Latest news with #CityofToronto
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Toronto unveils ‘summer safety plan' aimed at tackling youth violence
The City of Toronto unveiled a plan Tuesday to bolster programming for young people in the wake of a rise in gun violence last year. Mayor Olivia Chow and Police Chief Myron Demkiw unveiled Toronto's 'Summer Safety Plan' at a news conference Tuesday. The plan was developed amid a rise in gun violence, much of it involving and impacting young people. Gun violence in Toronto was up 34 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, although there had been a decline in gun violence for the previous three years, according to the city. 'This increase has had a serious impact on young people between the ages of 12 and 29, who were involved in more than half of all firearm-related incidents— even though they make up less than a quarter of the city's population,' the city said in its safety plan. Much of the plan involves providing more programming spaces for youth around the city, particularly in the neighbourhoods that were disproportionately affected by the increase in violence. More details to come…
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
King-Church intersection closed to all traffic until mid August, city says
The intersection of King Street E. and Church Street will be closed to all traffic starting Monday until mid-August, the City of Toronto said. The closure is part of a joint project by the city and the TTC to replace aging streetcar tracks. City crews will also replace 142-year-old watermains in the area, according to the city's website. Construction at the intersection began in May, but this full closure is happening around a month earlier than originally planned due to "unexpected underground utility conflicts" on the south side of King Street, the city said. The city's project schedule has now been changed so that crews will complete watermain work and replace streetcar tracks at the same time. While no reopening date has been announced, the city said it expects to reopen the intersection by mid-August. Temporary sidewalk closures may be required, the city said. Pedestrian detours and signage will be in place. Access to businesses and properties will be maintained throughout the construction, the city said. Starting Monday, the 504C and 504D/304D King replacement buses will divert around the intersection, the TTC said in a news release Friday. Buses will divert via Jarvis Street, Front Street eastbound, Wellington Street westbound and Yonge Street, the transit agency said. Existing diversions for the 503/303 Kingston Road and the 504/304 King streetcars will continue. The 504 King streetcar will divert both ways via Shaw Street, and the 503 Kingston Road streetcar will continue to divert via Spadina Avenue and Queen Street W., running west on King Street to Dufferin Loop, the TTC said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Full closure of King-Church intersection beginning a month ahead of schedule on June 2
The intersection of King Street East and Church Street will be fully closed to all traffic starting on Monday, about four weeks earlier than initially expected. Last month, the City of Toronto and TTC began working to replace sections of the 142-year-old watermains and rebuild pipes and streetcar tracks at King and Church streets resulting in traffic being reduced to one lane in each direction. The city said that 'unexpected underground conflicts' on the south side of King necessitated changes to the construction approach, as part of the watermain that was originally planned to be replaced will now be 'relined to extend its service life.' To stay on schedule, the watermain work and advance streetcar track replacement will be done in tandem. As a result, the TTC will implement a number of diversions, notably the 504C and 504D/304D King routes, around the intersection due to the construction. As with the full closure, this routing change is also happening earlier than planned, with buses will diverting via Jarvis, Front, (eastbound), Wellington (westbound), and Yonge streets. Existing diversions to the 503/303 Kingston Rd and the 504/304 King streetcars will remain as they are. The 504 King streetcar, meanwhile, will divert both ways via Shaw Street and the 503 Kingston Road streetcar will continue to divert via Spadina and Queen, running west on King Street to the Dufferin Loop. This expedited work schedule will now mean that the intersection is expected to reopen by mid-August. The construction work, while is needed to bring this infrastructure to a state of good repair and is part of the City Council's approved 2025 Capital Works Program, was to originally ramp up in July and conclude in late August.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘We are ready to build:' Toronto mayor to meet with PM Mark Carney and request money for housing, public transit
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is in Ottawa today where she will meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney and make the case for federal investments in building housing and public transit in the city. The meeting is set to take place at 1 p.m. and marks the first time that Chow will sit down with Carney since he became Prime Minister in March. During the recent election campaign. Carney proposed a series of initiatives that he said would double the rate of housing construction to 500,000 units a year. But in an interview with CP24 on Thursday, Chow pointed out that much of that work will take time, especially with the federal government not expected to present a budget until the fall. She said that her pitch to Carney will be simple: why not fund help Toronto fund some existing programs designed to increase the pace of housing starts right now? 'He (Carney) has said that the federal government is back in the housing business which is great. we have been waiting for that for three decades and he is finally doing it but it will take a while to ramp up so what I am trying to say is in the meantime there is a whole lot of things we (the City of Toronto) can do to partner with you so that we can do the building of housing and giving rent supplements right now,' she said. 'We can help people right now. So I am presenting him with a plan on how to start now and not wait until the budget comes in the fall.' In March, the federal government announced that it would provide Toronto with $2.55 billion in low-cost financing to help deliver nearly 5,000 new rental homes, including a minimum of 1,075 affordable units. But Chow suggested that the city could incentivize the construction of even more units if the federal government were to provide additional funding to a pre-existing program, where development charges and other fees are waived so long as a developer commits to building a certain number of affordable units. 'He (Carney) also wants to build right? Remember he said 'build, build, build.' So we are ready to build,' Chow told CP24. Chow said that she will also press Carney for funding for a number of priority transit projects, including the Waterfront LRT. 'I just can't go and build housing if people are stuck in traffic. The waterfront is bad enough already. We are putting in 100,000 (more) people there. How are they going to move in and out of that area?' she said. Chow first travelled to Ottawa on Wednesday and has already participated in a number of meetings with federal government officials, including Minister of Housing Gregor Robertson.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘We are ready to build:' Toronto mayor to meet with PM Mark Carney and request money for housing, public transit
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is in Ottawa today where she will meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney and make the case for federal investments in building housing and public transit in the city. The meeting is set to take place at 1 p.m. and marks the first time that Chow will sit down with Carney since he became Prime Minister in March. During the recent election campaign. Carney proposed a series of initiatives that he said would double the rate of housing construction to 500,000 units a year. But in an interview with CP24 on Thursday, Chow pointed out that much of that work will take time, especially with the federal government not expected to present a budget until the fall. She said that her pitch to Carney will be simple: why not fund help Toronto fund some existing programs designed to increase the pace of housing starts right now? 'He (Carney) has said that the federal government is back in the housing business which is great. we have been waiting for that for three decades and he is finally doing it but it will take a while to ramp up so what I am trying to say is in the meantime there is a whole lot of things we (the City of Toronto) can do to partner with you so that we can do the building of housing and giving rent supplements right now,' she said. 'We can help people right now. So I am presenting him with a plan on how to start now and not wait until the budget comes in the fall.' In March, the federal government announced that it would provide Toronto with $2.55 billion in low-cost financing to help deliver nearly 5,000 new rental homes, including a minimum of 1,075 affordable units. But Chow suggested that the city could incentivize the construction of even more units if the federal government were to provide additional funding to a pre-existing program, where development charges and other fees are waived so long as a developer commits to building a certain number of affordable units. 'He (Carney) also wants to build right? Remember he said 'build, build, build.' So we are ready to build,' Chow told CP24. Chow said that she will also press Carney for funding for a number of priority transit projects, including the Waterfront LRT. 'I just can't go and build housing if people are stuck in traffic. The waterfront is bad enough already. We are putting in 100,000 (more) people there. How are they going to move in and out of that area?' she said. Chow first travelled to Ottawa on Wednesday and has already participated in a number of meetings with federal government officials, including Minister of Housing Gregor Robertson.
