August 5 - Update

Dear Friends and Neighbours, On Friday, the City of Toronto entered Stage 3 of the provincial reopening, allowing for the safe restart of more businesses and services including playgrounds, additional recreational programs, indoor restaurant dining, gyms and sports facilities with certain restrictions in place. Residents are reminded to continue adhering to Toronto Public Health’s advice to practice physical distancing, stay within their social circle of no more than 10 people, wash hands often, and wear a mask or face covering where mandatory or when physical distancing cannot be maintained. Residents can visit toronto.ca/ReopenTO to learn more. Beginning today, masks are required in enclosed common spaces, including lobbies, elevators and laundry rooms, in condominiums and apartment buildings. The bylaw exempts those who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons, children under the age of two, and other accommodations. Wearing a mask or face covering is also required in all indoor public spaces in Toronto. I am very pleased about the news that Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) will be transitioning 32 buildings from property management by Del Management Solutions (Del) to direct management by TCHC. This is an important change that I have been advocating for over the years in order to improve service delivery by TCHC to its tenants. Management of the properties will be transitioned by the end of this year in four phases. In York South-Weston, all six developments currently managed by Del will be transitioned back to Toronto Community Housing as follows: November 30, 2020: York Square, Trimbee Court, Weston Bellevue.  December 18, 2020: DeMarco Boulevard, Trethewey Tedder, Jane John Best. Posters are being put up in affected buildings this week and a detailed letter to all affected households will will be arriving in mailboxes next week. I look forward to working with TCHC on this transition and the positive changes that this will bring about for residents.  CaféTO registration will close to new applicants on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at noon. The CaféTO program has been actively approving and installing expanded sidewalk and curb lane cafés for more than six weeks, since registration opened, and now supports more than 600 restaurants with increased dining capacity in BIA and non-BIA areas across the city. The program is scheduled to end on November 15, 2020. To find out more or to apply to expand your restaurant or cafe's patio before the deadline, please click here.  Check out tomorrow's Hew Horizons for Seniors Webinar: Let's Talk COVID-19 & Re-Opening. The Toronto Council on Aging, in partnership with the City of Toronto, invite Seniors in Toronto to join an informative session led by Dr. Vinta Dubey, Associate Medical Officer of Health to answer questions related to Phase 3 gradual reopening and your health. Please click here to find out more and to register.  Construction notices:

• Metrolinx - Antenna Installation at the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility (August 6-8)

• Toronto Hydro - Overhead & Underground Electrical Work Jane Street between Tretheway Dr and Weston Rd (Sept 2020-March 2021) 

Stay safe, everyone! Sincerely, Frances

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Residential On-Street Permit Parking program to resume August 14 Starting Friday, August 14 at midnight, permit parking enforcement on residential streets in Toronto will resume. Enforcement, as well as the renewal and issuance of residential street parking permits, had been paused due to COVID-19. The period to renew existing, or purchase new, six and twelve-month on-street parking permits began on July 2 when the parking permit office resumed operation. It was extended to Friday, August 7 to maximize the window for residents. All requests for six and twelve-month residential parking permits should be submitted as soon as possible to ensure permits arrive before August 14. While the parking permit office remains closed to the public, it can be accessed in the short-term by phone at 416-392-7873 or email at permit.parking@toronto.ca, with extended hours from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday. Temporary daily and weekly parking permits can be purchased online anytime at toronto.ca/parking. Parks, Forestry and Recreation Stage 3 Service Resumption  With Toronto now in Stage 3 of reopening, Parks, Forestry and Recreation have reopened playgrounds and will expand recreational programs and permits. Staff have been working with Toronto Public Health and the corporate restart team to ensure the safe resumption of services that are allowed as part of Stage 3.  Playgrounds On Friday, July 31 all parks' playgrounds and outdoor exercise areas reopened to the public. Playground signage has been replaced with updated messaging to ensure that residents and their families remain informed on safe play. Permits Effective immediately, permits can be issued for picnics and outdoor gathering purposes, as well as, leagues and clubs for training, team practices and games. Staff are working with permit groups to finalize their permits and these activities will resume in the coming days. Please note that gathering limits have been increased to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors. All physical distancing requirements must remain in place and will be enforced in all public spaces. Community Centres and Facilities Community centre services will expand gradually over the course of August and September to allow for the successful completion of CampTO and to ensure the safe return of participants and staff. The expansion will be done in three phases: Phase 1 – on August 17, Fitness Centres and Weight Rooms will reopen. Phase 2 – beginning on September 8, indoor drop-in recreational programs will resume. Phase 3 – on October 5, instructional registered Fall programs will resume. Further information on programs and registration dates will be forthcoming. More information on all programs and services is available and will be frequently updated on www.toronto.ca/parks. Family Well-Being Plan Last week, the City of Toronto announced the Family Well-Being Plan developed in partnership with community agencies and social service providers, to highlight the supports available to those who may be experiencing family violence during the pandemic. Inspired by the provincial #HereToHelpON social media campaign, the City has partnered with various agencies to develop and implement #HereToHelpTO to connect residents to the various social service agencies, programs and supports that are still available to children, youth and families experiencing violence, abuse or neglect during this time. By connecting with one of the service providers, residents can receive critical support, such as counselling, emotional assistance, safety planning, information and referrals free of charge. As the pandemic persists, many Torontonians continue to experience ongoing challenges and difficulty navigating supports. While these times may be isolating, no child, youth or family in the city should feel alone. To access information, resources and tips, please visit toronto.ca/HereToHelpTO. New socio-demographic COVID-19 data Given Toronto’s racial diversity, large number of newcomers, and high proportion of people living with lower-income, Toronto Public Health (TPH) launched important work to understand if Toronto residents were also inequitably affected by COVID-19. Today, TPH has released the findings and trends from recently collected individual-level COVID-19 case data on reported ethno-racial identity, household income, and household size. This information is key to understanding who is being impacted by the outbreak, and to inform public health actions. View the findings on the City’s website.

For the latest updates from the City of Toronto, please click here.

For the latest updates from the Federal Government, please click here. 

For the latest updates from the Province of Ontario, please click here.