Please support this petition to OPPOSE the Eastern Avenue site considered for a new TTC light rail car depot, in a residential neighbourhood, and two rail lines on Eastern Ave. It is in addition to the depot at Greenwood. Please write to Councillor Paula Fletcher at: [email protected] -And- the City for this project at: [email protected] The last public Open House is: Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009 Time: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Location: Fire & EMS Academy (Auditorium), 895 Eastern Avenue After prodding, the TTC was forced to consult the public and has given short notice and limited information. Details: Location - 22 acres of land on Eastern Ave (Pape to Leslie) where the proposed Smart Centre was to go and recently denied and construction of streetcar tracks in both directions on Eastern Ave. This location was originally 1 of 6 being considered and now narrowed down to 1 of 3 locations and the only one anywhere near a residential neighbourhood. The other locations are south of Lakeshore. As mentioned, the project would include construction of streetcar tracks in both directions along Eastern Ave (yes this is the same part of Eastern that is now down to one lane because of the bike lanes the City added last year and screeches to a halt during rush hour). Did the City really fight so hard against the Smart Centre (and before that, a new condo development) in order to preserve all that land for a new TTC streetcar depot, in addition to the one already in place out near Greenwood and Queen Yes, that\'s right, the city intends to keep the existing depot near Greenwood, in addition to adding this one.. Apparently after some prodding, the TTC agreed to have public consultations on the different proposed sites. These are taking place this week, with the last one set for tomorrow (Thursday) night. The TTC is hoping to bring this proposal to Council for a vote in early July, so there isn\'t much time to voice an opinion. There were originally 6 locations being considered (with only the location on Eastern being anywhere near a residential area) but apparently its only down to 3 now. In other words, there\\\\\\\'s now a 1 in 3 chance of the location around the corner from Heward being the \"winning\" location. Please take the time to either attend the consultation, or to email our local councillor Paula Fletcher and the TTC to make your opinion heard. We attended the session yesterday and I came away with the distinct impression that Eastern was the TTC\\\\\\\'s preferred locale (the other spots were all south of Lakeshore). Incidentally, they claim the new streetcars are quiter, etc. etc. compared to the current ones, but surprisingly failed to invite any engineers who could back up those statements with any real data. The TTC and the City need to hear our opinion on this, or they\'ll build this whereever they please. Anyway, here\'s the info on the proposal and the public consultations. They\'re asking people to write their comments and submit them in person at the consultation, or by fax or email. For further information, including a map of the sites being considered, please visit the project web page at http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/lrv/index.htm