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Week in Review: September 14–18
A lot happens in the course of a workweek. Here’s a look back at the top stories from the past five days that you might have missed or might care to revisit.
Photo by Marcus Kamps from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
We took a look at Toronto’s underappreciated wetlands, the role they play in the local ecosystem, and the effort to protect them.
From the article:
Picture Toronto’s ecological landscape and its ravines and much-loved islands come to mind. The city’s wetlands on the other hand, six of which are provincially significant for the habitat they provide imperilled plants and animals, are used to being overlooked. Even still, you’d be hard pressed to find a harder working ecosystem.
Photo by Jmaxtours from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
Sometimes the line is more exciting that what you’re waiting for. Torontoist contributor recapped every moment of waiting in line for a $10 cheesecake at Uncle Tetsu’s, and in the process, asked all of life’s important questions.
From the article:
7:04 p.m. “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?” ends and trails off into a medley of Disney instrumentals just as I enter the store.
The smell is heavenly. Think freshly made waffle cones, kindergarten romance, freshly fallen snow on Christmas morning, a satisfying orgasm.
My stomach gurgles with the force of Hades.
Courtesy of Madison Powell
In the latest instalment of “I Want Your Job,” we spoke with professional platonic cuddler Madison Powell to hear about the unique challenges and joys that come along with her occupation.
From the article:
“I started out identifying myself as a professional cuddler, but I’ve found that term felt a little campy, so I moved into therapeutic touch and companionship,” Powell explains.
She sees cuddling as a growth industry. Powell would love to see the practice make inroads in assisted-living facilities and with the elderly, but so far, there’s been too much red tape. “The issue with those populations is that often they’re considered vulnerable populations, so we’re not legally allowed to go into those places,” she explains.
Photo by Frank Lemire from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
What good is a great plan if you don’t follow through with it? City Council unanimously passed a five-year Parks Plan in 2013, but other than some basic maintenance, no funding has been secured to implement it.
From the article:
Funding the ambitious plan for the city’s 80 square kilometres of parkland was sent from the Parks and Environment committee to the budget committee in 2013 and 2014. Whether the budget committee simply didn’t want to fund the plan or lacked the funds isn’t clear; what is clear is that three years after consulting with thousands of Torontonians on the future of their beloved parks, little has been implemented, save for emergency repairs on picnic facilities and other critical maintenance, hardly the bucket list of recommendations listed in the report.
Photo by ashtonpal from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
If you’ve been hankering for more bike lanes, then next week’s Public Works committee meeting may have just what you need. The committee will consider a 40-kilometre expansion of Toronto’s bike lane network for 2016, and the proposed lanes include ones that cyclists have long lobbied for.
From the article:
At this time next year, Torontonians could be cycling down over 40 kilometres of new bike lanes, including a proposed pilot project that could see bike lanes along Bloor through the Annex.
On Tuesday, the Public Works and Infrastructure committee will receive a report from the manager of Transportation Services on the 2016 implementation program for the City of Toronto’s Ten Year Cycling Network Plan. The report includes a list of 17 streets scheduled to get new cycling infrastructure, as well as four downtown streets targeted for upgrades to their existing bike lanes.