in the garden.

Proposed changes for King Street are brave and dramatic.  At the public meeting held this past Thursday, the details were unveiled.  Generally, the 2.6 kilometre stretch between Bathurst and Jarvis will prioritize streetcars by restricting movement of vehicular traffic. Specifically, cars will also be prohibited from making any left hand turns from King – and – cars will be forced to turn right at, instead of proceeding through, each intersection.

A GDNA member, Sylvia Chan, attended this meeting and took some additional photos which show how movement through specific intersections will be managed:

Welcome news came Monday evening from Councillor Cressy's office that Toronto Hydro has made our crossed power line  situation a priority, which means work is expected to be completed sometime Thursday, May 4. That is great news, especially as this seems to fall on an evening when the diesel fumes are the worst yet. I don't know enough about diesel exhaust to state if it's the quality of the diesel fuel or accumulation of exhaust that is causing such a severe drop in air quality. If may well be this "quieter" generator is lacking advanced emission control technology. If you are finding a similar situation with air quality, it doesn't hurt to write or call 311, and please copy our Councillor's office. We are on the home stretch but having a complete assessment of what has gone on since April 21 and the impact is useful for many reasons. 

In the early hours this morning something was dramatically different - it was quiet, for the first time in over a week. Better still, having risked an open window, tentative peeps were heard from the sparrows, growing stronger and then the gulls came adding their cries. Peace at last - the blasted generator was gone and replaced with something much quieter.

The 500+ affected residents and workers of Camden and Adelaide Streets have been through a week from hell: seven days of pounding noise 24/7, noxious diesel fumes polluting neighbourhood and city, excessive stress, interrupted sleep, headaches, and other health ailments affecting work and privates lives. What a cost. 

And for what? To repair a mistake made from running a power line across one private property to another. The parties involved have a lot to answer. No one comes out unstained: terrible public relations for Brad Lamb Corporation; numerous questions about Toronto Hydro providing power to customers; and a system at City Hall that could permit such a generator to be installed as the temporary corrective.

Worst of all is the shameful and utterly disdainful treatment of fellow citizens. Knowing there was a problem for a building with 200 units, had the Lamb Corporation connected with the GDNA weeks or months prior to the installation of the generator, much, if not all of this would have been avoided. So many interventions and hours spent on correcting this gaffe. One can but hope this is a lesson learned by all who work and live in this catchment. Meet first with the people most affected. Make that the starting point of your work plan and go from there. But know this: the GDNA is now bigger, stronger, and more important to the community than a week ago.

HUGE THANKS to all residents and workers who took the time to express in writing, who made phone calls to 311, to the City, to Health and Environmental departments, to Hydro, and within their own condo buildings to bring civic action to bear on this unbearable situation. 

Onward and upward!

Catherine Mitchell

Lamb Development Corporation built the condominium Brant Park, 39 Brant Street, at the corner of Adelaide Street West, running its power supply to the building partially through the property at 51 Camden Street.  When Alterra was prepping the Camden site for a new hotel, this encroachment was discovered and construction activity came to an abrupt stop.  Brad Lamb himself shares some details in this capture of his Facebook post dated April 26th.

In this post, Mr. Lamb admits that the need for this “correction” was known as early as December 2016.  But there was no communication to residents of the Brant Park building let alone to neighbouring residents and businesses about what had transpired or about what was going to happen.

Over the weekend, neighbours became further sensitized when it was discovered that this humungous generator was spewing exhaust at the rate of 500 litres of diesel fuel a day!  And directly under the windows of 250 residents with another 250 affected nearby.

Monday morning finally saw action and by evening Councillor Cressy was able to give this report.  This evening (Tuesday the 26th) we received this further update from his office.

We will continue to keep the neighbourhood up to date on the progress of (and explanation for) this debacle via our mailing list which anyone can join.

Reported by CBC Toronto News