Councillor Shelley Carroll

Find out the latest news and upcoming events in your neighborhood. Politics, news, views, and links from Ward 33 Councillor Shelley Carroll.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Community Alert - Senior Scam

Senior Scam
The Toronto Police Service would like to alert members of the 33 Division community about a male wanted for fraud.
The suspect is going door to door in residential areas and collecting deposit money for home repairs, roof repairs and driveway sealing. Once he has pocketed the money he does not return. He works under the business name of "C & D" Asphalt Sealer, no vehicle has been seen and the suspect has fled from one incident in a taxi. He primarily targets senior citizens. He was last identified using this scam in the Yonge and Lawrence Avenue area on March 16th, 2007. He is wanted by Police for Fraud X 4.
He is described as Male white, 46 years, 5'8, 169 lbs brown/partly grey hair, sca r on left knee-cap and forehead and cleft chin.
Anyone with infomation please contact D/C Devereux #5079 at 32 Division Frauds at 416-808-3207

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Senior Safety Tradeshow!

Come out for an informative and interactive afternoon at the Gibson Long Term Care Centre for seniors. Enjoy a personal tour of the residences with refreshments and door prizes to be won!
Information booths will include:
Toronto Police Service (senior safety issues)
Senior Crime Stoppers
Toronto Fire Department
EMS
Osteoporosis Society
Altzheimer's Society
Therapist's Choice Medical Supplies Inc
Lifeline
Walker and Wheelchair info
Healthcare info
Banking Safety
Public Health
Seniors and Driving
Injury prevention
Seniors and Fraud
Free walker safety checks
and many more knowledgeable representitives to share information.
Special guest is DAVID ZIMMER, MPP North York.
On behalf of Chartwell Seniors housing Reit, the Gibson Long Term Care Centre, and the Gibson Retirement Residence we hope you will join us for a fun afternoon on:
Wednesday March 28th
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
at 1925 Steeles Ave. E North York.
-FREE ADMISSION-
For more information contact 416-493-4666 or 416-498-5588
This message was brought to you courtesy of The Toronto Police Service 33 Division Crime Prevention Officer

Community Alert - Credit/ Debit Card Theft

The Toronto Police want to remind everyone to be very vigilant when carrying a purse or wallet containing important identification or debit and credit cards. Recently in 33 Division there have been a number of occurrences in and around shopping malls where wallets have been taken. In these cases Seniors were the target. When the victims returned home to contact the financial institutes to have their cards cancelled, they discovered that in that short amount of time the perpetrators had already made transactions over $1000.00.
The important thing to remember is to keep your credit or debit cards separate from your other identification. Carry only what you need for that day. Make sure wallets and purses are secure at all times, checkin g them frequently especially if the mall or area you're in is crowded. Watch out for "Shoulder Surfers" as you're keying in your pin number at a bank machine. Go into the bank to make the transaction if possible. Always remember if you have been the victim of a theft to report the matter to the Police immediately and cancel all debit and bank cards as soon as you discover anything missing.
Police Constable K. Downie #5535
33 Division Crime Prevention Officer.

Community Alert - Missing Woman

The Toronto Police Service is seeking the public's assistance locating a missing woman.Eva Myers, 52 was last seen on Sunday March 18th, 2007 at 1:45 am, in the Don Mills Road/Graydon Hall area.She is described as white, 5'6, 120 lbs, with brown eyes and short, straight grey hair.áShe was wearing blue nylon pants with a white stripe, dark boots, a dark three quarterálength hooded jacket andáa purple sweater.She is possibly suicidal and requires medication which she does not have with her.Anyone with information is askedáto contact police at 416-808-3300 oráCrime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or online at www.222tips.com. á

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Toronto Star Article - March 15, 2007

There have been many misleading numbers about road repairs circulating recently, the below article from the Toronto Star (March 15, 2007) is the most accurate piece of journalism I've seen yet.

