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Toronto Star: Real costs of Scarborough subway, cancelled LRT to resurface at council
February 5, 2015
Toronto Star
Jennifer Pagliaro
Councillor Josh Matlow has raised questions over the numbers used to justify the Scarborough subway and the cost of cancelling an LRT alternative.
Questions over the real cost of the Scarborough subway and what the city owes for cancelling an LRT alternative will resurface at Mayor John Tory’s second city council meeting next week.
Sixteen months after councillors under former mayor Rob Ford voted to change direction and endorse a three-stop subway plan over the fully funded seven-stop light-rapid-transit line, staff will face questions about both the justification for the subway and the costs.
Councillor Josh Matlow, a staunch supporter of the LRT and one of 20 councillors who voted against the subway switch, has filed five administrative inquires to be heard next week.
Toronto Star: Councillors kept in the dark about millions owed for cancelled Scarborough LRT
January 23, 2015
Toronto Star
Jennifer Pagliaro
Councillors say they have been kept in the dark for more than a year about the costs of cancelling the Scarborough LRT, after the city has already budgeted for what could be $75 million owed to the province.
Councillor Josh Matlow, a vocal opponent of the Scarborough subway, said council was never briefed on the real cost of doing an about-face on light rail.
“I’ve been asking for a lot of information for a long time that was never forthcoming,” he said Friday. “I think the public should be very concerned about the dearth of accountability and transparency.”
Dandyhorse Magazine: City councillor pushing for slower speed limits on residential roads
January 5, 2015
Dandyhorse Magazine
Jenna Campbell
UPDATE: The report back on lower speed limits from transportation services will now be brought to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee in April. The City needs perform further analysis in light of some potential Provincial legislation.
The death of a seven-year-old girl who was struck by a van last July has been the catalyst for city Councillors to push forward new safety measures to make Toronto’s streets safer. It has also spurred the community-run Leaside “Kids at Play” signs movement, which has since spread across the city.
Councillor Josh Matlow, (Ward 22, St. Paul’s), is pushing for lowering the speed limit to 30 km/h on all residential roads across Toronto. Lower speed limits would save lives as Toronto’s “Road to Health” report on pedestrian safety recently noted: A pedestrian hit by a vehicle travelling at 50 km/h has an 85 per cent chance of dying, while a pedestrian struck by a vehicle at 30 km/h has a 5 per cent chance of dying.
City News: Tory takes aim at condo developers blocking traffic lanes
January 6th, 2015
City News
Cynthia Mulligan
A crackdown is coming for private condo developers who block a lane of traffic during construction, which contributes to massive gridlock on downtown streets.
Mayor John Tory, who has pledged to tackle the city’s congestion, says developers have taken advantage of the privilege for too long.
“They may not need to close these lanes at all,” he said. “They’ve been allowed to do so in the City of Toronto so of course they’ve taken advantage of that.”
Currently there are more than 1,000 construction projects across the city that are blocking live lanes of traffic and sidewalks.
Tory isn’t the only one demanding a change to this practice.
Coun. Josh Matlow introduced a motion at city council last August, asking for developers to either pay significantly more to block the lanes or have them work within their own property lines.
Toronto Star: Tempest rages around former Davisville lawn bowling club
December 30, 2014
Toronto Star
Katrina Clarke
Genteel green space coveted by the city was sold off before the city made an offer, former leaders say, but Councillor Josh Matlow smells something “fishy.
The future of a 91-year-old Davisville lawn bowling club is at the centre of an eleventh-hour negotiation between the developer it was recently sold to and the City of Toronto, which is determined to buy it.
The Glebe Manor Lawn Bowling Club Ltd. closed in November 2013 after a long decline in membership. The shareholders voted to liquidate the club, located in an expensive part of the city with minimal green space, and give the money to the Hospital for Sick Children.
In May, the club’s liquidators sold the property to a developer who plans to build five townhouses on the site.
But Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow is not happy.
For over a year, Matlow has been trying to reach out to the club about transforming the property into a park, but, he claims, the club’s then board president, Phil Foubert, did not respond to his efforts.
City Centre Mirror: Midtown Toronto’s Hodgson Rink is Back Up and Running
December 12, 2014
City Centre Mirror
Justin Skinner
A year after being shut down due to an ammonia leak, midtown Toronto’s Hodgson ice rink is back up and running better than ever.
Even prior to the leak, which would have posed serious health and safety problems for families had the rink not been shut down, Hodgson was in dire need of repairs.
“It was 30-year-old infrastructure and it was failing,” said Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow, who worked to mobilize the community and broker a deal to get the rink up and running when the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) was talking about shutting it down completely.
“(Last year) the TDSB was giving the city a hard time about even renewing the lease there,” Matlow said.
Thanks to the community’s efforts, and with help from TDSB Trustee Shelley Laskin, the midtown rink was completely rebuilt, allowing local leagues and families to continue to enjoy the facility. Two ice pads will allow for permitted league games and shinny games or free skates to take place simultaneously.
