Another great reason to live in Don Mills and not Leaside

I know this is a quick jab to the ever popular Leaside neighbourhood, but when you read the exciting news about what's happening with the crosstown LRT, you'll understand why we're much luckier. We will get all the benefits with very little pain.

To quote the local news: the Elington Crosstown is the cornerstone of the Toronto LRT projects. Starting at Mount Denis in the west and traveling underground from Black Creek Drive to Laird Avenue, the new LRT train will link to 54 bus routes, 3 TTC interchange subway stations and GO Transit.

This is where we get off so much better than our neighbours in Leaside. Don Mills residents can avoid much of the construction pain by staying away from Eglinton.

The big dig has begun. Commuters can expect a traffic nightmare for a while. Daily lane restrictions on Eglinton between Leslie and Laird have already begun as crews clear utility lines and trees in an area on the south side of Eglinton to make way for a massive excavation shaft.

Parts for the next two tunnel-boring machines - nicknamed Don and Humber - will arrive this summer and be assembled in the shaft before they start drilling the 3.25 km section heading west to Yonge St.

Many will have already experienced the lane reductions as traffic squeezes from 3 lanes each way, into 1 lane in each direction. In a couple of weeks, traffic will also be tied up around Laird as Metrolinx begins building the below ground walls that will form the ends of the subway station there. Work will continue on the station for 6 to 8 months. And it will take 2 years to build an emergency exit for the line close to Leaside High School.

For all the latest information check out the website http://www.thecrosstown.ca

Plans to extend our piece of natural paradise in the heart of Don Mills

Exciting news about the natural woodland in our neighborhood - The city is planning to extend the trail system through the Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve all the way to Wilket Creek Park and then down to the waterfront.

Part of the city’s ten year capital works project is to develop a network of off-road paved trails throughout the city including a trail that will link the Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve to the network of trails running south to the lakeshore and east from the Forks of the Don at Don Mills Road and the DVP, and will also link to interregional trails east of Toronto.

The plans are in place and the money ear-marked for the project. Completion is planned for 2019.

The Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve is really like a private reserve just for our neighborhood. It’s an amazing space that can only be accessed via the park that lies south of Lawrence Avenue just east of the DVP or via Moccasin Trail Park. As you walk under the ‘rainbow bridge’ – visible to anyone who’s driven up the DVP just north of Wynford Drive – and wonder across the bridge you will find the main trail. If you turn left you’re heading north and will ultimately run into the Milne House – an abandoned, historic Gothic Revival farmhouse at the north end of the reserve.

On the way you’ll pass by one of the City’s Bird Flyways sites, a project created to enhance bird habitat along migratory corridors, and a small pond that is home to raccoons, beavers, mink, rabbit, fox, blue herons, turtles, salmon, deer, and a myriad of other native wildlife.

If, instead, you have turned right and head south you would follow the river through natural wetlands, past river views, under train trestles and around woodland until you wind up at the Wynford-Concorde neighborhood. There is a challenging trail here that will lead you up to the Tim Hortons at Wynford Drive and Concord Place.

Stop aggressive driving - you have the power

This is personal (I almost got hit backing out of my driveway this morning) but I have heard many other neighbours issuing the same complaint - there are too many aggressive drivers in our little neighbourhood.

You have the power to stop it!

We are a small neighbourhood, the posted speed is 40 km/hr. We, the community, asked for that. There are many children playing in the park and out and about on the roads and sidewalks. Lots of people walk around the neighbourhood, with and without dogs. It's what makes our neighbourhood great. We are also densly populated and need to make accommodation for each other. Running stop signs, whipping around corners, or just being a little too pushy are all asking for trouble.

Take the time to allow your neighbour to back out of a driveway. Tight parking situations mean that people are manouvering around tight corners and dealing with blind spots. Remember that the next time you see someone inching their way into traffic.

What to do if you spot aggressive driving

If you spot aggressive driving, the Toronto Police Service does have a way of reporting it. Go to https://webapp1.torontopolice.on.ca/dors/hit-run.html and follow the steps.

To report illegal parking, call 416-808-2222 (24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week).

What's going on with area developments?

Just a quick update. There are two active development areas in our little neighbourhood: Green Belt Drive and Nob Lane and the Ghod's development on David Dunlap Circle. Everything is quiet right now but there have been small developments.

Ghod's development did take their plans to the OMB on May 20th. The OMB decided to postpone the hearing until the autumn to allow the city to prepare its case. Ghod's has proposed a townhouse development that the city feels is too densely populated and has proposed fewer homes.

