[BLOG] Fifteen Toronto links

• blogTO reports that Toronto has been testing Eglinton Crosstown trains, here.
• What TTC routes might be changed by the Eglinton Crosstown? A map illustrates, over at blogTO.
• The new tower proposed for 888 Dupont, at Ossington, will even include a vertical farm. blogTO reports.
• Venerable Agincourt Mall is going to be a new condo development. blogTO reports.
• Is co-ownership actually the only way most people in Toronto will end up owning a home? blogTO considers.
• Residential tenants in a Leslieville building who complained about their landlord may end up getting evicted from a building never zoned for residents. CBC reports.
• The City of Toronto has taken over the deserted shopping arcade at Queen Street West and John. CBC reports.
• Katrina Onstad at Toronto Life tells the story of Katharine Mulherin, the Queen Street West gallery owner who changed her neighbourhood but was broken by gentrification.
• The bar Tequila Bookworm is closing, displaced by rising rents. NOW Toronto reports.
• NOW Toronto interviews night mayor Michael Thompson, here.
• Steve Munro considers the TTC’s express bus services, here.
• Terra Lumina, the nighttime cultural event at the Toronto Zoo, looks fantastic in these photos over at Toronto Life.
• Oh, what the map of Toronto subways could have been if only we planned! blogTO shares one.
• Steve Munro examines the TTC’s plan for 2020-2024, here.
• The TTC may not act to decrease overcrowding on some routes. blogTO reports on why.

[URBAN NOTE] Six Toronto links

• The Pilot, in Yorkville, celebrates its 75th anniversary as a venue. Global News reports.
• Some immigrant businesspeople recently bought an old Toronto Hydro building in the north of the city as a shelter for immigrants. Global News reports.
• The backlash against the proposed condo tower at Yonge and Eglinton branded by Pharrell Williams has been swift. blogTO reports.
• Urban Toronto notes that a 13-story mixed-use building has been proposed for 888 Dupont Street, at the corner of Dupont and Ossington.
• A TV crew in North York last week cancelled its shoot in North York, near the site of last year’s ramming attack on Yonge Street. CTV News reports.
• A poster on r/Toronto noted last week the six-year anniversary of the admission of then-mayor Rob Ford that he smoked crack.

[PHOTO] 880 Ossington Avenue, from the east

[PHOTO] Sixteen photos wandering down Ossington from Dupont to Bloor

[PHOTO] Twelve photos from a walk down from Dupont to Queen

Friday afternoon, I took myself on a leisurely walk south, down Dovercourt Road and then–above Bloor–down Ossington Avenue to Queen Street. It was a fine summer walk, taking me through an ever-changing string of neighbourhoods that is still familiar, ending with the Antikka coffee shop on Queen. The final photo was taken to the west of this, at the Lumber Loop where Queen streetcar passengers need to transfer to get to Long Branch, the towers of Humber Bay Shores always visible just beyond.

[PHOTO] Ossington just north of Dupont, under perfect blue

[PHOTO] Dupont and Ossington as snow falls, 6 o’clock

[PHOTO] Five photos of Dovercourt Village at twilight

Wednesday evening at twilight, I took a stroll with intent through Dovercourt Village, east on Dupont and then south on Dovercourt Road. The quality of the light was superb.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: U Pass, #ossingtonbae, Hotel X, marijuana, TTC fraud

• A poster put up by a man who wanted to reconnect with another guy he saw at Ossington station has gone viral. This has the potential to be quite a cute story, I’d say. blogTO reports.
• The TTC has approved the creation of a new monthly pass program for post-secondary students, subject to approval at different universities and colleges in the city. The Toronto Star reports.
• Hotel X, at Exhibition Place, is now open for business. Good news that it’s finally open, but bad news that such an ugly tower still mars the area’s skyline. blogTO reports.
• NOW Toronto’s Samantha Edwards notes the strong possibility that marijuana smoking will be prohibited in condos come legalization. This makes sense: why wouldn’t marijuana smoking be treated like tobacco smoking?
• Toronto Life reports on a massive fraud case involving TTC workers submitting fraudulent claims for orthotics. As described, I can almost believe that some of the hundreds of workers who fired did not quite know that what they were doing was fraud.

[PHOTO] Thirteen photos of Ossington between Queen and Dundas

The Jane’s Walk tour of the Ossington strip north from Queen to Dundas took us past many sites, from street art to trendy bars to hip charchuteries to, even, intersections I once lived near, with the Portuguese and Vietnamese legacies of this neighbourhood still apparent at places.