Mark Fox's Weblog

With Mayor David Miller out of town on vacation, the Toronto Port Authority has announced that has issued a formal request for to conduct an environmental assessment on building a $38 million pedestrian tunnel to the Toronto City Centre Airport on the Toronto Islands.
Opposition to a bridge to the Toronto Islands and opposition to the airport were key points of Miller’s 2003 campaign and with the various legal battles and agreements over the failed bridge proposal it’s unclear if the Toronto Port Authority could build a tunnel without City of Toronto approval.

The Toronto Star reports that the United Way CN Tower Climb is on track to an attendance record this year after 8,500 people walked up the tower Thursday and Saturday. The story states that organizers anticipate a further 5,000 will make the climb Sunday, bringing total attendance to 12,500.

The climb is to the main observation deck – 143 floors, 1776 steps. I completed the climb with a time of 21:42.

The premiere of Fox’s new J.J. Abrams sci-fi television show Fringe was filmed in Toronto which led me to watch out for glimpses of my hometown hiding behind its supposed “Boston” location. Some items spotted:

• The pure white interior of the headquarters of Massive Dynamics is the Bloor Street lobby of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal expansion.


• The final car chase took place on Lake Shore Boulevard under the Gardiner Expressway.


• The university yard outside of the basement lab is at King’s College Circle at the University of Toronto.


• The actor playing the emergency physician is Peter Outerbridge who was the star of the Canadian tv series, ReGenesis which deal with the investigation into “questionable advances in biotechnology”. Think Fringe but with more science.

Fringe unfortunately has switched production to New York City but many television shows, movies and commercials are filmed in Toronto and we now have the largest soundstage in North America!

This was a surprise!

Rejecting the deal reached by their union president that gave them a 3 per cent increase in each year of a three-year contract, the TTC workers union has voted to strike immediately, stranding public transit users.

It appears that back-to-work legislation will be introduced on Sunday. If the province is promoting public transit as an environmentally friendly means of transportation they must ensure it remains available to the public.

For more and public reaction see:

• Globe and Mail
• National Post
• BlogTo
• Torontoist
• Spacing Wire

As I noted earlier in the week, the parking garage at the Regal Constellation Hotel east of the Toronto International Airport is being torn down. On Friday Public Safety Canada used the partially demolished garage as the site of a large-scale disaster exercise with close to 1,000 participants, observers, and evaluators.

A Canadian Press article on Canoe.ca describes the exercise:

The realistic scenario, designed to look like the aftermath of a car bombing of an office tower, included rescuing and treating scores of mock victims covered in fake blood or with simulated injuries.
Dogs sniffed out "victims" from beneath twisted cement and steel, while rescuers working in sub-zero temperatures used jackhammers to drill their way through concrete walls and clambered through the holes.
Others, decked out in full protective gear, built wooden support structures to stabilize the partially collapsed building, requested specific assistance as they encountered difficulties, or called for stretchers to ferry the wounded.
In a tent hospital set up nearby, dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel treated the "wounded," who sported a variety of horrific "injuries" from broken bones to impaled metal.

The parking garage of the Regal Constellation Hotel by the Toronto International Airport is being torn down as part of the currently empty hotel's redevelopment. Plans are to add a 350 room hotel to the existing 800 room hotel which is located near the

See Wikipedia for more details.

Demolition on Friday November 16, 2007.

The University of Toronto has announced that the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill, Ontario north of Toronto (Google Map Link) will be sold as its formerly world-class 1.88m optical telescope has been blinded by the city’s glare and the observatory astronomers have switched to using telescopes in a international project in Hawaii.
From the FAQ:

The David Dunlap Observatory was presented to the University of Toronto in 1935 by Jessie Donalda Dunlap as a memorial to her husband David Alexander Dunlap. Planned in consultation with Dr. C.A. Chant, first Director of the Observatory, the project had three objectives: astronomical research, the training of advanced students at the University, and the fostering of public interest in astronomy.
The site chosen was a farm 25km north of the University campus. The original pre-Confederation farm house became the Director's residence.
When built, the 1.88 m. telescope was the second largest telescope in the world. Later two other reflector telescopes (.5m and .6m) were built on top of the Administration building.

The university is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the Dunlap heirs to begin the process to establish the Dunlap Institute to support astronomy in the 21st century. The institute, to be located at U of T's St. George campus, will be realized through funds endowed from the sale of the Dunlap Observatory and the surrounding property in Richmond Hill.

