Today: a (hopefully) very short Toronto City Council meeting—Community Council stuff and a couple extras! Will do my best to follow along.
Discussion
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Currently Cllr Michael Thompson is giving a somewhat stilted speech about famous Black Canadians for #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM. Gives a shout-out to downtown bookstore A Different Booklist and associated Blackhurst Cultural Centre (which moved to its current location 9 years ago today). Also recounts the recent success of the Jamaican-Canadian Association's Hurricane Melissa relief fund (supported by the City), which has raised almost $700,000, and the donation portal will be closing in about a month.
Cllr Bravo announces she has brought pastries from Progress Bakery and says the clerks are also welcome to help themselves.
Note that you can track the progress of the meeting and the current item in the Meeting Monitor. Warning for my fellow vertigo-afflicted: it automatically scrolls and you have to turn the scrolling off with a toggle near the top right.
Finally got done with finishing the Order Paper (figuring out which items will be automatically passed and which ones debated). I'm going to make tea
Just heard Cllr Chernos Lin mention "permeable pavers" and my ears perked up. bitches love stormwater management (i'm bitches)
No context: "...when the [Scarborough] subway opens in the 2030s..."
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Current item: visitor parking requirements for new developments.
Cllr Cheng is concerned about the future availability of enough visitor parking near areas provincially designated as transit hubs. Gripping stuff
Cllr Pasternak is also concerned about visitor parking. I would like to remind the audience that this is specifically about areas that are immediately near public transit.
(This is important to him, and other councillors, because it's an old people issue. Old people vote in high numbers and often own property, hence why they're worth extra consideration. Many councillors are themselves old as shit and presumably there is also some level of [acceptable] self-interest or ability to relate to old people issues.)
Cllr Saxe argues that people with disabilities are not being sufficiently accommodated by parking limits, suggests limits on parking conflict with AODA. I will charitably assume her concerns are genuine
Cllr Perks obliquely argues via questions to staff that the study allows for loading areas to be used for passenger drop-offs as well as deliveries, and could take the place of some visitor parking.
City Solicitor(?) replies to Saxe's argument and says the AODA does not require parking be provided, only that if parking is constructed, (some of) it must be accessible.
Cllr Cheng argues that visitor parking is a loneliness epidemic issue.
Cllr Colle is in full on "come on Zeyde, let's get you to bed" rambling mode.
I have to admit, I cannot relate to these people whose friends won't visit them for lack of parking or (as Cllr Saxe says) live in the same place for 30 or 40 years.
edit: I have a friend who lives abroad but stays with her parents in the suburbs when she's in town. We meet up downtown. Like?? She takes the bus???