For Leaside
        Improving the Quality of Life in Leaside

• Hosted “Dogs in the Park” public meetings resulting in approval for new Ward 26 off-leash park.
• Hosted “Waterfront Toronto” presentation night for Ward 26.
• Hosted public information presentation concerning new consolidated city-wide bylaws.
• Hosts annual “Ward 26 Environment Day”
• Sponsors annual “Ward 26 Compost Day”
• Sponsors annual New Year’s Day “free skate” at Leaside Gardens
• Regular attention to illegal postering/graffiti on Bayview; resolved problems related to new “street furniture” (waste bins, bus shelters, etc.) on Bayview and elsewhere.
• Regular attention to issues regarding municipal services: garbage collection, tree damage, road repair, snow plowing, other constituent concerns.

Working Hard to Preserve Leaside’s Heritage

• Preserving heritage: Opposed redevelopment plans and worked with community leaders and city staff to designate Talbot Apartments under the Ontario Heritage Act; fought against redevelopment in Council, Conservation Appeal Tribunal, Ontario Municipal Board, and Ontario Court of Appeal.
• Preserving heritage: worked with developer and city staff to save 211 Laird from wrecker’s ball and to preserve it as a new bank branch and office building.
• Preserving heritage: listed 150 Laird (Durant Building) under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Improving Parking, Road Safety, etc

• Spearheaded replacement of Moore Avenue with redesigned beautified roadway with centre median and lower natural traffic speeds (completed in the summer of 2010, on time and on budget).
• Improving Brentcliffe: removed old rail tracks and reconstructed Brentcliffe south of Eglinton.
• Traffic calming: brought speed limit reductions and traffic calming to North Leaside streets.
• Road safety: installed stop signs at Northlea and Rolph Road school crossings; approved new stop sign at Rolph/Rumsey; instituted morning turn restriction off Laird onto Parkhurst.
• Banned street parking at south end of Airdrie, on first block of Laird north of Eglinton, and on the south side of the bottom end of Cameron.
• Removed outdated parking restrictions in various parts of Leaside.
• Introduced pedestrian safety measures on Eglinton, including upgraded pedestrian crossover at Leaside High School.
• Delivered on the community’s need for a sidewalk at Bennington Heights Elementary School.

For More Jobs and Business Opportunities in Ward 26

• Protecting businesses: Protects existing businesses and promotes new business ventures in Leaside Business Park while pushing back against redevelopment plans that threaten to undermine its industrial character.
• Improving Bayview: Is working with local businesses to establish the Bayview Business Improvement Area; working with city staff to restore/improve Bayview sidewalk and streetscape.

Listening to the Concerns of Leaside

• Arranged for numerous public meetings concerning the Hydro One Midtown Project and the proposed Eglinton LRT.
• Regular attendance at meetings of the Leaside Business Park Association and the Leaside Property Owners’ Association
•  Regular attendance/participation in school council meetings.
• Regular visitor to local seniors’ homes and events.
  

For Wynford-Concorde

Tridel Buildings on Wynford Drive
“I will stand firm in advocating for Section 37 dollars from the Tridel project to be spent for the benefit of Wynford-Concorde residents.” (John Parker, candidate in 2006.)
Immediately after the election, John Parker convened a series of meetings with local community leaders, city staff, and the neighbouring councillor in response to the community’s call for a system of walking trails in the area’s valley lands.
“This trail system was the single most desired improvement to the area that I heard about at the doors during the 2006 election campaign,” said John Parker in a recent interview. Tridel funds are now at work executing on the plan. The new footbridge, the stone river embankments, and the wide footpaths now in place show the progress to date.
John Parker also secured the contribution of federal infrastructure stimulus funding towards the project. These funds, together with the Tridel funding, means that this significant enhancement to the community is being carried out with a minimum of municipal tax dollars.

Community Centre at site of former Don Mills shopping centre
In 2006, Wynford-Concorde residents said redevelopment of the former Don Mills shopping centre site must include a community centre. Once elected to Toronto City Council, John Parker joined the ongoing negotiations involving the developer, community groups, neighbouring councillors, and city staff. He supported a result that won the approval of the Don Mills Residents Inc. and city planning staff and, after long debate, the developer and City Council.
The agreement avoided the uncertain result that would have come from an appeal to the OMB. High densities are restricted to the middle of the site. A public park will be built on the western edge and a $17 million community centre with swimming pool and recreation space will be built on the southeast corner. The community centre will be available for use by residents of Wynford-Concorde.

