The City and the TTC plan to use land committed to upgrading the Ashridges Bay Treatment Plant for a big box streetcar warehouse at Lakeshore and Leslie

Apr 7th, 2010 8:53 AM

Media Advisory The City and the TTC plan to use land committed to upgrading the Ashridges Bay Treatment Plant for a big box streetcar warehouse at Lakeshore and Leslie The move has serious environmental and traffic repercussions for the East End and residents throughout the city WHAT: Public TTC Consultation Meeting Fire Academy WHEN: April 8, 2010 WHERE: Toronto EMS & Fire Academy 895 Eastern Avenue -6:30 pm to 9 pm 1. The decision to build a Light Rail Vehicle Storage and Maintenance Yard on the site has residents urging the TTC to rethink non-residential route options. Within a few years, 154 streetcars - 90-feet long -- will leave Ashbridges Bay and the Russell Yard(Connaught) and converge at the corner of Queen and Leslie every morning at 5 am and every evening, promising traffic chaos along the Lakeshore, Leslie and Queen. 2. As we head into the outdoor season, Old Smeller remains a concern. Plans to improve the sewage disinfection process and move away from environmentally dangerous chlorine have been stalled sunce 2001. The proposed takeover of 20% of Ashbridges lands is a breach of the City's commitment to clean up its sewage act. Signatories to the ABTP EA Mediation Agreement, and members of the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant Neighbourhood Liaison Committee and Citizens for a Safe Environment are asking why this land has now been deeded to the TTC. "We have to stop using Lake Ontario as our toilet. As modern citizens who care about the environment, we must ensure that our sewage treatment is state of the art. Clean water, after all, is our children's legacy," warns Karen Buck, chair of the Citizens for a Safe Environmen Why was the East End targeted for all six warehouse "options" considered by the TTC? And why must any access line be built on residential streets. Not Eastern. Not Leslie. Not Woodfield. Not Knox. Not Pape. Not Carlaw. People first! Don't destroy neighbourhoods. East End citizens demand a voice. Citizens for a Safe Environment (CSE) is an incorporated community group that has advocated for improved air quality and water quality for East End Toronto. Citizens for a Safe Environment believes that all Toronto residents, especially those in the East End near the Port Industrial Lands, deserve to live in healthy communities. Citizens for a Safe Environment has worked on waste, water and wastewater issues in the East End since 1983. Citizens for a Safe Environment has brought about positive change. The work is never-ending. Join us in our advocacy for you, your families and your neighbours. For more information contact: Karen Buck, CSE -Beach Resident 416-690-7593 Nancy Hawley, Leslieville Resident 416-709-2141 This advisory was prepared by Citizens for a Safe Environment.