DAILY UPDATES

Forest Hill Daily Updates: July–August 2020

Bike Share thumbnailRide a bike for free on Wednesday

Bike Share Toronto, which has stations all over midtown Toronto now, is letting woulds-be cyclists ride for free all day every Wednesday in September.

Check Streeter’s Things To Do for how to do it.

Secret Bench sculpture thumbnailBeloved ‘bench’ sculpture missing

Police say thieves came in the middle of the night to take “The Secret Bench of Knowledge” sculpture from its location in front of a home on Strathearn Boulevard. The sculpture by a renowned Canadian artist weighs 226 kilograms and was embedded in stone.

Police are working to recover “this treasured community piece,” they say in a press release. Get the story.

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midtown coronavirus mapFew recent COVID cases in this area

Forest Hill South and Humewood-Cedarvale are free of new cases of COVID-19. And other nearby neighbourhoods are the same or close behind, according to the city’s coronavirus map.

Most neighbourhoods in midtown Toronto as a whole are showing zero to three confirmed or probable new cases for August so far.

See the Streeter article to check how your neighbourhood is faring.

CNE logo thumbCNE starts today — at your home

Toronto’s traditional end-of-summer show and exhibition is back in 2020, though in anything but traditional form. The CNE continues online starting today until Sept. 7.

Without leaving home now, you can go to the Ex via the new CNE portal, where you can take in shows and performances, share food recipes, learn how to be a busker, take virtual rides, enjoy trips through history, and even enjoy a virtual air show.

More information in the Things To Do listing.

condo rental building
UNITS AVAILABLE

Condo rental listings up, though leases are down

Thanks to the pandemic, the formerly tight condo rental market has loosened up, with more apartments available and prices dropping, according to a new report. In the Forest Hill area (including Oakwood Village), listings are up somewhat, but rentals are almost half what they were a year ago.

It’s a different story to the north,  in the real estate district encompassing Forest Hill North, Bedford Park-Nortown and Lawrence Park, where  both listings and leases are down.

The good news for tenants though is that the average prices for condo apartments in both areas is pressed downward — at least slightly so far.

Get the full picture in Toronto.

Permit parking enforcement begins tonight

Permit parking enforcement on residential streets is resuming at midnight tonight. It had been paused due to COVID-19 but the period to purchase or renew permits began on July 2 and ran to Aug. 7.

In case you missed the window, temporary daily and weekly parking permits can be purchased online anytime.

The parking permit office remains closed but can be accessed by phone at 416-392-7873 or email at permit.parking@toronto.ca, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m..

STREET ARTIST AT WORK

Transformation of Bell boxes continues

In the 12th year of the Bell Box Mural project, those drab boxes are continuing to be turned into vibrant works of art across the St. Clair Avenue West area.

They hope to bring happiness to local residents during this sad time in Toronto, the artists say. And their musical tableaus and natural scenes — bugs! flowers! animals! — seem to be doing the trick.

More on this engaging project.

GOOD BOY, PHANTOM.

Suspects in Forest Hill break-in tracked down by police dog

The Phantom knows. Or in this case the police dog Phantom knew where the suspects in a break-in near Spadina and Kilbarry roads were hiding.

The K-9 officer was brought in last night after a residential alarm was tripped and security guards interrupted the break and enter in progress. The guards called police and in short order two suspects were caught, police say, thanks to Phantom’s nose.

See the whole story.

SEE DAILY UPDATES FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES:
Beaches-LeslievilleCentral TorontoDon ValleyLeasideNorth TorontoRiverdale-East York
museums thumbnail
SAFE TOURING

Tours launched for Toronto’s historical museums

Forest Hill’s Spadina House and Central Toronto’s Mackenzie House are among the 10 Toronto history museums you can tour — with all the public health precautions in place — in the city’s newly launched HistoricTO program.

Tickets go on sale starting tomorrow on a pay-what-you-can basis for the tours that run from July 30 to Sept. 4.

Find out all about it.

CREATING NOISE

NDPers back Toronto call to cut back construction noise

Toronto-St. Paul’s MPP Jill Andrew is among 12 opposition MPPs asking Premier Doug Ford to give Toronto back the power to limit construction noise. This comes after city council made a similar request, on a motion from Toronto-St. Paul’s councillor Josh Matlow, and after residents and residents’ associations have complained about noise keeping them awake.

In April the province issued orders allowing “essential” construction projects to generate noise earlier and later than the city had previously allowed. Get the whole story.

Arrest for child pornography

A 42-year-old man faces child pornography charges after police executed a search warrant near Christie Street and St. Clair Avenue West on Wednesday. It was part of an investigation into the possession of child sexual abuse material, police reported today.

The man has been charged with two counts each of possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography. He appeared in court on July 22.

Housing prices up in most central and midtown areas despite pandemic

The average price for a single-detached home in midtown and central Toronto for the first six months of 2020 is up over the same period of last year, according to a real estate report released yesterday.

The real estate districts including Forest Hill, Casa Loma, Mount Pleasant and Cabbagetown, for example, have all experienced price increases of 10 to more than 55 per cent over a year ago.

However, a few districts — like those including Rosedale, Moore Park and Bridle Path — have seen prices drop from a year ago.

See the full picture and details in Streeter news.

Free outdoor programs for kids start Monday

The city announced today it is launching its ParksPlayTO initiative for kids up to age 12 and the Summer in the 6ix program for young people age 13 to 24 on July 20.

No registration is required for these drop-in programs in spaces across the city. In the Forest Hill area, this includes Cedarvale Park, Hillcrest Park, Wells Hill Park, Oriole Park and other local locations.

See the story and get the details in Streeter news.

Lonsdale disrupted for conduit construction

The westbound lane of Lonsdale Road at Dunvegan Road is to be blocked starting today due to a conduit being constructed. The work is expected to take place daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until July 17.

Time to resume your parking permit

If you’re parking on the street, you should be aware the free period due to coronavirus has come to an end. Beginning today the city is restarting its permit parking program. The office remains closed but it can be accessed by phone at 416-392-7873 or by email Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You can also renew an existing permit holders using the online renewal system or by mail, though you should call first before mailing in an application.

The parking permit renewal window will be open until Aug. 3, and enforcement is expected to begin again starting Aug. 14 at midnight. More information on applying for a parking permit on the city website.