Aga Khan Centre
John Parker worked directly with the Aga Khan project team and City planning staff to work out the design details of the ambitious Aga Khan Centre project currently under construction on Wynford Drive.
The finished product will feature spectacular modern architecture in a large beautiful garden park. To ensure that the project serves its neighbours, John Parker and the project team arrived at a development agreement featuring a park design that invites public use, and an operating agreement that will keep the park open to the public all day long, seven days a week.
At the Foundation Ceremony held on the site last spring – attended by His Highness the Aga Khan and Prime Minister Stephen Harper – His Highness paid specific tribute to John Parker’s contribution to the project both in his formal remarks and at an informal reception following.

Wynford shopping centre
John Parker ensured that the area’s new Tim Horton’s shop included an attractive building design and enhanced landscape treatments at the western end of the plaza. The upgraded shopping centre has now attracted a grocery retailer to the vacant space at the plaza’s eastern end, which will cater to the unique needs and interests of the immediate community.

Responding to the Concerns of Wynford-Concorde

• Arranged for numerous public meetings concerning the proposed Eglinton LRT; John Parker supports the Eglinton LRT with a dedicated Wynford stop.
• Maintains regular contact with local businesses to address their needs and help keep their operations thriving.
• Has brought local businesses and employers together with local youth seeking employment and agencies offering opportunities to serve community needs.
• Implemented road resurfacing and upgrades to local roadway.
• Regular attendance and participation at local Wynford-Corcorde community meetings.

For Ferrand Park

For Safety and Security
Responding to concerns raised by residents, John Parker brought residents together with police for a series of meetings to discuss break-ins, burglaries, and personal safety and security in the area. The discussion supplied police with useful information concerning patterns of criminal activity, and provided residents with valuable advice on how to look out for their own security.
The information obtained by police played a role in subsequent arrests and convictions, bringing a substantial reduction in local burglaries.

March Brea k Youth Waste Management Program
This program sprang from an idea brought to John Parker by Resource Centre staff. John helped bring about a school March break program by which local youth are employed to clean up the community, identify areas in need of security and graffiti proofing measures, and also learn about the City’s elaborate solid waste collection, sorting, and recycling technologies. It has included trips to one of the City’s waste management, sorting, recycling, and composting facilities – an experience not available to most residents.

Dennis Timbrell Resource Centre
John Parker has been a regular at Flemingdon’s most important public building, hosting or participating in countless events or initiatives. He has also helped arrange for upgrades to the building. A complete interior facelift, including fresh paint and upgrades throughout the inside of the building, is now complete. Watch for the new ceramic floor to be installed in the weeks ahead.

Beautifying Our Community
As a 2006 candidate, John Parker was asked by local residents if he could take steps to clean up the neglected and overgrown public lands located on the north-east corner of Don Mills and Eglinton, directly south of the Superstore. The area had become a dense thicket of weeds and overgrowth. John Parker followed up on the matter after arriving at City Hall, and eventually discovered that no department was prepared to take responsibility for the site. A little research on his part enabled him to determine where the responsibility lay.
Within weeks the area was cleaned up and has been properly maintained since.

For Edgecliffe/Windy/Pavane/Vicora

Property Taxes
Working with building management, MPAC, and city revenue department, John Parker resolved a municipal tax claim that had accumulated over a number of years concerning vacant condominium land in the Vicora/Pavane Linkway area.
Result: Elimination of an accumulated tax, penalty, and interest liability of several thousands of dollars owed by neighbouring condominium residents and an end to future charges.

Keeping Things Orderly
John Parker met with local residents and heard objections to the unsightly placement of newspaper boxes in the Linkway area.
Result: Scattered newspaper boxes moved to a single location more satisfactory to residents

Snow Clearing
John Parker met with Linkway building residents and heard their concerns regarding unsatisfactory snow clearing in their area.
Result: The City has committed to give added attention to ensuring satisfactory vehicle traction and a higher standard of snow clearing for the sidewalks in the area this coming winter.

Land Erosion
John Parker has brought building management and Toronto Region Conservation Authority staff together to address erosion issues in the Linkway area.
Result: Erosion concerns now on record with the Conservation Authority and the need for a plan of action acknowledged. A land stabilization strategy is currently being developed in consultation with building management.

Waste Management
John Parker and his staff worked with city waste management staff and building management in several Linkway and Golfway buildings to resolve a number of garbage disposal problems. These included waste storage and collection issues, bulk items handling, billing errors, and challenges relating to implementing the city’s new waste collection regime.
Result: Reduced waste management costs for residents, and more households participating in Toronto’s recycling program.

