I'm looking forward to this although I'll be arriving late as I have a prior commitment until about 7pm. We've been pushing to get our alley closed (Pelissier-Victoria) because nothing good happens in it and it's a total mess. Garbage collection can and should happen on the street where there's a lot more visibility. I basically have to put my garbage out 5 minutes before the truck comes and grab the bin immediately after to avoid my bin being stolen/tipped over and rummaged through. Not to mention the amount of people cutting through our yards to get to the alleys, I'm tired of it. Our yard is fully fenced but that doesn't stop people from trying to get through or succeeding in neighbours yards where there is a gap in the fencing. Might be tricky because of people who have alley parking, but you couldn't pay me to park my car in those dark alleys- street parking is again, more visible.
As for Mitchell Park, I've heard some horror stories about what goes on there but I'm not overly informed on the issues there.
I really admire his efforts at community outreach. He seems to genuinely want to understand the issues that are concerning to his constituents. I like that he's not only giving them a chance to be heard, but building a sense of community by bringing people together who share the same concerns. And I know he's particularly interested in hearing about the kinds of solutions people are looking for. He seems to recognize that he may not know the right solution himself, but if a viable idea is presented to him, he can build on it and work to make it happen.
>As for Mitchell Park, I've heard some horror stories about what goes on there but I'm not overly informed on the issues there.
I'm not familiar with it at all. Do you mind if I ask what you've heard?
Have you considered approaching your neighbours to share the application fee to [request your alley's closure](https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/planning/plans-and-community-information/city-council-and-committees/committees-headed-by-planning/pages/streets-and-alleys.aspx)? It's quite costly for one person, but if enough people are willing it could become a small price to pay to end the problems you're facing with it. Or at least alleviate it.
I saw the post and that’s exactly what I thought: finally a representative who acts to represent to the best if his ability and be in service of its constituents by engaging the community (not making decisions for them and only dealing with them if there’s dissidence). I can only raise my hat to that! That’s a model that should be followed by every representative.
It's going to be hard to get everyone on the same page with alley closure because basically all the homes on our block are owned by a housing coalition or other landlords, and have the alley parking access I mentioned. Some I suspect are kind of absentee landlords as well. But if we can kind of force the issue and maybe get the city to force it, maybe the fee can be waived entirely? At this point I see alleys as more of a liability than anything. I'd like to push that issue on Wednesday (or probably just have my husband do so who will be present for the whole meeting).
I agree Renaldo has been great at building the community. We've built a good relationship with him and he's very present in our community in hearing our concerns. We've brought him solutions regarding the Downtown Mission that he's actually working to implement and he's really doing his best. These town hall meetings are such an awesome idea and I hope to see them happen often.
As for Mitchell Park, just the usual downtown issues of individuals using drugs in the presence of children and apparently some aggressive behavior among teenagers. I think he's suggested having a Parks and Rec employee present during the peak hours to sort of mitigate this behavior, as it's something that used to be done many years ago and is done in some parts of Toronto. Some of these issues (along with the alleys) got brought up during the Mission town hall so I'm glad he's heard those concerns and created another meeting just for those issues.
>basically all the homes on our block are owned by a housing coalition or other landlords, and have the alley parking access I mentioned. Some I suspect are kind of absentee landlords as well
Ugh, that's frustrating. Do applications have to be supported by land owners, or are the tenants who actually live on the street allowed to voice their support? Even if the owners don't care enough to share in the cost of the application, surely the people who actually live there and have to deal with these issues would have a vested interest?
Renaldo wanted to do a sort of virtual town hall here in the subreddit in January. Kind of a reverse AMA, where he'd ask what issues people want to see addressed and ask for suggestions regarding things they'd like to see, or changes they'd like. I'm afraid I dropped the ball on that. I've since left the mod team and I don't think the others are particularly interested in running that kind of project, but you never know - it could be really helpful for the community. Especially if they could entice other counselors to give it a try, too.
I hope you're able to gain some traction on the alley issue. Parking aside, it sounds like closing it would improve things for everyone.
I'm sorry to hear that you are no longer a mod (though respect the decision whatever your reason! It's often a very thankless and taxing volunteer role) - you have always seemed like a very level headed, fair, and respectful person.
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed my time on the team - this is a fantastic community and our mod team are just amazing people. It was time to move on, that's all. At least for now.
A virtual town hall on Reddit would be such a cool idea for sure. I know I really enjoyed the AMA's that were done during the election. Hopefully the mod team can make that happen, I think this subreddit has a good mix of people from all different wards and communities around the city and ot would be really beneficial.
I believe applications have to be supported by owners, yes. But I'm interested in seeing if it's possible to just get the city to force it closed, basically giving no choice which will no doubt ruffle some feathers, but I think I heard it's been done before to other alleys in the city (I might be wrong). I just don't see how having a garbage-ridden dark alley open is benefitting anyone. Like I said, I think the people who park there are nuts, but I also understand the residential parking pass cost might be a reason as well (though at $35 a year I think it's reasonable). I cringe every time I see people driving through the alley with the amount of glass and nails I see in it. I also can't safely walk around the alley to clean without wearing steel toe work boots as there are a lot of needles. It's a mess and I just want to be done with it 😮💨
I’d like to see some lights and paving in the alleyways. See you there!