One of my childhood memories of visiting Toronto is riding on the Toronto Zoo Domain Ride monorail through the forest surrounding the then Metropolitan Toronto Zoo to quickly travel between sections of the Zoo and see animals in the forest such as deer and possibly wolves. Therefore it was a shock to read in a posting on the Torontoist blog that the monorail was closed in 1994!

A quick look at the Wikipedia entry on the Toronto Zoo indicates that the Giant Panda exhibit which I remember seeing was in 1985 and I don’t recall seeing any of the new habitants or expansions since then! It’s time to go to the Zoo!

The Toronto Star, Globe and Mail and Canoe.ca have coverage today’s announcement by the Ontario government of MoveOntario 2020, a $17.5 billion dollar plan to increase public transit throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The highlight of the plan for Toronto residents is a commitment of funds for the TTC’s $6 billion Transit City light rail plan and an extension of the Yonge subway line north to Highway 7.

A key part of the plan for 52 rapid-transit improvements in 12 years is that the province will pay for two-thirds of their capital costs. It is hoped that the federal government will pick up the remainder with municipalities paying for operating costs.

The Ontario government a map (PDF) and a list of projects in the plan. I assume that once #29 Yonge subway line extension north from Finch station to Highway 7 (Langstaff) is in place than #37 Yonge Bus Rapid Transit busway from Finch station to Steeles Avenue and #46 VIVA Yonge Street from Steeles Avenue to Highway 7 (Langstaff) will be depreciated.

Unfortunately the plan appears to be a political football already, the Canoe.ca story states that Conservative critic Joyce Savoline said the Conservatives would not follow through with the plan if elected, and would draft their own transit strategy based on gas tax revenue going to transit improvements.

Various local newspapers and blogs have coverage of the Transit City plan announced Friday by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The plan calls for a $6.1 billion, 120 km Light Rail network throughout Toronto comprised of seven routes that would carry 175 million riders per year. The routes are:

• Don Mills – Steeles Avenue to Bloor-Danforth Subway
  
• Eglinton Crosstown – Kennedy Station to Pearson Airport
  
• Etobicoke-Finch West – Yonge Street to Highway 27
  
• Jane – Jane Station to Steeles West Station
  
• Scarborough Malvern – Kennedy Station to Malvern/Morningside
  
• Sheppard East – Don Mills Station to Morningside Avenue
  
• Waterfront West – Union Station/Exhibition to Long Branch

Some sections including the Laird Drive to Keele Street portion of the Eglinton Crosstown route would be underground but most sections would be in above ground dedicated surface right-of-ways.

In addition Transit City plan is the previously announced fully funded Spadina Subway extension to York Univeristy and the Vaughan Corporate Centre and York Region is planning to improve the Viva rapid bus route down Yonge Street to the Finch subway line with dedicated lanes or a light rail route.

However at this point the Transit City plan is more a manifesto than an actual blue print as the City of Toronto lacks the money to put it into action. However by specifying what the city and transit planners hope to achieve the plan can be raised in future elections and budget processes.

Steve Munro, a well known Toronto Transit activist, and street car proponent gives his take on the announcement and examines the various proposed routes. See his “A Grand Plan” post category.

More coverage in:

• Spacing Wire
  
• Toronto Star
  
• Globe and Mail
  
• National Post
  
• Torontoist
  

Michael Oren, bestselling author of Six Days of War will be speaking about his latest work, Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East which covers the history of American involvement in the Middle-East at Beth Tzedec Temple in Toronto this Wednesday at 7:30pm. Also speaking will be Mr. Aaron Honn from the United States Consulate to Ontario.

The Washington Post has a review and an online chat with Mr. Oren. The National Post printed an excerpt of the book in its print edition today and will have another tomorrow.

Pictures of the lead male runners and lead female runner at the 19km mark of the 2006 Toronto Marathon at Yonge and Sheppard. The race is a Boston Marathon qualifier.

Lead male runners:

Anthony Skuce was fifth at the 19KM mark.



Lead female runner:

An overhead view of some later runners.

Update: October 16, 2006

Anthony Skuce, racer #1443 from Vancouver won in a time of 2:34:10.1, he was fifth at the halfway interval. Joseph Nderitu from Hamilton (#190), Matthew Leduc (#227) and Paul Leduc (#140) from Ajax were second to fourth as there were overtaken in the second half.

Nicole Stephenson (#1968) was the first woman and thirteenth overall to finish, with a time of 2:47:09.1.