What we wish for in 2005 for North Toronto area

When it comes to deciding how to improve the community, residents’ recommendations are highly subjective and personal. Nonetheless, here is a sample of what people cherish, despise and hope for the area in 2005.

One thing North Toronto resident Jenn Leva-Ritter is grateful for is the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre located at 200 Eglinton Ave. West, just west off Yonge St.

“I used to go there quite a bit with (son) Mitchell when I was pregnant with (daughter) Alex,” says the mother of two. Her son is now 3 1/2 and her daughter is 2.

What she likes about the community centre is that it’s close to home and most of the programs are free or inexpensive.

“It cost something like three dollars for three months,” she says. The family also uses an outdoor skating rink, located behind the community centre, for free.

Leva-Ritter, a stay-at-home mom is married to Michael, an accountant from Australia. One of the family’s favourite stores is Mastermind Educational kids store at 3350 Yonge St. She’d like to see some improvements when it comes to parking in that area.

“We went to Mastermind at Lawrence and Yonge and there is no parking whatsoever. We actually had to park illegally. I stayed in the car with the kids while Michael ran into the store. There were eight cars parked illegally at the time, which is crazy. So I would like to see a lot there,” she says.

Something she’d like to see cleaned up are the massage parlours along Mt. Pleasant Rd. south of Eglinton Ave., an area she used to live in. Other residents have complained to police and contacted the Town Crier in the past about what they refer to as illegal massage parlours that offer sexual services operating along Mt. Plesant Rd., but also in the Eglinton Ave. and Avenue Rd. area.

One service that she misses is a body shop of a different kind. “The Body Shop (bath shop) north of Eglinton closed a couple of months ago. I took it for granted that it would always be there. Lush on Yonge St., north of Eglinton also closed,” she says. “There is now nothing in walking distance and I am a bit bitter about that,” she laughs.

Jon Soles has lived in North Toronto most of his life. He did move down to the Danforth for a few years and then travelled to India and Thailand before moving back a few months ago to his parents’ home on Keewatin Ave., northwest of Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave.

One thing he’s noticed is this end of the city is a lot more high-end than it used to be. When restaurants like Centro at 2472 Yonge St. and North 44 located at 2537 Yonge St. moved into the area, more upscale boutiques soon followed.

He’s also noticed that many of the small, independently run coffee shops have closed as Starbucks and Tim Hortons have moved in.

“There used to be a bunch of small locally owned cafes. Jupiter has been gone for a few years and Pyramid closed. There you used to meet different people. I don’t think Starbucks and Second Cup are bad,” Soles says from inside a local Starbucks. “But here there are business meetings and little ones (children) and I don’t have as many conversations here.”

One thing missing is a local store serving up homemade ice cream, he says. This is something he’d like to start up himself, if he had the cash.

While some of the pricier neighbourhood shops may be out of the 26-year-old’s price range, he says he does still shop locally when he can.

“I like to shop locally,” he said. He goes to the local small fruit markets, but he also visits the Danforth, where he lived for a short time, and once a week travels to St. Lawrence Market at Front and Jarvis Sts.

Niclas, who is waiting for his wife Anna outside the Dominion at Eglinton Ave. and Yonge St., also enjoys St. Lawrence Market and would love to see something similar in North Toronto.

His wife would like a good fish market within walking distance, she says, having appeared with their groceries.

“Really there is almost everything here,” says Niclas. “I don’t drive, but if I did, I’d want a Canadian Tire in the area.”

He’d also like to see a “good local church.” While there are plenty of churches in the community, he and his wife travel to the Peoples Church at 374 Sheppard Ave. East.

When it comes down to it, it’s a matter of taste, he says, referring to the fact North Toronto has it all, but people may prefer shops or churches outside the area.

Retired nurse Voirrey Broe doesn’t drive, so she prefers everything to be accessible by transit or within walking distance.

She misses the smaller bookstores that have disappeared, but admits she will shop at the large chains like the Indigo in the Yonge-Eglinton Centre.

Because she does so much walking, she’d like wider and smoother sidewalks. One of the problems is the newspaper boxes and store signs that encroach on the sidewalk space, she says.

Broe would also like to see more trees and flowers planted, less chewing gum and trash littered about and better public garbage cans.