As for the second proposed development at Nob Lane and Green Belt Drive, the city has hosted two working group sessions with representatives from the neighbourhood and the developer. After consultation, the developer appears to be modifying his plans to accommodate neighbourhood concerns but to date no official proposal has been presented to the city. Until something is officially introduced, everything is hearsay.

That's it for now. The current municipal elections mean that nothing will be done until city council reconvenes after the election.

Summer is not so far away

Summer is just around the corner and I, for one, can't wait to spend lazy hours sitting in my back garden sipping some wine and chatting with friends.

I've been getting a lot of lovely comments on my backyard (from an earlier post called Small Space Oasis). Although I would love to accept all the compliments, I feel it's only fair to point out that one of the four photos in the earlier post was my backyard, but the rest are other neighbour's.

Our backyard is our sanctuary. We had a patio installed with a hard top gazebo. Along the back wall we put up a privacy fence which allows for a clematis to grow. On the wall beside the door we've put up a fountain which really does limit the amount of noise from the Don Valley. Every year we do something a little different. Drop around sometime to say hi.

The patio was installed by:
Landscaper/patio stones/drivesways
Neale Nicholes
C: 416-886-2578
W: 416-688-2578
Neale also errected the gazebo.

The second backyard is from neighbours Sid and Chris on Green Belt Drive. They also have a hard top gazebo on a cement patio with oodles of flowering plants.

The third patio is Kim Fraser's from Humphrey Gate. Now instead of a large patio, Kim has chosen to create a shaded retreat surrounded by annual plantings of hostas and trees. The perfect place for two to toast the setting summer sun.


There are many more gardens in our little part of Don Mills, post your pictures and share your private space.

Curb Appeal: the easiest way to add value to your home

Boulevard garden at the corner of David Dunlap Circle and Jessie Drive

Shanta Maraj, local real estate expert was asked what affect curb appeal has on the value of homes. She said, “adding curb appeal is the easiest way to add value to your home.”

Studies confirm that curb appeal has a huge influence over how quickly your house will sell, and for how much. According to the National Association of Realtors, "curb appeal" sells 49% of all houses. But it’s not just your house and garden area that’s important, the condition of your neighbors' houses and yards can affect the curb appeal of your own home.

How do you improve curb appeal?

You don’t need to do a major landscaping renovation! In fact, small improvements often make the biggest difference… improvements you can easily do over a weekend. Here are some suggestions:
· Remove weeds and other unwanted growth.
· Prune shrubs and trim trees.
· Keep lawns mowed.
· Re-sod or re-seed bare spots on the lawn.
· Edge the lawn. (A simple task that can have a dramatic visual impact.)
· Sweep the walkway and driveway. Rake the leaves.

In small space communities such as ours, what you do with your outdoor space affects everyone one of your neighbours. There are minimum standards that the city has established for maintenance of outdoor spaces (see below for the actual wording of the bylaw). What many may not be aware of is that homeowners are responsible for all boulevard areas adjacent to their properties. This means as a homeowner of a house that has a boulevard, it is up to you to maintain that area as if it were your own.

City Bylaw
Article V of Chapter 743 of the Toronto Municipal Code requires that all property owners in Toronto:
Sustain all vegetation planted in the boulevard in a state of healthy growth, with boulevard sod kept trimmed to a height less than 20 cm (8 inches);

Maintain all private encroachments, including stairs, landscaping, fences, retaining walls or noise barriers in a state of good repair and free of graffiti and posters;

Maintain driveways, parking areas and walkways in a state of good repair;

Keep the boulevard and sidewalk clear of noxious weeds, litter, rubbish, brush, leaves, lawn and tree trimmings;

Keep an unobstructed two metre radius around fire hydrants;

Keep bushes, hedges and gardens trimmed at a height of less than 0.85m (2.5 ft), measured from the travelled surface of the adjoining road;

Prune and trim hedges, soft landscaping and private trees to ensure that they do not obstruct sidewalks and bicycle paths.

The City does not repair any private encroachment, such as a fence, stair or retaining wall, damaged as a result of road repair, reconstruction or snow removal and street cleaning. Property owners who do not maintain the boulevard are subject to a $200 fine as well as any costs incurred by the City to perform any required repairs or alterations.

Community Clean Up a Success

It was a successful clean up of the whole community. Although we all thought dog poop would be the biggest problem (it was pretty awful), cigarette butts were the most prevelant debris. Remember, this is your community, keep it clean.

Next on the agenda is a Welcome Summer BBQ. As soon as the weather starts to stabilize, we'll pick a date and plan a "Getting To Know Your Neighbours" afternoon event.

We also need to plan a gardening/weeding party, probably for 2 seperate dates through the summer to keep the garden around the children's play area in the park free of weeds and prickle bushes.