Tax Levy on Excess Paved Surfaces in Mississauga?

As I sit and write this blog I am sitting on the second floor of my parent's house overlooking a bland and sanitized typical suburban community in Toronto. Its nice, its quiet, its a nice balance of built form and lollipop trees. But what looms just a across the street is an extension of an existing double-car driveway into a monstrosity. With these neo-traditional suburbs that were once the flavour of the month to what is the norm today, front yards are shallower than the typical suburbs built back in the 1980s and 1990s. Any increase in paving to add that extra parking space can really alter the look of the property. Over time, as everyone decides to pave what little paradise is left on their abode, it becomes a great deal of concern. It not only has to do with how the neighborhood presents itself, but its also an issue come stormwater management.

Typically, the saving grace of low-density residential suburban landscapes is the abundant landscaping surrounding each dwelling, which aids in stormwater management. Lawns typically are able to absorb as much water you give to it, even in times of heavy rain (exception was the July 8, 2013 when 126 mm fell). As a result, there is less load on the city's stormwater sewer servicing than say, a typical location in downtown Toronto where most of the land is paved. 

With the change in lifestyle and family sizes in locations such as Brampton, Mississauga, and York Region, residents often pave a portion, or even in its entirety, their front yards, for a driveway. In some instances, the entire front yard of a 41 foot lot would be paved. This can pose significant issues surrounding the increase in stormwater load, where cumulatively, it could affect the water treatment system downstream.

The City of Mississauga is doing something about it, which in my mind is a great idea. Firstly, it makes residents think twice about paving paradise to put up a parking lot. The fact that there are environmental issues such as increased heat island effect and a loss of landscaping is something residents are unaware (or don't care) about, and this educates residents that stormwater has to go somewhere, and often its down the storm drain. Secondly, there are financial repercussions by taxpayers who sees their city stormwater management unable to handle increase in stormwater loads, and it is the taxpayers who has to foot the bill. That is unfair, because I inherently must pay for their selfish acts for their own private interests. Subdivisions have been built with in a way that designs for forecasted stormwater load based on their proposed paved surfaces. They are unable to foresee future increases in paving of private lots.

It will interesting to see how this levy is charged and at what percentage. Do smaller lots get charged greater because their lot coverage is less? Will larger estate lots get a discount? Because Mississauga is practically built up, this new levy should not result in excessively large lots being created to reduce the lot coverage, or would occur at a minimal rate. We shall see if this comes to fruition, and in terms of an election platform, any measure to reduce the tax burden on those unaffected would be great. Even if this does not stop driveway additions, the city will hopefully be prepared to handle future flooding.

City of Mississauga Stormwater Financing Study

Experiences of Regional Transit to Work

I have to confess that I am a long distance commuter. Have been since my first full time job eons ago. I am not proud of it. For someone who doesn't practice what he preaches, as an urban planner I contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. I take up valuable space on a busy highway, and emit enough suspended particulates to an ever polluted, soupy, and smoggy summer day. Not many of my friends understand the impacts long distance have on my energy levels as the work day wears on, nor do they understand that to drive into Toronto from Hamilton can take as much time as traveling from Toronto to Winnipeg by plane.

So to change the way I commute (which in hopes will change my lifestyle) I decided to take the plunge and take transit. I know, any attempt to take a suburb-to-suburb journey by transit spells disaster. The thought of three-hour trips involving countless transfers from bus, to rail, to bus again, makes anyone discouraged. The only reason I even contemplated was by a dear  coworker who lives in the same city as I do, who recommended a new, more direct regional bus route directly to downtown Hamilton from the 407/Trafalgar carpool lot. I was not convinced at first, until this past week where commuting on the 403 was a disaster. No longer does leaving ten mins early compared to three years ago, come close to sufficing.

