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Newsstand: April 14, 2015
The Maple Leafs have fired almost everybody. Welcome to the dark night of this city’s hockey soul. In the news: it will cost $990 million to reroute the Gardiner, a new signage pilot project for Toronto parks and trails, the TDSB spies on a principal, and no fines for smokers who light up in public places.
The Globe and Mail has learned that a hybrid option to reroute a portion of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis Street and the Don Valley Parkway would carry a $990-million dollar price tag for construction and long-term maintenance, according to an environmental assessment due out Wednesday. To put the cost in perspective, construction of this hybrid option is pegged to be double the $240 million that it would cost to remove the same section of the Gardiner. This removal plan would likely add 10 minutes to some commute times, based on current estimates, whereas the hybrid option would maintain current travel times. Both proposed ideas free up the Unilever property near the Gardiner and DVP junction for development—a key goal of Mayor John Tory’s future transit plans. Mayor Tory initially supported the hybrid plan for the Gardiner during his mayoral campaign, when no cost was associated with the project. We will soon see if sticker shock makes him change his tune.
The City will spend $525,000 in a pilot project to revamp signage along Toronto parks and trails. The project aims to make navigation easier for hikers and cyclists by creating more consistency in signage and by updating information that is no longer reliable. Plans include information panels and community notice boards that consolidate current signage systems. The Parks, Forestry and Recreation division is currently seeking feedback from the public about some of these proposed designs.
The Toronto District School Board is on the defensive after the public learned that the board placed a hidden camera inside the office of the principal at Jack Miner Public School in Scarborough. The camera was installed to monitor principal Courtney Carroll, who was reportedly believed to be committing the egregious crime of writing a book during office hours. The Ontario Principals’ Association has been brought in to investigate the matter, according to Carroll. TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird says that the board has used hidden cameras before, though rarely, to monitor employees. Bird also says that the board will review its hidden-camera policies.
Toronto Public Health says that it has no plans to proactively crack down on smokers who light up in restricted public places, despite 212 complaints last year about people breaking bylaws. Changes in 2013 made it possible for smokers to be fined between $300 and $5,000 for smoking within nine metres of any entry or exit of a public building, however no tickets have been issued since the laws changed. The City maintains that current signage is an effective deterrent and that they will issue tickets in the case of repeat offenders.