TUNNEL • Politicians square off on tunnel plan [ Toronto Star ] • Ottawa set to approve Toronto island tunnel cash [ National Post ] • Airport seeks funds for tunnel [ Toronto Sun ] • Tunnel to the airport worth considering, McGuity says [ Globe & Mail ] • Tunnelling to the airport [ Toronto Star ] • David Miller bashes port authority's airport tunnel proposal [ National Post ] • Airport tunnel digging for cash [ Toronto Sun ] TTC • Giambrone's ward a TTC test bed [ Toronto Star ] • Relief on way for TTC's cramped Union ...

Each Monday, we bring you some of the popular posts from our sister blog, Spacing Montreal. We'll keep an eye open for topics and discussions that are pertinent to current public space issues in Toronto. • Andrew Emond explores Montreal's mid-nineteenth century sewers and discovers life in the brick, egg-shaped collectors. • Tree Tuesday comes to us in english this week, focusing on the audacious walnuts growing in Mile End Meadow. • The old 'garden city style' Town of Mont Royal has managed to retain its charm through ...

TRANSPORTATION • Island airport tunnel by 2011? [ Toronto Star ] • Ads on bus shelters foil motorists [ Toronto Star ] • Time for transit relief [ Toronto Star ] • GO expansion reckless, irresponsible [ Metro ] OTHER NEWS • Six years later, 311 service almost ready [ Toronto Star ] • Outside kitties a catastrophe for birds [ Toronto Star ] • iSolution for civic problems [ Toronto Star ] • Waste diversion needs 21st-century tune-up not complete overhaul [ Toronto Star ] • Why the 'Dalton Sales Tax' is good for Toronto [ Globe & Mail ] • ...

WHAT: The Toronto Trilogy - Part III: Toronto Tomorrow WHEN: August 24, 2009 at 6:30 - 9:00 PM WHERE: Trading Floor of the Design Exchange HOW MUCH: Pay what you can (suggested donation $10) WEBSITE: architectureforhumanity.ca A panel discussion with David Ballantyne (CFO, Build Toronto), John Campbell (CEO, WATERFRONToronto), Nora Loreto (Student Leader, Ryerson University) and moderated by City Councillor Adam Vaughan on planning, designing and building the future of Toronto will take place on August 24th in the Design Exchange. The Discussion will explore the challenges facing Toronto in the coming decades and the key decisions the ...

STORM • Twisters carve huge swath [ Toronto Star ] • Tornadoes touch down in Ontario [ Globe & Mail ] • Massive cleanup begins in storms wake [ Globe & Mail ] • Vaughan declares state of emergency — as many as 120 homes damaged [ National Post ] • Storm leaves behind devastation [ National Post ] • Toronto tweets the storm [ National Post ] • Residents without power [ Metro ] STREETS • Roncesvalles gets a remake [ Toronto Star ] • Goodbye borscht, hello baguettes [ Toronto Star ] • Jarvis St. re-opened [ Toronto Sun ...

Marlborough to Summerhill - SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 @ 1:30 PM The diverse Marlborough - Summerhill area, which includes everything from grand estates to a city reservoir, has been largely shaped by the 1884 Canadian Pacific Railway line. This busy freight line, along with the beautifully restored North Toronto Station, continues to dominate the area. Leader: Derek Boles, Ed Freeman Start Point: Parkette on southeast corner of Avenue Rd and MacPherson Ave Finish Point: Summerhill Subway Station, Yonge St and Shaftesbury Ave Length: 2 hours Walk Difficulty: stairs, slopes and rough ground Focus: ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JJ7vv3QCfs[/youtube] On my way home after work last Saturday night, I walked by the corner of Brunswick and Bloor where a three-man rock combo was playing out of a U-Haul parked in front of By The Way Cafe. Named the Dildoniks, they'd outfitted their U-Haul with flood lights, a drum kit and amps running through their rented truck's battery with a banner on both sides announcing their band's name. They drew a pretty substantial crowd, with the audience spilling off the sidewalk and onto the road (without, however, blocking traffic on either Brunswick or Bloor). A relatively new band, Dildoniks member Kire Paputts told me in an email that part of what led them to do the half-hour show in a U-Haul was that it would be entirely "on our terms," as Kire put it. Now obviously the idea of an impromptu concert amplified from inside a rented truck at eleven on a Saturday night provokes a lot of questions. Add this to the fact that they played at the Brunswick/Bloor intersection, the case in point of recent debates both locally and in the press on how the neighbourhood is changing. With the closing of Dooney's Cafe and Mel's Montreal Delicatessen, and the two freak shootings that have taken place in the last two summers, many have been quick to conclude that the Annex is in a steep decline, where beligerant and occasionally violent partiers are setting the terms rather than long-time residents and middle-aged community members. There's no denying that with Mel's and Dooney's Cafe gone, the old character of the Annex has suffered a significant blow. Yet rather than seeing their departure as the canary in the coalmine, much still remains of the old Annex, but more importantly, much has changed and will continue to change as the neighbourhood evolves with the times and the people who inhabit its spaces. Take the bookstores, for example. On Bloor St. between Spadina and Bathurst plus one block south on either side, there are a total of eight book stores currently open (not to mention the man often seen selling used books on the sidewalk at Madison or Brunswick), making the Annex still the most concentrated hub of independent booksellers in the city. Book City and the BMV are flanked by three used book stores who've been open since who knows when; Ten Editions Bookstore on Spadina, Seekers Books at Borden St., and Willow Books over at Bathurst. As more alternative literature goes, there's A Different Booklist also on Bathurst, plus the Labyrinth Comic Book store across from the BMV. With at least five more on nearby Harbord St, for booklovers, the Annex is alive and well. The Annex Billiards Club, Sonic Boom and Lee's Palace also remain as active as ever. Meanwhile, despite declining attendance, the Bloor Cinema still puts on a wide variety of films, for better or for worse. As food goes, George's BBQ and Country Style still remain to represent the old guard, while tasty new places like One Love Vegetarian on Bathurst and Burrito Banditos on Walmer definitely inject some well-needed  diversity into the neighbourhood's sushi-saturated array of restuarants.

• Fixing plastic water lines could cost $100 million [ Toronto Star ] • High Park garbage bin overflowing for months [ Toronto Star ] • Health risks feared in GO plans [ Toronto Star ] • Wasps invade city [ Toronto Star ] • Artists get local exposure they can bank on [ Toronto Star ] • Toronto economy in deep slump, city report shows: 'Really scary' [ National Post ] • Toronto Timeline: That broken glass is as painful as it looks [ National Post ] • Poor people need bailouts too [ Eye Weekly ]

Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We'll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues in Toronto. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • Vancouver's new rapid transit train The Canada Line officially opened last Monday, drawing both praise and criticism.  Operating from downtown Vancouver and the airport, the ...

BUILT ENVIRONMENT • Developer sells failed 1 Bloor condo-hotel property [ Toronto Star ] • One Bloor condo project sold to mystery buyer [ Globe & Mail ] • For waterfront denizens, downtown is suddenly much closer [ National Post ] • Work on One Bloor to continue after loan deal [ National Post ] • One Bloor building gets one more chance [ Toronto Sun ] POLITICS • St. Paul's vote a national battlefront [ Toronto Star ] • Lot riding on St. Paul's [ Toronto Sun ] • Airport limos can ply trade in city [ Toronto Star ] • ...