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September 2011
www.thebulletin.ca
Cyclists use paths for safety, bike union counters Dennis Hanagan
Q
ueen West resident Ellen Rengers cycles to work on the controversial Trinity Bellwoods Park bike path because she feels unsafe riding on the main streets with cars. Last month, The Bulletin reported Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park wanted commuter cyclists out of the park because of the high volume of pedestrians who use the green space. But Rengers, a visiting nurse who cycles to her Downtown patients, says she doesn’t feel safe cycling on Dundas and Queen. “It’s not safe for
me. There’s so much traffic.” She’d like to see bike lanes on Dundas and Queen that have a physical barrier to separate bikes and cars. She’s familiar with barriers like this as they are used in her native Holland. “You’ll notice how much safer it (a barrier) is. A line on the road is not going to give me safety. If there was good cycling infrastructure on Dundas or Queen I wouldn’t have to take this route through the park,” says Rengers. Cyclist and ward 19 bike union co-leader Herb Van den Dool sees irony in the lack of bike lanes
on Dundas, Queen, King, College and Bloor. He says the section south of Bloor between Bathurst and Lansdowne “has one of the highest shares of bike commuters” in the entire city. He says 10 to 20 per cent of commuters in this section are cyclists. “It’s ironic there’s hardly any bike lanes on any of the streets, especially the east-west streets, ” says Van den Dool. He’s suggested making pathways for cyclists to travel both ways on streets that are designated one-way for cars, like along Argyle and Robinson. They would be
called contra-lanes. But ward 19 city councilor Mike Layton has told The Bulletin that cyclists come under the Highway Traffic Act and therefore must travel in the same direction as cars on one-way streets. To that, Rengers responds that the city must get with the times. She points out that on some one-way streets in Holland cyclists are allowed to travel both ways. She says laws and bylaws must change over time “as society changes.” In the meantime both Rengers and Van den Dool want cyclists to be
First-hand inspiration sets scene in Tamil-Canadian tale By Anthony Marcusa
L
ocal author Koom Kankesan has written what may be the first full-length work of fiction about Tamil immigrants living in Canada. The 35-year-old writer, teacher, and 3-year Downtown resident is the author of The Panic Button, a novella about a fractured Sri Lankan family that make their way to Ontario to build a new life. “Many people have asked, but it’s not really based on my life,” says Kankesan from his apartment at Richmond and Victoria. “In the story, the father stays in Sri Lanka for 25 years after his family leaves.” Kankesan, a Tamil who came with his family as a youngster to settle in Scarborough in the late ‘80s, was often inspired by other writers, but rarely found any Tamil literature. After studying at Concordia in Montreal, he decided to fill the void. “I’ve always written about my culture, it’s a part of my life,” says Kankesan. “Certainly there are more Tamils and more writing now, but growing up I couldn’t find much.” “I have strong feelings, and so I felt compelled to write about my culture,” Kankesan continues, adding that he was was both surprised and saddened when he learned that his book was the first to tackle the TamilCanadian immigrant experience. Inspired by the works of famed Indian author R.K. Narayan, as well as noted comic book writer Alan Moore (who gives a stirring recommendation on The Panic Button), Kankesan attempts to write in a very frank and honest way.
Cityplace traffic problems from page 1
bility for pedestrians crossing at intersections.” Pedestrian safety is a major concern of the CRA. Raised intersections put an emphasis on pedestrians, which would fit with City Place, where close to 80% of residents do not commute by car to and from work. Fort York Blvd. will also soon be opened up to Bathurst St. , bringing
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even more traffic into the neighbourhood. With two schools, a community centre, daycare, and a public library being built along Fort York Blvd. , managing both pedestrian and vehicular traffic now is important and—the CRA believes—the time is right to do it while the roads are still being built. Given the location of the City Place community, residents also face a growing problem of street
respectful of pedestrians as they bike through Trinity Bellwoods Park. “Cyclists would like to facilitate cycling through the park in a polite and courteous manner,” says
Van den Dool. Rengers realizes she shares the park with pedestrians. “I really slow down when I go through the park which I don’t mind at all.”
$1000 awarded by local charity Seph, a Parkdale resident and grade 8 student attending Holy Family Catholic School, was recently recognized at the end of year celebration of the Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation for being one of the top achieving students on the program this year. He was selected from more than 200 students to receive a $1,000 RESP scholarship, that was generously provided by G. Scott Paterson, vice chairman, JumpTV (also located on King and Spadina). The charity based in downtown Toronto (King and Spadina) that provides financially disadvantaged kids with brand-new computers, computer training as well as Toronto Police Service mentorship.
Cancelled development from page 1
Kankesan hopes to write a sequel to his first novella.
“Narayan changed my life,” says Kankesan. “I recognized what he was writing, I saw myself and my family in his works—and the best part, he was able to be funny.” Upon returning to Sri Lanka for a trip in 2001, Kankesan had hoped to meet with Narayan. As fate would have it, Narayan died the day Kankesan’s plane landed. The Panic Button in its current form was shortened from an earlier, unpublished piece—but there may be more to come. “I hope it does well, I am thinking about a sequel,” Kankesan concludes. “Something bigger, longer, and more grand.”
Church 18 Holdings’ intentions: “Our client is withdrawing these applications, without prejudice to its ability to submit new applications in the future.” While further proposals from Church 18 Holdings, controversial or not, cannot be ruled out, it is clear that this scale of development will be unlikely on the Church/Gloucester site. One key player in opposing the development is the ChurchWellesley Neighbourhood Association. Macrae advised the group of the withdrawal of the plans in
writing on Aug. 19. He thanked the association for “your patience, hard work and dedication to the neighbourhood.” He was also somewhat enthusiastic in his own announcement of the withdrawal. For him, it was “good news for a Friday afternoon.”
Local dancers at fall festival
R
yerson’s Vietnamese Student Association dance group will perform on Sept. 17 as part of Harbourfront Centre’s Tet Trung Thu: MidAutumn Festival. The day-long festival is co-produced by the Vietnamese Women’s Association of Toronto. Visit www.vwat.org for more information.
parking. Residents of Grand Trunk Cresc. have complained to the CRA, saying visitors to the Air Canada Centre make the street a congestive nightmare on event nights. Visitors will just park on the street illegally and accept the fine because the price of parking around the arena for game events is so steep. “Making Grand Trunk Cresc. a tow-away zone will be enough of a deterrent to keep the peace in the neighbourhood,” said
Maher. Parking issues have also plagued residents of 15 Fort York Blvd., where a new Fox and Fiddle restaurant—coupled with the removal of no-parking signs—has made the street a virtual free-for-all for those looking for free parking. According to Maher, “we can expect there will be some free parking in the community. But it is vital there is parking enforcement so residents and guests to the community are not taking advantage of the situation.”
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