Community Safety Audit Walk - Memory Lane, Sears Street, Maple Leaf Forever Park

By Michael Holloway
Ward 30 Bikes Outreach Coordinator,
New Hope Shelter Community Liaison Committee

COMMUNITY SAFETY AUDIT WALK

Please join Councillor McMahon, Ward 32, and Councillor Fletcher, Ward 30, along with City of Toronto staff and local community members from the Community Liaison Committee to conduct a safety audit around the Eastern Ave. and Leslie St. area.

When: Thursday June 8, 2017 | 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Where: Start and End at the Maple Leaf Cottage | 62 Laing Street Toronto, ON

Join us as we walk along the route outlined in the map below and learn about what issues to consider and plan for to help you feel safer in your neighbourhood.

Via City of Toronto | Hope Shelter - http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=e12e16841c91a510VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=bad1ab2cedfb0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

I'm on the Community Liaison Committee, and I've proposed making Memory Lane and Sears Street more Pedestrian/Bike friendly -  by restricting motor vehicle through-traffic on both laneways - and thus making Maple Leaf Forever Park a better space for the community.

Improving the Park is a key ask by residents proximate to the Hope Shelter (29 Leslie St, Toronto, ON M4L - opening in the fall of this year). Making the park more accessible to the immediate neighbourhood will encourage more people to use the park - and thus create a safer environment by having more 'eyes on the street'.

Once the George Condo development (on Queen between Laing and Knox) opens, Memory Lane will experience a much higher volume of traffic because the condo's parking garage entrance is on Memory Lane near Knox Avenue.

Bollards at Ashbridges Bay Park - Google Street View

During the AM traffic peak car traffic from the George Condo (indicated on the map by the orange lines) will short-cut to Leslie via Memory Lane in order to avoid congested Queen. In the PM (indicated by the yellow lines) car traffic will short-cut on Memory Lane from Leslie to again, avoid congested Queen - and if there are bollards stopping that, they will short cut on Sears Street instead - so Sears Street laneway also needs to get bollards somewhere between Leslie and Laing.

One issue that might be of concern is Policing the park and the local laneway grid. Police Bicycle Corp would be better suited to patrol this area within this configuration, as police officers in cars would have to do three-point turns or back out, after reaching the bollards.

Michael Holloway
Ward 30 Bikes Outreach Coordinator,
New Hope Shelter Community Liaison Committee



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