Meeting with Joe Virgilo

On January 25, 2006 the SUCA executive met with Councillor Joe Virgilio, who represents Ward 3. Joe was very accommodating with his time and had a number of suggestions for us. It is important for South Unionville to be proactive when it comes to issues facing our community. The more that South Unionville residents get involved, make phone calls, send emails and attend town meetings, the more likely we are to get our issues addressed in a timely and satisfactory manner. Below is a summary of items that SUCA discussed with Mr. Virgilio.

The following issues were discussed with Mr. Virgilo.

Opening South Unionville Ave to Kennedy: South Unionville Avenue will be a busy street with traffic going right past the school. Can we prevent this from becoming a through street? If not, what can we do in conjunction with the town to keep the speed of the traffic going past our school(s) under control?

Answer: Opening South Unionville to Kennedy is part of the Town’s greater plan to join the community of South Unionville to Markham Centre and Enterprise Dr. It is unlikely that the town would consider not opening this to Kennedy road. There are traffic calming measures such as introducing traffic circles or narrowing the lanes of the street, both of which serve to slow down traffic. Mr. Virgilio will coordinate a meeting with traffic services people at the town to allow SUCA to voice their concerns and discuss options to have them addressed.

Straightening of Castan: The straightening of Castan has been an issue for quite some time. When will the construction take place?

Answer: The problem is that there are holdout landowners that have refused to sell. The latest news is that the last of the holdouts is willing to sell his land. We expect that the road will be straightened this year. We encourage community residents to email or send a letter to Joe Virgilio telling him that it is important to get this road straightened as it is a safety concern.

Park Land in South Unionville: The master plan for the park in the middle of our community is being compromised by the fact that lands originally planned for park are being used for residential development. How can we protect the original vision for the park in our community?

Answer: The vision for the community of South Unionville has been plagued by fractured ownership of the land. In order to entice developers and landowners to cooperate on the South Unionville project several compromises have been made, including decreasing the amount of land allocated as park. This is an unfortunate consequence of the fractured ownership in South Unionville. SUCA and the residents of South Unionville can help their cause by making their concerns known with the Town and by attending meetings regarding rezoning and development in South Unionville. The more the Town knows about our concerns, and the more people who show interest, the better the likelihood that something will change.

Parks in the East Side of South Unionville: Is there an opportunity to use the land that is for sale off of the west of McCowan Rd as parkland for the eastern portion of the community?

Answer: Some of the lands to the west of McCowan Rd are already designated as Special Policy Area (SPA) or hazard lands. As such, they are already destined to be classified as Open Space. Due to the proximity of the land to the Rouge Valley, the town would not typically consider making this land programmed park space.

Development of Land on Kennedy Road between Castan and South Unionville: Are there development plans for the commercial land on the east side of Kennedy road between Castan and South Unionville Ave?

Answer: Most of that commercial land is currently owned by Markham Honda. There is a Nissan dealership that is interested in purchasing a portion of the land. Joe has raised the issue that there are no retail amenities available in South Unionville. Currently, the land owner is working on a proposal to include retail amenities on this land.

Land for Sale on McCowan South of Tim Horton’s: There are lands on McCowan Rd south of the Tim Horton’s that are currently for sale. This land regularly floods during spring thaw, and some residents have raised concerns that were this land developed, flooding could occur in homes on Annina Crescent. How will the town ensure that this does not occur?

Answer: Parts of that land has already been identified as hazard lands and floodplain. Any development on this land would be limited to non-hazard lands. In addition, the TRCA will ensure that all development plans adhere to their strict water management and flood control guidelines.

Walking Paths in South Unionville: We know that the town has plans to include walking paths in the Rouge Valley all the way from Toogood Pond to Milne Park. Is there a possibility to get community involvement in the planning process for these paths to ensure that the paths meet the needs of the community and provide the most functional usage possible?

Answer: This is another area where community involvement and a community voice can go a long way to ensure that our concerns are addressed. No one knows the needs of South Unionville better than the residents. If the residents let the town know what their ideas and concerns are, the town and its planners are better equipped to make sure that any plans take these items into account. In addition, if the addition of paths is an important community issue, then letting the town know this will help ensure that these items are given the proper priority within the Town’s plans.

Pathway from Laneway to McCowan Road: People in the community consistently walk from the laneway behind the first row of townhouses on the south side of South Unionville Ave, to the corner of South Unionville and McCowan Rd. How can we get a pathway or a sidewalk installed?

Answer: Joe is going to find out who in the town is responsible for these types of requests and will coordinate a meeting between SUCA and the appropriate department at the Town.

Broken Street Light: There is a streetlight that has been knocked down at the corner of Piera Gardens and Castan Avenue. How can we get this fixed?

Answer: Powerstream currently addresses these issues on behalf of the town. Joe will ensure that this issue gets addressed immediately and will let SUCA know if there is a reason why it has not been fixed. Editor's note: the light standard was removed the following day.

SUCA plans to keep Joe informed about the issues facing our community by meeting at least twice a year. In addition, Joe is going to coordinate meetings between SUCA and the people at the Town who can help us with the issues we have identified. SUCA would like to thank Joe for his time and his efforts in helping South Unionville become the community that we all know it can be. In addition, we would like to encourage residents to communicate their issues to SUCA and the Town. Communicating our issues to the Town lets them know that there are many residents who are genuinely interested in issues that affect South Unionville.