January 16, 2007 - Thornlea

School Council and community members voiced general opposition to plans for
widening Bayview, including adding HOV lanes. Concerns were raised around such
items as a) safety of pedestrians & students; b) increased noise levels ; c)
environmental damage; d) pollution; e) further congestion from 407 traffic; and f) lack
of public transportation alternatives to serve an area that needs better public
transportation both within the local area and also into areas south of Steeles Avenue.
In addition, many agreed that the addition of HOV lanes would encourage speeding
and draw more traffic to the area. HOV lanes are also seen as incompatible with a
primarily residential area - HOV & widening more appropriately belongs on
commercial arteries. It is clear that there is a transit gap and that funds could be
better spent not on studies, but rather in the construction of subways, LRT and
funding for additional bus service to move commuters and that adding more lanes to
Bayview is a disincentive to use mass transit. From a student perspective, subway
or LRT service would be welcome, the widening of Bayview is not the answer as it is
already unsafe to cross. A point was raised that overhead pedestrian bridges would
not be acceptable to the community as it would not ease residential concerns and
would also be an eyesore and attract graffiti.
Additional concerns were raised in respect to the apparent piecemeal application of
the “improvements” as it appears that various EA’s that are currently in progress are
done in isolation of each other and fail to look at the overall picture. Even the
decision to stop construction at John Street (if the EA is approved) does not take into
consideration how the burgeoning traffic will affect the stretch south of John to
Steeles.
Mr. Chui and Mr. Colarruso suggested that the current study comes from the TMP
that was established several years ago. At the time there was little public input and
the plan seemed good at the time. We are encouraged to provide input not just in
terms of the Bayview widening issue, but also in terms of the overall TMP. More
public planning meetings are planned under the TMP to look at the issues as they
now stand. (Please see last page of minutes for more contact information and other
information relating to the Transportation Master Plan).
5. Staff Report – Debra Hanff: Teachers are busy as first semester winds up. Exams
are scheduled for the end of the month. The school newsletter is coming out soon –
please watch for it on the website. Debra and Janice held a workshop for teachers to
train them on how to create and maintain web pages for their departments. It was
lots of fun and the teachers were enthusiastic students. We are anticipating another
workshop in the late spring. Knowledge Ontario is a government initiative that we
can access through our school website. Knowledge Ontario (formerly the Ontario
Digital Library) is a province-wide collaboration of libraries (public, school, college
and university), archives, museums, heritage organizations, educational institutions,
and community groups to create an integrated, and interactive digital environment
about, and for, Ontarians. The access link can be found under the Library section of
the site. Look for “Knowledge Ontario – Thomson Gale Databases” and follow the
prompts to access free 24/7 e-collections and databases.
6. Student Success Update – David Selby: David opened with a quick update on the
progress of the Resource Guide developed for parents, students, teachers and
administrators that has been prepared by the Drug Education Sub-Committee of the
YRDSB Safe and Supportive Schools Committee. The Guide is currently being
reviewed by the media relations department of the Board and David is expecting that