The Future of St. Clair in the Works

Various City Councillors explain motivation behind votes that allow TTC right-of-way

This is a half-won battle." "It was a very difficult decision." "I'm not satisfied." "The war goes on." These are words uttered by some of the protagonists of the St. Clair-TTC debate, the day after the City Council decision.
The members of SOS - Save Our St. Clair look partially satisfied; they don't acknowledge losing a battle, they think they've obtained something.
At the same time, some of the 36 city councillors who voted in favour of the TTC plan confirm the intention to have the works carried out as well and as fast as possible, following the recommendations included in the approval of Option 6, in order to satisfy at least some of the demands of the community.
Italian-Canadian Councillor Mike Del Grande explained that his decision to vote in favour of the plan was a hard one. "It was like asking a father to choose which of his two children he loved more, or which to sacrifice. A father loves all his children the same. Both projects were good, and choosing one or the other was difficult."
"I knew that Option 6 would pass," added Mike Del Grande. "I spoke with the mayor and he told me that we had to look forward, so he would support the plan. When Miller supports a proposal, at least 21 or 22 councillors follow his lead and vote for it." Del Grande was among those who calculated that the total cost of the project would come to $65 million.
"This is a rather large sum, which will be spent for the community living around St. Clair. This money will be spent in the city and create jobs," said Del Grande. "I think that when the project will be completed we will all benefit from it: residents and businesses alike. Of course, during the works there will be some discomfort and some sacrifices to be made."
A problem could arise with the additional funds, amounting to about $33 million, which are not available now but City Council committed to spending in beautifying St. Clair.
"I hope that everyone will keep the deal," concluded Del Grande. "We'll work to make sure of that."
Frances Nunziata, a staunch opponent of the plan, expressed her displeasure. "I'm not satisfied of how things went. Even though there has been talk of not reducing sidewalks and not cutting trees, even though new parking spaces are planned to keep the total as it is, even though the council committed itself, we are talking about money that simply isn't there: these expenses are not included in the budget, and we don't know whether they will ever be. In summary, we are talking about good intentions, but we don't know whether they will be carried out. For the moment, I've asked to see the list of properties that will be expropriated for cutting the sidewalks and creating new parking spaces, and we'll see how to compensate these people."
"There is a lot of confusion," added Nunziata, "and the works will last 2-3 years. However, it was a hard blow when only 7 councillors voted against, listening to our community. In his campaign, Miller himself," concluded Nunziata, "had promised to listen to the communities, but he didn't. He did not keep his promise. It was a done deal, maybe even before the election, and now we know for sure."
While Frances Nunziata looks downbeat, Conny Lamanna and Ida Vivacqua of SOS - Save Our St. Clair don't lose heart. They look happy and speak of continuing the struggle until final victory will be achieved.
"Everybody must understand," claimed Ida Vivacqua, "that we didn't lose this battle. This is a half victory. Until one year ago," insisted the activist, "the project consisted merely of the barriers and new tracks. We've obtained a commitment to spend over $30 million to beautify St. Clair/Corso Italia. This was not part of the original plan, and the merit of this is our struggle led by Cesar Palacio. Joe Pantalone had nothing to do with this, he didn't do anything for our community."
"Anyway, the battle continues," concluded Vivacqua, "because the works will last for a long time, and the management must respect the decisions of the City Council, and most of all must find a way not to install the barriers."
More bellicose words came from Conny Lamanna. "It's a half-lost battle, but the war goes on. We need to stop for a few days to think, regroup, talk this over, and start afresh. For us, the major hurdles to overcome are the cutting of sidewalks and the barriers in the middle of the street. These must be avoided, and this can be done."
"First of all," continued Lamanna, "cutting the sidewalks can be avoided by keeping lanes as wide as they are on Queen Street, like Joe Pantalone proposed. On Queen, the lanes are 3.20-metres wide while on St. Clair the plan foresees them as 3.80-metres wide. By reducing the lanes by 60 centimetres each, we can keep wider sidewalks and even obtain a bicycle lane. Also important is to avoid the barriers. We agree that streetcars must be protected from lane invasion during rush hours, and some way of accomplishing this can be found. But we don't want the barriers."
Giorgio Mammoliti, one of the only 7 councillors who voted against the plan, is much more pessimistic about the beautification funds. "I think that this commitment will not be kept. This is a programme sponsored by Mayor Miller, Joe Pantalone, and the NDP, and it breaks the Italian community of St. Clair. Our community must wake up and oppose these people and their policies. This is a war against the Italian community, like we said when Julian Fantino's contract was not renewed."
Finally, Peter Li Preti, a member of the 36-councillor majority that approved the plan, said, "I voted for the plan after I saw that the council was willing to commit to avoid a repetition of the Spadina barriers. But for promises and commitments to be kept," added Li Preti, "our community must work together. If we'll stay together, working towards a common goal, promises will be kept, and St. Clair will go through a rebirth, fueled by $65 million on a stretch of road. Corso Italia will become Toronto's nicest street, provided that the community works together. But this is a precondition."

Publication Date: 2004-10-10
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4496