This
email has been posted with the permission of the author.
Although
Mr. Watts is a member of the Executive Committee of Regal Heights
Residents' Association, he wishes it to be clearly understood
that these comments
are Mr. Watts' personal views; they have not been reviewed or
approved by the Regal Heights Residents' Association.
From:
Watts
To: Yacoumidis, James
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:15 PM
Subject: Comments on St.clair West EA
I am a resident of the Regal Heights community. I attended the
public meeting at Piccininni Centre on October 16, 2003. I submit
the following comments in the hope that the study process will
be modified to enable the people of Toronto, and particularly
the people in and near the Study Area, to agree on a solution
to the public transit problem... a solution that will be good
for us now and in the future.
These
comments are in no way comprehensive, but I hope they are sufficient
to indicate the main thrusts of my concerns.
* * *
My Objectives
I agree that we should try to find ways to improve public transit
on St.Clair Avenue West. But, we need to find ways that do not
spoil main street quality, main street functions, or the quality
of life in adjacent neighbourhoods.
Planning
Context
At the public meeting, the planning context was not clearly established.
This is a planning problem of which public transit is only a part.
The Official Plan policies re "avenues", increased emphasis on
public transit, intensification of main streets and "avenues",
and stability of neighbourhoods need to be clearly understood
and agreed to by a strong majority of those who will be affected
by the proposed changes. Only then can we make rational contrbutions
and judgements about possible options and preferred solutions.
Options
Only after options have been carefully identified, agreed to and
discussed at length can people decide which options are most acceptable
and which should be discarded. This process takes a long time,
and needs a thoughtful combination of lay and expert opinion.
Comments by staff at the public meeting, and the chart on page
6 of the Green Paper, indicate that reasonable time and reasonable
involvement by lay people will not be available in this study.
There is a wise saying that your consultants would do well to
heed... "Never underestimate your audience".
Involvement
and Experts
In answer to a question from the floor on October 16, Joanna Musters
said that the public will not be involved in establishing evaluation
criteria, nor in determining the weights that will be assigned
to the criteria. She said this will be done by experts! This attitude
is seriously flawed, undemocratic and unprofessional.
The
options so far presented by the TTC focus on 'dedicated right-of-way
for street cars'. To implement a solution such as on Spadina Avenue,
would spoil the aesthetic potentials of St.Clair Avenue; seriously
limit the potential for social, cultural and business events;
seriously reduce the opportunities for pedestrians to cross the
street; make it difficult for people in cars to get in and out
of the area; and it would increase the amount of traffic on neighbouring
residential streets. These problems are too serious to leave entirely
to "experts". The people affected must be intimately involved
in each step of the process.
Timing
of the Process
The study appears to be structured to move too rapidly and with
too few public meetings to allow for reasonable public input.
Problem
Statement
I suggest that the problem statement include the following: "
How can public transit services along St.Clair Avenue be improved
without spoiling potential aesthetics of the avenue, without spoiling
main street functions, without spoiling the quality of life in
adjacent neighbourhoods?"
Dick
Watts
e-mail: fregal@total.net
Editor's
note : The facts and opinions expressed in the above email are
those of the author and do not represent the views of MyStClair.com.
Our interest remains to act as a conduit for information regarding
matters relating to neighbourhoods along St Clair Ave W and the
Ridge. Anyone wishing to comment is encouraged to do so.
editor@mystclair.com
