Bayview Post

Toronto has watched a lot of commerce move off the street and onto a phone, and the city has the empty storefronts to prove it. Post City covered the municipal end of that back in 2017, when the mayor proposed scrapping tax relief for owners of vacant main street stores. Casino gaming made the same trip, from a licensed floor with a parking lot to an app that opens in two seconds. The problem with the trip is that a building carries information.

Ontario’s regulated online gambling market has continued its remarkable run of growth, with the province recording a handle of $9.46 billion in June. That figure represents a 30.3% increase over last year’s figure of $7.36 billion for the same month, and stands as the fifth-highest total since the province’s regulated market opened its doors, trailing only the all-time high of $9.59 billion set back in March.

Former Toronto city councillor Mike Layton is returning to municipal politics, announcing his candidacy for the University-Rosedale council seat in the 2026 municipal election. Layton represented the ward from 2010 to 2022 before stepping away from city politics to spend more time with his family. He is now seeking to return to city hall with a focus on issues including affordable housing, public transit, environmental sustainability and road safety.

Toronto city council has approved a new pedestrian scramble crossing at Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, bringing a long-requested safety improvement to one of the city’s busiest pedestrian intersections. The motion, introduced by midtown city councillor Josh Matlow, will see a pedestrian priority phase installed at the intersection in 2027.

The federal government has announced more than $112 million in financing to support the construction of 217 new rental homes in Toronto as part of its efforts to increase housing supply. The project, located at 389 Cleveland Street in the city’s midtown area, will consist of a 15-storey residential building with a ground-floor retail space.

During the last election, 43 per cent of Ontarians (who actually cast a ballot) voted for Doug Ford and the Ontario PC party, which apparently gives them a majority and allows them to run roughshod over local democracy and overrule Toronto City Council at every turn. That’s bad for us, bad for democracy and bad for our city.

A proposed condo development near Summerhill and St. Clair has gone through a dramatic growth spurt since it was first submitted to the City just a few years ago. The site is located at 1233 Yonge St and 9 Woodlawn Ave E, at the southeast corner of Yonge and Woodlawn, and contains a low-rise rental building with 40 rental apartments, as well as a detached house-form building on Woodlawn that contains three commercial units.

Bike lanes in Toronto will not be removed by the province any time soon. Bill 212, which authorized the removal of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue, was approved in November 2024. Cycle Toronto filed a Charter challenge to the legislation, requiring the government  to provide internal staff advice on the proposed Bill.

Toronto’s bustling Yonge-Eglinton intersection might one day get a pedestrian scramble — a crosswalk where the traffic signal stops all vehicle traffic and allows pedestrians to cross in all directions, including north-south and east-west directions, as well as diagonally (similar to the ones at the busy Yonge-Bloor and Yonge Dundas intersections).

Toronto’s Yonge North Subway Extension is already moving ahead, but a new City Council motion is trying to revive one stop that was left off the current plan: Cummer Station. The motion, titled It’s Time to Reinstate Cummer Station for the North York Centre, is being spearheaded by Councillor Lily Cheng and seconded by Councillor Jamaal Myers.