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When Todd Hofley decided to launch a Liberty Village residents association in the fall of 2011, the response was positively unexpected . The most recent meeting drew a large crowd and there are already 231 people on the association’s Facebook page.
The success of the area’s newest residents association, Hofley said, is because Liberty Villagers crave connection with their neighbours and they care about how the Toronto enclave develops. We, at Liberty Village Toronto couldn’t agree more. For Liberty Village to become a truly thriving neighbourhood, it will need more than just condo buildings.
“People are really passionate about this area and they want to make it even better than it already is,” Hofley said. “They are really enthusiastic and that is what it takes to make a neighbourhood better.”
Hofley moved into Liberty Village one year ago, but before that he lived just outside its borders at King Street West and Shaw Avenue and has watched the area grow and develop for the past 10 years.
“Most people view condos as vertical gated communities where people don’t talk to each other,” Hofley said. “That is absolutely not the case in our condo building.”
With the success of that group in mind Hofley went about creating the Liberty Village Residents Association (LVRA). Liberty Village already had a business association (the Liberty Village Business Association) but the creation of the LVRA was really about giving people a voice and helping them connect with each other and give them a voice in the future of the area.
“There is a lot of development going on but there is no one talking about what the residents need or want,” he said.
He wanted to start a conversation around simple things, like getting better street furniture and garbage cans in locations that residents know they are needed or looking at traffic issues, how development is shaping the area. A more pedestrian-friendly sidewalk system is a topic that has come up.
“It is about speaking to the city about upcoming development plans, it’s about looking at what businesses we need in this area, things we don’t have that we would love to see,” he said. “Like we would love to see a bakery, that was at the top of everyone’s list.”
To start the association Hofley sent a note out on his building’s Facebook group and mentioned the meeting to friends he has in the area.
The first meeting was in October and with no advertising it still drew about 20 people from three or four condo buildings.
The November meeting was promoted using a flyer.
“At that second meeting we had 45 people,” Hofley said. “It was packed… it was incredible.”
It was at that meeting that the group discussed how to structure the Liberty Village Residents Association. It was decided the group would have a President with working committees who have a self-selected Chair in charge of each of the four committees they created.
The first committee is design and business development that is responsible for design cohesion between the east and west ends of Liberty Village and liaising with the Business Improvement Area.
There is also a community events committee, which Hofley said will look at planning things like a community wide yard sale or movie nights in the park.
A social networking and branding committee will take care of getting the group connected on Twitter, Facebook and the likes as well as having design cohesion for the LVRA.
“A lot of this is about branding,” he said. “I think it is very important that it have a very clear brand.
“Residents associations, it is amazing what they can do,” Hofley explained. “But I find they also tend to be interchangeable and I don’t want this one to be… I want it to stand out.”
The fourth committee is a neighbourhood planning committee that will monitor developments, liaise with the City and represent the LVRA at area design charrettes.
“One of its mandates is to see how we can get more green space in Liberty Village because we are dying for green space,” he said.
We at Liberty Village Toronto encourage those who are interested to express their ideas to the Liberty Village Resident’s Association via the following media:
Facebook: Liberty Village Residents Association, Twitter: @libertyresident or Email: [email protected].
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My name is Steve Collie and I do the walking tours at Exhibition Grounds. We are always looking to get more involved with community. Would like to talk with someone from the community events committee. There is a lot interesting history and ghost tours we do. 416-876-8588
Dear darling members of the Liberty Village Residents Asson./ fellow Torontonians!… HI! The ensuing is a revised rendition of a previous communication on a retrofit to the King Streetcar roadbeds (placing these at the curb!)! This new version provides a more efficient and effective method of facilitating the actual reconstruction of the streetcar roadbeds, and eliminates an earlier problem associated with TTC users having to cross strategic TTC construction areas, in order to board TTC transit vehicles while the construction is underway, and to afford more space for roadway construction crews to work!
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Once again!… would you PLEASE join with David Crombie, and his son Brian Crombie (BUT, ETC.!), to convey to John Tory, the following!…
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A suggested DEFINITIVE ANSWER to the car and truck traffic issue on Toronto’s King Street, is the “REINVENTION” of the conventional streetcar track design!… and the placing of the streetcar tracks at the curb; and thus, allowing the car and truck traffic to use the center of the roadway, rather than the other way around! In other words, having TTC riders board from the curb, rather than from the roadway! The City can then Re-Zone the sidestreets, for “sidestreet parking”!