DVP Noise
John Parker met with a number of residents and learned of their concerns regarding unacceptable Parkway road noise.
Result: John Parker commissioned a formal study that confirmed road noise above allowable public health standards. Using the study results, John Parker obtained budget approval for installation of DVP noise barriers. Installation will take place in the coming months.

Water and Sewage
Storm sewer infrastructure deterioration compromised the nearby roadway and sidewalk and created a large sinkhole in one of the Golfway building properties. Calls to the city water services department failed to generate satisfactory results. After months of patience, building management called John Parker in to have a look.
Result: John Parker arranged for work crews to arrive within days and begin repair and restoration work. Further issues were identified in the process and were added to the work order. The problem will be fixed once and for all. Road and sidewalks will be repaired and boulevards will be resodded.

For Thorncliffe Park

Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre reconstruction: $8 Million
Immediately upon his election in 2006, John Parker ensured that this $8 million commitment to Thorncliffe’s recreational needs proceeded despite intense budget pressures at City Hall. This is by far the largest capital project under way in all of Ward 26. John Parker has followed up on many construction issues that have arisen during the project and brought about required response measures. The result: a new library now in use and much needed expanded recreation space and dedicated child care facility soon to be available. This is by far the largest capital project udner way in all of Ward 26.

$3.8 Million for NEW CHILD CARE FACILITY
As part of the planning for Thorncliffe’s new school, John Parker fought for and obtained city council approval for a new dedicated child care facility to be built on school grounds as part of the project: a $3.8 million investment for the benefit of Thorncliffe’s families.

A GREENER Thorncliffe

• Working with community leaders and city parks staff, created new garden beds in RV Burgess Park; implemented tree management program in Thorncliffe: trimming neglected trees, encouraging desirable growth and improving viability of desired species.
• Ordered expansion of existing community gardens in Thorncliffe hydro corridor.
• Coordinates annual volunteer efforts to clear accumulated debris from Thorncliffe’s parks, ravines, and neglected areas.
• Organized and coordinated major volunteer litter and garbage pickup campaigns during 2009 municipal strike; brought in environmental SWAT team to clear heavy debris from ET Seton Park ravine once and for all.

A SAFER Thorncliffe

• John Parker works regularly with 53 Division police to create community events, sports tournaments that bring residents – particularly youth - and local police together; invites 53 Division police to all community events to encourage maximum engagement and open lines of communication between police and the community.
• John Parker has worked with police and landlords to improve building security measures and reduce break-ins.
• John Parker implemented red light camera on Overlea.
• John Parker implemented improved lighting in RV Burgess Park to increase safety and security after dark.
• John Parker spearheaded redesign of Don Mills/Overlea intersection to enhance pedestrian safety.
• Installed safety barrier to discourage jaywalking across Don Mills.

Bringing It All Together
Participant in planning sessions for new Thorncliffe kindergarten school. Brought in city parks and children’s services staff to contribute.
The result: Progress already being made towards obtaining required construction approvals. School yard and RV Burgess Park design work now being carried out on coordinated basis.

Bringing in Extra Resources
With the city’s budget stretched, John approached the federal government directly for help for Thorncliffe under the federal government infrastructure program. The result: after years of declining facilities, Thorncliffe’s RV Burgess Park and Leaside Park will receive much needed new playground equipment and other upgrades. RV Burgess Park will get a new interactive water play facility that’s more fun and more economical to operate.


Even More Action from John Parker for Thorncliffe

• CLEARING THE PATH: John Parker has worked diligently to help gain approvals and permits to enable local groups to carry out programs in Thorncliffe’s public spaces, including farmers’ markets and community business initiatives.
• CRICKET: John Parker has worked to increase opportunities for cricket within the community and elsewhere in the city for the benefit of Thorncliffe residents.
• PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY: John Parker has brought community leaders and city staff together to enhance local initiatives (e.g. the Thorncliffe Winter Festival).
• CREATING OPPORTUNITIES: John Parker has introduced local employers to the vast pool of employable talent within Thorncliffe available to contribute to their success. Supported PAYE youth employment initiative connecting local youth with real jobs.
• CREATING OPPORTUNITIES: John Parker has brought City of Toronto microfinance program to Thorncliffe, helping local residents start new businesses.
• THORNCLIFFE’S LEASIDE PARK: John Parker worked to improve the playing surface, installing soccer goals, repairing neglected and vandalized fencing, etc.
• WATER FOUNTAIN: John Parker had a new water line brought in from the street to repair the drinking fountain in RV Burgess Park after years of it being out of service.