Morning session drama at Toronto City Council. https://x.com/jpags/status/978280788335759360
You can stream today’s Council meeting here, if you’re into that kind of thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez5IFDPssto
Motion to end debate on the attempt to bring the city’s long-term financial plan to this council meeting FAILS, 22-16. Needed two-thirds to pass.
Toronto City Council votes 13-27 against a motion to consider the city’s long-term financial plan at this council meeting. Punted until next term.
Toronto City Council is about to begin their afternoon session. Before they get started, read @neville_park’s preview: https://nevillepark.ca/2018/03/26/the-cheat-sheet-march-2018-city-council/
You can stream the meeting here. They’re set to debate the shelter crisis this afternoon. The Yonge Street plan won’t come up for debate until tomorrow morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO3MUQl1UAY
Quick transcript of part of Councillor Josh Matlow’s speech on the shelter crisis, political leadership, @kristynwongtam & @cathyacrowe. “She does know more than we do. And it takes courage and strength to admit when somebody does.”
Councillor Janet Davis’ motion to report on an increase to Toronto’s billboard tax to match inflation FAILS on a tie, 20-20.
That Ward 28 appointment process looms large.
Coun. Karygiannis introduces a motion, seconded by John Tory, to streamline the process for implementing traffic calming measures.
The motion was inspired by the death of 11-year-old Duncan Xu. I wrote about that, and the city’s ridiculously convoluted process for traffic calming, here: http://www.metronews.ca/views/toronto/torys-toronto-matt-elliott/2018/03/11/matt-elliott-10-steps-to-marginal-improvement-for-toronto-s-pedestrians.html
City Council has started their debate on the Reimagining Yonge proposal. You can watch live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR0viGCfZpk
Here’s my column on the plan to transform Yonge Street. Main streets should not be highways. http://www.metronews.ca/views/toronto/torys-toronto-matt-elliott/2018/03/04/matt-elliott-main-streets-should-not-be-highways.html
This is a key point. We’re going to hear a lot about “compromise” and “balance” today while they quietly leave cyclists with sharrows. https://x.com/dmrider/status/978641464317145088
So much of this Yonge street debate feels like it’s driven by a false idea of “balance.” Mayor has given cyclists/transit riders wins on Bloor & King, so now it’s time to do something for motorists. Silly political thinking.
Councillor De Baeremaeker asks staff if the Transform Yonge option will slow down buses. TTC staff yes. Mihevc follows-up by getting staff to clarify that buses only run along 220 metres of the total project area.
Coun. McMahon sounds positive on Transform Yonge in her questions to staff. With her vote, plus Filion, Perruzza, Ainslie, the usual left-leaning group of councillors… — this vote could be really close.
Still an uphill battle for proponents of Transform Yonge. Even adding potential swing votes Ana Bailao and Lucy Troisi, I only get to 19 in favour. Likely need three or four more votes, depending on absences.
Maybe there are a few more votes to come from Tory allies. @FrancesNunziata has been doing some good work on pedestrian and cycling safety in her ward lately. Maybe she’ll want to support safer streets here too. https://www.toronto.com/news-story/8346884-pedestrians-cyclists-want-safer-streets-in-york-south-weston/
Mayor Tory says if the proposal was to expand Yonge Street to six lanes of traffic, he’s not sure he would support it. But since there’s an option that leaves six lanes in place, he’s supporting it.
Tory says he recently drove down this part of Yonge Street on a Sunday afternoon and it was traffic chaos.
Added to the Council Agenda: @jimkarygiannis has a motion designed to speed up the process for installing traffic calming measures. Report would go to Public Works committee in May. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2018.MM38.24
Toronto Council votes 20-15 to defer consideration of the Reimagining Yonge plan until the TTC considers the impact on bus routes.
This is surprising! And I think good news. I’m not normally a fan of delaying stuff, but this gives council a chance to get this right.
(I have heard the theory that second-term John Tory will mellow, grow his hair out, start wearing jeans to work and stop worrying so much about placating various voter groups.)
The TTC bus route thing felt like a red herring to me. Buses only run over a very short stretch of the project area, and the design could easily accommodate them without delay. But when it became clear this was Tory’s best argument, the deferral motion made sense.
Council now debating ConsumersNext plan for the Sheppard & Vic Park area. At committee, Coun. Campbell tried to use this motion to again study a Sheppard Subway extension. Let’s see if he tries it again.
He does! Coun. Campbell introduces a motion to study LRT vs. subway extension to Consumers Road.
Wow, I missed this part of the debate when I was on the subway. Thats’s a hell of a thing. https://x.com/dmrider/status/978719735843098624
Coun. Norm Kelly, looking a little lit but obviously not TOO lit to politic today, says he still hopes to extend the Sheppard subway one day.
How John Tory’s executive committee voted on the motion to defer consideration of the ReImagining Yonge plan. Yes: 4; No: 4; Absent: 5 Sure were a lot of absences at the exact time of this vote.
Coun. Campbell’s motion to get a report on evaluating the Sheppard LRT vs. the Sheppard subway to Consumers Road CARRIES 21-14.
Light the @jm_mcgrath signal! A councillor has moved a motion about parking minimums!
And Councillor Matlow’s motion re: parking minimums carries, 33-6! (The chair of the Public Works committee votes against it, for some reason.)
