Each week, we round up the latest news, views, and rumours from City Hall.
HEADLINES
TTC board blown up
The biggest news this week was of course council’s decision to dissolve the TTC board on Monday. The unprecedented 29-15 vote saw nearly two-thirds of councillors vote against the mayor to purge the board of his loyalists and replace them with centrists who favour the light rail plan he’s tried to kill off. The new board effectively removes any lingering direct control Ford had over the transit file.
Affordable fix?
Toronto is facing an ever-worsening affordable housing crisis, and Councillor Ana Bailao (Davenport) is now officially our best hope of solving it. On Tuesday council rubber-stamped her appointment to head a task force (already approved by the mayor at a meeting last month) that will try to find solutions to Toronto Community Housing’s $750-million repair backlog. Tenant groups are hoping that when she reports back in the fall she’ll do more than provide Rob Ford political cover for a mass sell-off of TCH properties.
BULLETINS
- Loyal Ford ally Councillor Michelle Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest) announced she is stepping down from her position on the budget committee in order to focus on her ward, which is a curious explanation given that the committee won’t be doing any heavy lifting for months
- Rob Ford’s deadline to appeal a ruling on an audit of his campaign finances passed on Monday, meaning he’ll go to court next month to defend his spending during the 2010 mayoral race
- The province issued a no board report for the city’s negotiations with Local 79, setting the stage for 18,000 inside workers to begin a work stoppage as early as 12:01 am March 24
#TOPOLI FILES
Cycling safety advocates are reaching out to their friends on four wheels for help in saving the bike lanes on Jarvis St., which are scheduled to be removed by this fall. The Toronto Cyclists Union has launched Drivers for Jarvis, an online campaign featuring testimonials from drivers who say they like the lanes because they keep riders out of their way.
MEETINGS, MOTIONS, AND MINUTES
The TTC dust up got all the attention, but council passed a number of notable motions at its three-day session this week. Key items approved include: looking into relief for kids’ sports teams hit with unexpected field permits in the 2012 budget, the deferral (for now) of a decision to scrap 311’s email service, and plans to create a pedestrian corridor along John St. (pictured above). The John. St. proposal calls for making the busy roadway more pedestrian friendly by significantly widening the sidewalks and taking away car lanes, but is without the bike lanes that cycling advocates had been asking for.
COUNCILLOR OF THE WEEK
Ron Moeser (Scarborough East), who returned to the council chamber Monday after an extended absence due to illness. He wasn’t well enough to stick out the whole three-day meeting, but with any luck he’ll soon be a regular presence at City Hall again.
CITY SOUND BITE
“There isn’t a subway or a bus in this city that isn’t going to be leaning to the left over the next little while.”
– Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, on the sinister implications of council’s left and centrist factions uniting to take over the TTC board
NEXT WEEK’S AGENDA
Council has few meetings scheduled over March Break, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on over at the Clamshell next week. On Wednesday, we’re expecting the release of an expert panel’s report on transit options for Sheppard Ave. The report is likely to recommend LRT instead the subway extension the mayor continues to push for, and if current trends continue, when it goes to a vote on March 21st council will put the final nail in the coffin of Rob Ford’s subway dream.
