Last month I promised to bring you up to date on what’s happening with the controversial proposals to change our municipal ward boundaries, to tell you about the LPOA’s June 21 public consultation meeting on the also controversial topic of traffic, and to give you details about our about-to-start new Bayview South bus route.
I can confirm that there is a new proposal to redraw Toronto’s ward boundaries, which will go to the city’s Executive Committee late this month. From there the proposal will be debated by City Council as a whole.
We know from press releases that the newly proposed configuration increases the total number of Toronto wards from 44 to 47.
Leaside will NOT be split into two wards, but will remain unified in a (very slightly amended) new ward, which still includes Bennington Heights. This is excellent news — and proof that our community’s lobbying has been effective!
Elsewhere in this edition of Leaside Life is a bulletin about the LPOA’s upcoming traffic consultation meeting. It will be an important opportunity for us to present our traffic study’s objectives and goals, and to get your input. Traffic problems are eroding safety and livability throughout our community. Please be sure to attend this meeting, which will be in the Leaside Gardens’ William Lea Room, starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21.
Some good news regarding public transit in Leaside. Beginning Monday, June 20, the 28 Bayview South bus route expands its schedule and goes into full weekday operation, eliminating the long-existing service gap between Sutherland Dr. and Davisville.
If you live in the southern part of Leaside, Bennington Heights, or Governor’s Bridge, you will no longer have to drive, take a taxi, make an inconveniently long transit detour, or walk many blocks to get to Bayview shopping, or to your appointment at Sunnybrook Hospital.
The TTC Route 28 will run every 20 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on weekends, connecting the Davisville subway station to the Evergreen Brick Works. Northbound bus stops will be located on Bayview at Nesbitt, Moore, McRae, and Davisville. Southbound bus stops along Bayview are at Davisville, Merton, Moore, and, eventually, Nesbitt, once a guardrail adjustment is made there.
At Davisville and Bayview, riders can transfer from the Route 28 bus to the Bayview Route 11 bus to go further north, or vice versa to continue southward.
To get from the subway system to South Leaside, you will now have a choice of either taking the 88 South Leaside bus from St. Clair station, which only goes as far north on Bayview as Sutherland, or boarding the Route 28 bus at Davisville subway station for a direct, no-transfer service to South Leaside and further south.
On weekdays and Saturdays, it will start around 6 a.m. and end at 1 a.m., and on Sundays it will start around 8 a.m. and end at around 1 a.m. It will have a frequency of every 20 minutes on weekdays between roughly 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. and at all other times, on both weekdays and weekends, it will operate every 30 minutes.
The new service will give additional incentive for local people to shop locally in the Leaside shopping BIA. It will make travel to Sunnybrook Hospital more convenient, and less expensive (no parking fees). As an extra bonus, it will connect Leaside to the markets and events at Evergreen Brick Works all week long.
The LPOA is really pleased to have succeeded in expanding TTC service into the Sutherland/ Davisville gap after so many years of trying. We appreciate Councillor Jon Burnside’s help and support on this, and we thank the TTC for making this service a reality.
The LPOA will be posting the Route 28 timetable on our website (lpoa.ca) before service begins on June 20, and asking the TTC to attach schedule details at each bus stop. If ridership increases, the TTC also says it will provide more frequent service!