Since it was a friday and I was pretty flexible, I decided to take the bus. After racing on the 403 I made it to the carpool lot only to find I was early.  It was a cool and cloudy morning and a bunch of people were already waiting. I know remember why I hated taking transit. When you miss the bus, you have to wait for the next one. For someone who has to go to work by a certain time, it seemed more stressful than driving yourself to work. But once you realize you are early, a sense of relieve sets in.

As the bus waits for its passengers, I put my money in. Having a Presto card certainly makes things faster, and cheaper. For someone who have used the microchip technology as a form of payment in Hong Kong, this is nothing new. In fact, Torontonians are behind the times. There is enough seating that no one has to sit side by side. Its a great feeling to finally go to work and someone is driving for me.

I have to say that this is a new found freedom for me. The fact that I don't need to drive to work seems foreign to me. Because its been so long, I still get stressed when the bus is sitting in traffic, or if it comes to an abrupt stop. I frazzle when the bus is honking the horn. Its all psychological, and will take time to recover. 

Will I take the bus again? For sure. The fact that I can come home without stress or grumbling because there is an accident causing heavy backup, is refreshing.

Toronto Through the Lens of New Old Friends

Whoever makes friends online would either be anti-social or are just acquaintances where there is a high percentage you will never meet. Not me. I go out of my way to meet these same friends in person that I have known for years virtually, not knowing if they are who they are. Case in point is Jamie from London (UK not Canada). We have known each other from the Second Life days when the Fire Island community was still around. We met online as  happenstance, and became good friends online. As we all parted ways, there was an ever slimming chance that I would ever get the opportunity to meet these people, let alone hear their voices ever again.

And in comes Jamie, the ever quiet computer geek from the UK who loves trance, house, and any track greater than 80 bpm. I had the honour and opportunity to meet him and his good friend Will, on a quick yet epic journey around Toronto (actually mostly just downtown). Their journey started in Halifax where they toured some of Canada's oldest history such as the Citadel, and some of the coffee shops. Soon after that they took the overnight trip on VIA Rail to Montreal where they stayed for several days and toured the Bio-dome and Old Montreal. After a quick stint in "La Belle Province", they took the train to Toronto. 

Both arrived Wednesday evening and met both of them Thursday afternoon. Meeting someone that you know online for the first time is always an awkward moment. As I ran up the stairs to the grand foyer of the station, I looked around quickly only to see him in front of me. With the glare of the sun in the background, I saw his familiar face, and smiled. We both recognized each other, and I quickly walked over to him. After calling his name we both hugged tightly as if we were long lost friends. There is that split second where there is some hesitation but that is gone when the other person has the same feeling. Will, Jamie's travel partner and good friend, was just as personable and delightful. 

This trip was Jamie's second time in Toronto, and Will's first. What became an interesting observation is that both, as tourists, love the city. They find the people so polite and well-behaved, the city skyline dynamic and unique from any European city, and the wilderness so close to the city core. Despite the tiring nature of the summer construction season, they were more intrigued and curious to know why the city has ripped up Queen's Quay to nothing more than an asphalt mess.

What I learned from them was that as a resident, you only see the day-to-day issues and problems that you face in the city you live in. However, tourists see what is more superficial and on the surface. They see the as it is, from the lens of a tourist. A passerby. They have a particular role to play because they are the ones who put everything under the microscope, from the city's vibrancy, to its cleanliness, to its "wow" factor, and to its stimulation of the five senses. They are the victim of the city's vices and the ability of the city to keep them safe. They are the marketing tools the city relies on, the ambassadors to tell their friends how awesome Toronto is back home. They breathe the same air and eat the same food as us for only a brief period of time. They are Torontonians for only a few days before they depart on their next adventure. 

As much as us Torontonians complain about anything but the kitchen sink, we are in fact fortunate to have such a mecca of kitschy tourist traps. Both Jamie and Will love the people  in this city, the vibrancy of downtown, the urban versus wilderness (Toronto Islands), the water versus land, the ethnic food versus North American food. Let's be reflective, recognize, and remember, that we have a truly world city that Londoners prefer to call home.