Noise barrier cut from TTC budget

Proposal to erect noise buffer near Allen and Eglinton chopped
Toronto councillor pushes for project to be added back in TTC budget
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Jan.20)

Residents living near Eglinton’s Allen Expressway on-ramp say they are furious with TTC for quashing a plan to put a noise barrier between their neighbourhood and a noisy commuter lot.
The approved noise barrier project was noticeably absent when TTC presented its 2011 capital budget in January.

Residents Tom Sandler, left, and Randy Daiter are petitioning the TTC to restore funding for a noise barrier near Allen Road. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

For years, residents living on Wembley Road have complained about honking, beeping and cursing from drivers competing to enter the expressway from Eglinton Avenue, and the noise coming from an adjacent commuter parking lot.
Four years ago, local councillor Joe Mihevc began pushing for funding of a noise barrier along the north side of the lot and the south side of the road’s residential properties.
“There’s been a 10-year plan for all the noise barriers on the Allen,” Mihevc said. “This is the last piece.”
In 2010, about $1.2 million was approved for the noise barrier. The plan was to design and tender it for contract this year, then build it in 2012, Mihevc said.
But there’s been a change of heart at the transit commission.

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Ron Singer ward 15 candidate

Eglinton-Lawrence candidate worried about traffic and safety
Singer runs for third time against incumbent Howard Moscoe
By Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier April 22.)

Ward 15 candidate Ron Singer. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

Ron Singer is running for councillor in Ward 15 on a platform of crime reduction, safety and traffic — especially as it relates to the new revitalization plan for Lawrence Heights.
“They will bring in 10,000 more cars (as) they want to bring in 8-9,000 more (residential) units,” said Singer, of the Toronto Community Housing plan for the under-served neighbourhood.
“With more cars, the main intersection will be blocked and people will be racing down (side) streets.”
Drivers may turn down residential side streets to avoid congested main roads, he said, which could increase safety risks for kids.
“I am fighting how this will be set up. I don’t want to see a small kid hit by a car just to say, ‘I told you so,’” he said. “Cars and kids don’t mix well.”