Yesterday, City Council agreed, via an amendment brought forward by Councillor Grimes, to postpone the construction of the sidewalk on Dwight Avenue until a new design can be achieved that does not impact the mature trees. You can watch the discussion here.

There are bike lanes planned for construction along the same stretch of Dwight Avenue in 2024. It’s likely that the sidewalk will also be constructed during that project. We expect the City to take that opportunity to bring Complete Streets principles to our neighbourhood and create a street that works beautifully for the school, the neighbourhood, and everyone who uses Dwight Avenue.

You made this happen. Look at the many letters attached to the item (you can also read the exact wording of the amendment at the bottom of that page). 

Thanks go to Councillor Grimes for listening to the community and bringing forward an amendment. Thank you also to Councillor Paula Fletcher and Councillor Jaye Robinson for engaging on the preservation of trees, not just on Dwight Avenue, but across the whole City of Toronto. Thanks to all City Councillors for unanimously supporting the amended motion.

Thank you to the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association, the New Toronto - Lakeshore Village Residents' Association, and the Mimico Estates Tenants’ Association who wrote to council on their members’ behalf. Thank you to Graham Rowlands of the South Etobicoke Community Group and Jeff Teräväinen of the Queensway Residents Association for also supporting this initiative in their neighbourhood Facebook groups. 

A huge thanks to consulting arborist Alexander Satel for his detailed technical assessment of the site, sent to council and excerpted in this petition. Thank you to Christina Murie for creating the signs promoting this petition. And thanks to Tamara Shephard of the Etobicoke Guardian for reporting on the story multiple times, including this story about the outcome.

Special thanks and the most credit go to Natasha Mistry, Meredith Heinrich and Melodie Barnett for all their time and effort spent on this issue.

Last but never least, thank you to each one of you who signed this petition, who shared the petition, who commented on Facebook, and who tweeted about it, and especially to each person who took the time to write a letter to City Council. Don’t forget that this happened – it showed that many voices can make the difference. We can make a change together when we act together. 

We’ll be keeping an eye on the Dwight Avenue bike lanes project! Follow us on Twitter @EtobicokeTrees.