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fri jan 25, 2013
Don’t use Downsview Park as ‘cash cow’
Community pleads with feds to nix development plan LISA QUEEN lqueen@insidetoronto.com
Staff photo/Irvin Mintz
MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina), left, the Downsview Lands Community Voice Association’s Albert Krivickas, Toronto Councillor Maria Augimeri and the North York Cycling and Pedestrian Committee’s Michael Black address a media conference held Wednesday at the Rameses Shrine Temple regarding the sale of land at Downsview Park.
Community advocates and politicians are pleading with the federal government to abandon any plans to sell off more of Downsview Park to developers. “Downsview Park is created for the people of Toronto,” TrinitySpadina MP Olivia Chow said at a press conference Wednesday at the Rameses Shrine Temple on Keele Street, south of Sheppard Avenue. “Downsview Park is not created as a cash cow.” Chow stood alongside York Centre Councillor Maria Augimeri, Downsview Lands Community Voice Association Inc. (DLCVA) vice-president Albert Krivickas and Cycle Toronto member Michael Black. They all begged Ottawa to save the 50 per cent of the park not now slated for development as a legacy for present and future residents. Augimeri accused the government of treating Downsview Park like a “second-class citizen” compared to Scarborough’s Rouge Park, which is receiving $143.7 million in federal funding over 10 years and an annual budget of $7.6 million after that. The Downsview community has become more worried about addi>>>concern, page 10
Metrolinx to share public opinion on plan to extend Crosstown tunnel At the end of January, Metrolinx will hold a follow-up meeting regarding its plans to alter the eastern tunnel alignment of the EglintonScarborough Crosstown light rail
transit line. The meeting takes place in the TELUS Conference Centre, inside the Ontario Science Centre, on Thursday, Jan. 31 starting at 7 p.m. At
the meeting, Metrolinx is expected to share public feedback from its plan to extend the Crosstown’s eastern tunnel to east of Don Mills Station.
At a public meeting on the matter on Dec. 11, the plan was met with opposition from members of the community, concerned the new alignment would remove two
planned surface stops at Leslie Street and Ferrand Drive from the Crosstown’s station map. In response, Metrolinx extended >>>next, page 10
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