Drivers get a few breaks

The city will spend $132 million on road repairs, but with a $300 million backlog, some won't get fixed, writes Jack Lakey

Mar 15, 2007 04:30 AM

Toronto's roads need a lot of fixing that won't happen any time soon, but repairs scheduled for the 2007 construction season should bring some comfort to drivers looking for smooth streets.
Following city council's approval last week of the $1.432 billion capital budget for 2007, some news reports said only $5 million was earmarked for road repairs, just half of the $10 million spent in 2006.
With the city already $300 million behind on its state-of-good-repair program for roads, and their overall condition noticeably worse than even a half-dozen years ago, it seemed stupid to almost totally neglect such a vital asset.
It was an alarming number for The Fixer; we figured it would cost that much to repair the road problems highlighted in our stories alone.
So we went looking for more information and found out the $5 million figure badly understates the 2007 repair agenda for major thoroughfares, bridges and secondary streets.
Toronto will spend a total of $132 million on road rehabilitation this year, including money in the 2007 operating budget, which has yet to be approved, says John Mende, the city's director of transportation infrastructure management.
"We had some concerns about that ($5 million) number," primarily that taxpayers would think the city had all but abandoned road repairs, said Mende.
The $5 million is the amount the city will spend in 2007 to address a backlog of repairs to the Gardiner Expressway, said Mende, with the biggest portion to pay for safety improvements to the median, west of Jameson Ave.
It's part of a five-year, $25 million plan to make long-needed repairs to the Gardiner.
We get a lot of complaints about deteriorating local roads, mainly residential streets that people drive on every day.
It annoys taxpayers when the city spends $2.9 million to make improvements to the mayor's office and meeting rooms at city hall, while the street in front of their home is slowly crumbling.
But Mende says about $45 million – more than one-third of the 2007 road repair total – will be spent on two-lane streets, with hundreds of small jobs in residential areas to be tendered to private contractors this spring.
The remaining $87 million will be spent on projects involving major streets, such as Bathurst or Dundas, as well as bridges and expressways, including a lot more work on the Don Valley Parkway, he said.
The biggest of the jobs is the rehabilitation of Dundas, between Broadview and Roncesvalles Aves.
Over the next two years, the TTC will replace all the streetcar tracks between Broadview and Roncesvalles, with lengths of new rail already dropped along stretches of Dundas, west of Broadview, in preparation for the work.
The price tag totals $25 million, said Mende, with the $15 million needed for the track repairs to come out of the TTC's budget. Mende said that the city decided to repave Dundas at the same time, to minimize the inconvenience to drivers.
Another big job is the total reconstruction of Bathurst St., between Eglinton and Lawrence Aves.
While resurfacing involves stripping away old pavement and laying down new asphalt, reconstruction is much more extensive and three times as costly, Mende explained.
In the life cycle of a road, which can sometimes last more than 20 years before rehabilitation is needed, there is a window of opportunity – usually no more than a few years – when the deterioration can be repaired with a new layer of asphalt, he said.
If that window of opportunity is missed – as has often been the case in Toronto over the past decade due to declining budgets – the deterioration usually advances to the point where the street must be completely torn up, right down to the aggregates and concrete that make up the road bed, said Mende.
That's the situation on Bathurst, where the repair work is likely to cause major headaches for drivers during rush hours but should be completed before the end of the year, he said.
It also explains why the $300 million backlog in repairs is expected to grow to nearly $500 million by 2011. Once a road requires reconstruction, Mende says city staff must make a judgment call on how long the much pricier work can be delayed, then prioritize the job, taking into account the condition of other streets also slated for reconstruction.
Oher major projects scheduled for this year include reconstruction of McNicoll Ave. (a frequent source of complaints to The Fixer), between Ellesmere Rd. and Sheppard Ave., resurfacing of Davenport Rd, between Lansdowne Ave. and Old Weston Rd., and resurfacing of Martin Grove Rd., between Albion Rd. and Steeles Ave.

What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To email us, go to www.thestar.com/thefixer and click on the submit a problem link. Or call us at 416-869-4823

Friday, March 02, 2007

City to Collect Tree Branches on March 5, 2007

March 2, 2007

City to provide special collection of tree limbs and branches on Monday, March 5 The Citys Solid Waste Management Services collection crews will provide special pick up of tree branches that were blown down as a result of the winter storm that hit the city in the past two days.This special pick up will be on Monday, March 5. The Citys regular yard waste collection begins the week of April 10.Here are some conditions that residents need to follow for the pick up to take place:all materials must be brought to the curbmaterials should be cut into three to four foot lengths (shorter for thicker branches)please bundle materials where possible do not include general yard waste or leaves.This special city-wide collection of materials will focus on heavily treed areas. If warranted, an additional collection date for materials will be considered for the following week. In areas where the long horned beetle is in existence, materials will be segregated from items collected in other areas.While the City of Torontos Solid Waste Division is working at full capacity today in terms of regular collections and transfer station operations, some delays can be expected as a result of the weather.There may be delays affecting regular collection scheduled for today due to downed power lines or tree limbs. Residents should leave their items out as they may be collected either later this evening or tomorrow.