LeasideLife issue 6_LeasideLifev1 12-04-19 2:26 PM Page 1
No. 6 • May 2012
Leaside Life
Saving Leaside Heritage __ P-7
‘In all candour, if we don’t have this application, we’ll have some other retail application’: Councillor John Parker
GEOFF DAVIES
ABOUT 250 LEASIDERS filled the William Lea room when Councillor John Parker hosted a public meeting about the proposed SmartCentre North development at Laird and Wicksteed.
Hostile crowd at SmartCentre meeting By GEOFF DAVIES SmartCentre North or not, another mall on Laird at Wicksteed is likely inevitable, Don Valley West Councillor John Parker told a hostile crowd on March 29 when he hosted a public meeting on the proposed development. About 250 people filled the William Lea Room of the Leaside arena to hear how the 147,000 square-foot shopping mall would affect their community. By the end of the meeting it was the clear the question wasn’t “if” a new mall would go in between Wicksteed and Vanderhoof, but “how” and “when”. “In all candour, if we don’t have this application, we’ll have some other retail application,” said Parker. “The likelihood of something other than retail is slim.”
For the zoning amendment requested by SmartCentre to be approved at an upcoming meeting of the North York Community Council – a group of 11 councillors, with Parker serving as vice-chair – SmartCentre must show that a new mall won’t negatively impact traffic and other businesses in nearby neighbourhoods. The verdict of the SmartCentre-commissioned consultants: double thumbs up. A 458-page traffic impact study, by Sernas Transtech, predicts the biggest traffic surge will be on Laird, with afternoon peak hours seeing volume increases between about 4 and 9 percent. That could mean as many as 100 additional vehicles in the northbound lane between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., SMARTCENTRE, Page 2
AWESOME! and nearing a half million dollars By BETH PARKER The lineup of people wrapped around the block waiting to get inside the church at Millwood and McRae is an unusual sight. And when the doors open, there’s a stampede to see who can get in the fastest.
Most Leasiders know the scene at the Spring Awesome Sale at Leaside United. But this year’s sale, May 11-12, will be a watershed: the event that once was a humble rummage sale is expected to reach the half million dollar mark in total funds raised since it began. “We’re $25,000 away from the
goal,” says George Hurst, who manages the event with fellow volunteer and church-member Bob Lister, “and considering we average over $35,000 or more between the spring and fall sale, we’re petty sure we’ll reach our goal this May.” AWESOME, Page 3