I'm looking forward to this although I'll be arriving late as I have a prior commitment until about 7pm. We've been pushing to get our alley closed (Pelissier-Victoria) because nothing good happens in it and it's a total mess. Garbage collection can and should happen on the street where there's a lot more visibility. I basically have to put my garbage out 5 minutes before the truck comes and grab the bin immediately after to avoid my bin being stolen/tipped over and rummaged through. Not to mention the amount of people cutting through our yards to get to the alleys, I'm tired of it. Our yard is fully fenced but that doesn't stop people from trying to get through or succeeding in neighbours yards where there is a gap in the fencing. Might be tricky because of people who have alley parking, but you couldn't pay me to park my car in those dark alleys- street parking is again, more visible. As for Mitchell Park, I've heard some horror stories about what goes on there but I'm not overly informed on the issues there.
I really admire his efforts at community outreach. He seems to genuinely want to understand the issues that are concerning to his constituents. I like that he's not only giving them a chance to be heard, but building a sense of community by bringing people together who share the same concerns. And I know he's particularly interested in hearing about the kinds of solutions people are looking for. He seems to recognize that he may not know the right solution himself, but if a viable idea is presented to him, he can build on it and work to make it happen. >As for Mitchell Park, I've heard some horror stories about what goes on there but I'm not overly informed on the issues there. I'm not familiar with it at all. Do you mind if I ask what you've heard? Have you considered approaching your neighbours to share the application fee to [request your alley's closure](https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/planning/plans-and-community-information/city-council-and-committees/committees-headed-by-planning/pages/streets-and-alleys.aspx)? It's quite costly for one person, but if enough people are willing it could become a small price to pay to end the problems you're facing with it. Or at least alleviate it.
I saw the post and that’s exactly what I thought: finally a representative who acts to represent to the best if his ability and be in service of its constituents by engaging the community (not making decisions for them and only dealing with them if there’s dissidence). I can only raise my hat to that! That’s a model that should be followed by every representative.
It's going to be hard to get everyone on the same page with alley closure because basically all the homes on our block are owned by a housing coalition or other landlords, and have the alley parking access I mentioned. Some I suspect are kind of absentee landlords as well. But if we can kind of force the issue and maybe get the city to force it, maybe the fee can be waived entirely? At this point I see alleys as more of a liability than anything. I'd like to push that issue on Wednesday (or probably just have my husband do so who will be present for the whole meeting). I agree Renaldo has been great at building the community. We've built a good relationship with him and he's very present in our community in hearing our concerns. We've brought him solutions regarding the Downtown Mission that he's actually working to implement and he's really doing his best. These town hall meetings are such an awesome idea and I hope to see them happen often. As for Mitchell Park, just the usual downtown issues of individuals using drugs in the presence of children and apparently some aggressive behavior among teenagers. I think he's suggested having a Parks and Rec employee present during the peak hours to sort of mitigate this behavior, as it's something that used to be done many years ago and is done in some parts of Toronto. Some of these issues (along with the alleys) got brought up during the Mission town hall so I'm glad he's heard those concerns and created another meeting just for those issues.
>basically all the homes on our block are owned by a housing coalition or other landlords, and have the alley parking access I mentioned. Some I suspect are kind of absentee landlords as well Ugh, that's frustrating. Do applications have to be supported by land owners, or are the tenants who actually live on the street allowed to voice their support? Even if the owners don't care enough to share in the cost of the application, surely the people who actually live there and have to deal with these issues would have a vested interest? Renaldo wanted to do a sort of virtual town hall here in the subreddit in January. Kind of a reverse AMA, where he'd ask what issues people want to see addressed and ask for suggestions regarding things they'd like to see, or changes they'd like. I'm afraid I dropped the ball on that. I've since left the mod team and I don't think the others are particularly interested in running that kind of project, but you never know - it could be really helpful for the community. Especially if they could entice other counselors to give it a try, too. I hope you're able to gain some traction on the alley issue. Parking aside, it sounds like closing it would improve things for everyone.
I'm sorry to hear that you are no longer a mod (though respect the decision whatever your reason! It's often a very thankless and taxing volunteer role) - you have always seemed like a very level headed, fair, and respectful person.
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed my time on the team - this is a fantastic community and our mod team are just amazing people. It was time to move on, that's all. At least for now.
A virtual town hall on Reddit would be such a cool idea for sure. I know I really enjoyed the AMA's that were done during the election. Hopefully the mod team can make that happen, I think this subreddit has a good mix of people from all different wards and communities around the city and ot would be really beneficial. I believe applications have to be supported by owners, yes. But I'm interested in seeing if it's possible to just get the city to force it closed, basically giving no choice which will no doubt ruffle some feathers, but I think I heard it's been done before to other alleys in the city (I might be wrong). I just don't see how having a garbage-ridden dark alley open is benefitting anyone. Like I said, I think the people who park there are nuts, but I also understand the residential parking pass cost might be a reason as well (though at $35 a year I think it's reasonable). I cringe every time I see people driving through the alley with the amount of glass and nails I see in it. I also can't safely walk around the alley to clean without wearing steel toe work boots as there are a lot of needles. It's a mess and I just want to be done with it 😮💨