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Bulletin
SAVE UNION STATION, Bulletin No. 3, October 25, 2002.
********* 1. Actions – what you can do right now. Union Station needs your help. Here are two actions you can take: a) Attend the Public meeting being held on Monday November 4, 7.30 pm, at the St. Lawrence Centre. Jane Jacobs will be speaking, along with the Globe and Mail’s John Barber, and Dave Jeannes (Transport 2000), chaired by Lisa Rochon, the Globe’s architecture critic. Prior to the meeting, join a tour of Union Station by John Sewell. For more details, see Item 2 below. b) Write to the City’s Administration Committee and ask to speak at its meeting on November 5. That’s the meeting when the Committee will be considering a progress report on the secret Union Station negotiations. For more detail on this action, see Item 3 below. 2. Public Meeting, Monday November 4. In co-operation with The Forum, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Save Union Station Committee is sponsoring a public meeting on Monday November 4, 7.30 pm, at the Jane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East. At this meeting we hope you’ll learn many more of the details of the current situation and what’s needed to enhance the Station as a transportation hub. Speakers include: * Jane Jacobs, noted urbanist and author of `Death and Life of Great American Cities’ * John Barber, urban affairs columnist, the Globe and Mail * David Jeannes, Transport 2000 The chair of the meeting is Lisa Rochon, architecture critic, the Globe and Mail. At 6.30 pm, prior to the meeting, former Toronto mayor John Sewell will conduct a brief tour of Union Station. Meet at the clock in front of the station on Front Street. Please join in the brief tour of Union Station, and attend the public meeting, which will be a good preparation for the meeting of the Administration Committee the next day.
3. City Council’s Administration Committee meets November 5 City staff have said they will be reporting to the city’s Administration Committee on the status of negotiations about Union Station on Tuesday November 5. The meeting begins at 9.30 am in Committee Room 1, Second floor, City Hall, Queen and Bay Streets. This is a public meeting, although it is not yet known at what time the Union Station matter will be considered. It is very important that as many people as possible write to the committee secretary and ask to be registered as deputants on Union Station at this meeting. In the normal course of events, the staff report should be available for the public in advance of the meeting. It was not available when this Bulletin was sent out, but we will notify subscribers the minute it is. The issue for the committee is secrecy. This committee can decide to open the process up so the public can know what is being discussed, and what the plans actually are. Your deputation should deal with this issue as well as your particular concerns about the future of Union Station - such as its transportation potential, heritage matters, financial arrangements, and redevelopment plans. The Committee’s secretary is Patsy Morris, telephone 416 392 9151, pmorris@city.toronto.on.ca. Phone or e-mail Ms Morris asking to be listed as a speaker. Sending a copy of your brief to her in advance of November 5 is advisable – she can then distribute it to the committee. The Save Union Station Committee is aware of more than 50 people who have written the mayor requesting public input and public oversight of any decisions about Union Station. This shows that public interest is building, and we hope at least that number will write to and appear before the Administration Committee.
The Committee consists of the following members:
Doug Holyday (chair):
David Soknacki (vice chair):
Brian Ashton:
Rob Ford:
Anne Johnston:
David Miller:
Francis Nunciata:
Paul Sutherland: Obviously, writing to councillors on the committee asking them to end the secrecy – perhaps a simple vote of the committee could do it – will be helpful. We should ask them to make both of the bids fully public, and for opportunities to debate and discuss the critical issues which should be addressed in any contract before any further negotiations occur.
4. Letters put pressure on Mayor At least fifty people that we know of have written the mayor complaining about the secrecy surrounding the Union Station negotiations, and the mayor has asked staff to supply responses. The evidence from the responses we’ve seen is that staff are careful to reply to specific concerns each of us has raised. It’s a pity the mayor himself isn’t committing himself to what staff say, which would imply substantial knowledge and interest on his part that we worry isn’t there. One common sentence seems to find its way into most of the replies. “Please do not let claims of secrecy overshadow an open, thorough and fair competitive process.” Excuse me?? Open? Not to the public. Fair? Who knows when there’s no detail before us? Thorough? Glad you think so, but could we see the data please? Most responses end this way: “Because it is also a business proposal, there are aspects of the financial transaction (including City Council’s instructions to the negotiating team) that must remain confidential to allow the city to negotiate the best deal for the city. However, once the City and Union Pearson Group have reached an acceptable proposal, all aspects of the proposal will be made public and input will be welcomed before City Council makes any final decision. You can be assured that there will be a full and open planning process for Union Station.” How do we know the best interests of Union Station as a heritage structure and transportation terminal are being taken into consideration when the information isn’t publicly available? An open public process now is the best way to ensure that nothing lurks in the shadows of this deal. After all, an OPP investigation and a legal inquiry are currently investigating other recent city deals. It doesn’t make sense to keep so much important information from the public. This deal impacts the future transportation of the entire GTA. And it looks like the politicians are using financial confidentiality as a smokescreen to keep nearly everything secret. Let’s end the secrecy. Let’s have an open public process. And let’s save Union Station from a potentially disastrous deal.
4. Timing City staff responsible for processing the reports on the Union Station lease arrangement are now stating that at the November 5 meeting of the Administration Committee they expect only to have a progress report, not a final report. If this is really the case, it means we can prepare to make presentations to the committee demanding that the veil of secrecy be lifted instead of negotiations continuing in the back-room. 5. What’s in it for commuters? Will commuters benefit from the Union Station deal?? Some of the improvements that will help commuters are: better access between trains and the subway; wider train platforms; better ways (good escalators??) to move up and down stairs; better connections between buses and trains. Are these changes going to be included in the agreement? Will the agreement encourage the structural changes needed to accommodate high speed trains? If the tracks are doubled up to permit wider platforms, will the new supporting columns needed in concourse level be prevented from being installed if the concourse is under lease to a commercial operation such as a restaurant? More information on these questions will be presented by David Jeannes of Transport 2000 at the public meeting on November 4. These are critical issues for commuters, the people who use the Station daily. 6. Pass on the Bulletin Please forward this Bulletin to your friends. Ask them to subscribe to the Bulletin (it is free) by sending an e-mail to signup@saveunionstation.ca
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Contact Us: info@saveunionstation.ca