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And in order to get this done, we simply start with either the reconstruction of the Northside roadway at the Northside curb (to accommodate a new westbound streetcar roadbed), or the reconstruction of the Southside roadway at the Southside curb (to accommodate a new eastbound streetcar roadbed), and move a combination of streetcar and bus vehicles to either the southside or northside of King Street, respectively (depending on our choice of roadway reconstruction we begin with!)! Nevertheless… and for the sake of time, and of convenience!… I’ll arbitrarily choose the Northside roadway at the Northside curb, as the place of/ for our initial reconstruction!
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And so… we begin our Northside roadway reconstruction by eliminating the westbound streetcars from the westbound streetcar tracks (to provide more space for the TTC construction crews to do their work!… and, maintaining the eastbound streetcar traffic!), and replacing these with buses at the Southside roadway curb (with the TTC rider inconveniences of having to board westbound TTC buses from the Southside curb only, of having to board buses by walking in front of respective stopped westbound TTC buses… as buses can’t be boarded at the driver’s side!… and, of having to access the Southside sidewalks after departure from respective stopped westbound TTC buses, by walking around the back of stopped buses!)! However!… as cars and trucks won’t be allowed on the Southside roadway during this period of Northside roadway reconstruction, these inconveniences are minimal… and pose no threat to TTC riders! An additional planning consideration for the westbound TTC buses, is the need to CLEARLY IDENTIFY the westbound TTC bus stops… which will now be situated on the Southside sidewalks at curbside, and which will compete for user attention for those riders using eastbound streetcars! Upon completion of the Northside roadway reconstruction, the entire transit process used for the Southside roadway, is reversed!… i.e., reinstituting the westbound streetcars, and using eastbound TTC buses at the then reconstructed Northside roadway, at curbside, to facilitate the Southside road reconstruction at curbside!
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(ATTENTION!: PUTTING THE WESTBOUND STREETCARS INTO PLAY ON THE NEW STREETCAR TRACKBED UPON COMPLETION OF THE NORTHSIDE ROADWAY, WILL FORCE TTC RIDERS TO BOARD STOPPED EASTBOUND BUSES USING THE OLD WESTBOUND STREETCAR ROUTE, OR EASTBOUND STREETCARS RELOCATED ON THE OLD WESTBOUND TRACKS [AND AGAIN, TO PROVIDE MORE SPACE FOR SOUTHSIDE ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION CREWS] IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROADWAY, AND WILL PLACE TTC RIDERS CLOSER TO THE WORK OF TTC CONSTRUCTION CREWS [AS RIDERS MUST BOARD EASTBOUND BUSES OR EASTBOUND STREETCARS NEAR THE CREWS!]! THUS, THIS SHOULD BE ABANDONED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT OPTION UPON THE COMPLETION OF THE NORTHSIDE ROADWAY RECONSTRUCTION! THE ONLY VIABLE NORTHSIDE ROADWAY TRANSIT OPTION THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO FACILITATE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTHSIDE ROADWAY AT CURBSIDE… THAT IS TO SAY, AT THIS POINT!… IS TO INVOKE THE FLIPSIDE OF THE SOUTHSIDE TRANSIT OPTION USED TO FACILITATE THE NORTHSIDE ROADWAY RECONSTRUCTION!)
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And finally, upon completion of both the Northside and Southside roadway reconstructions, we leave (for future consideration!… and, for future track engineers!) the old eastbound and westbound streetcar tracks, at the center of the roadway!)! And as a “futuristic consideration”, we can envisage a “raised series of beams” right at the center of the roadway (and– maybe!– 20 feet high… and extending the entire length of King Street)… atop of which, a LONGER ROUTE “superconducting maglev LRT transit system” could then be added (eastbound and westbound!… and accessed, and exited through strategically deployed perpendicular “raised transit tunnels”!), and yet, allowing both cars and trucks to traverse beneath this! And please be aware, that our current materials science is far beyond mere iron and cement materials, for such an above-ground “raised transit construction”!
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And… PLEASE!… let us not get into a citywide debate on the conversion of the City’s entire public transit infrastructure to the abovenoted model! And simply leave such a debate– for now!– for a future time!… and use the abovenoted as a “TEST CASE” for potential citywide discussions and possible applications! God’s speed!… and, THANKS!
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Jesus loves you!… and take care! – JM
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Please!… no emails!
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P.S.: As a gesture to me for the message, I’d ask that serious consideration be given to the matter of the UNCONSTITUTIONAL “PHYSICAL AND CYBER CARDING” by police, of those desiring physical and cyber access to Toronto’s City politicians and Administration!… and!… to the high cost of transportation for the poor in Toronto! Once again, THANKS!