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Toronto BIAs

jaycola

jaycola

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I'm looking for opinions on the Toronto BIA program.

A few of the BIAs need little promotion like "The Beach". I was at the latest Beaches BIA fest on family day and it was quite dissapointing. Very crowded, disorganised and little much to do. It was however a hugely successful event.

Some BIAs definitely could benifit from promotion and rejuvination like St Clair gardens. Now with the dedicated St Clair Street car nearing completion, this little strip, surrounded by some of the cheapest real estate in Toronto could turn itself into a local hotspot (well maybe warm spot) one day.

Below find a list of all BIAs. (64 if I counted right) Tell us what you think of the potential to create a little urban oasis, a centre for the community...or give us ideas how to better promote the neighbourhood.

One idea I had would be for a huge neighbourhood garage sale timed with a street/sidewalk sale for the restaurants and shops. The people of Toronto love their neighbourhoods. See the link for more info on the location http://www.toronto-bia.com/bias/index.php.

Albion Islington Square
Beach, The
Bloor Annex
Bloor by the Park
Bloor West Village
Bloor Yorkville
Bloorcourt Village
Bloordale Village
Chinatown
Church-Wellesley Village
College Promenade
Corso Italia
Danforth Mosaic
Danforth Village
Danforth, the
Dovercourt Village
Downtown Yonge
Dundas Bathurst
Dundas West
Eglinton Hill
Eglinton Way
Emery Village
Fairbank Village
Forest Hill Village
Gerrard India Bazaar
GreekTown on the Danforth
Harbord Street
Hillcrest Village
Historic Queen Street
Junction, The
Kennedy Road
Kingsway
Knob Hill Plaza
Korea Town
Lakeshore Village
Liberty Village
Little Italy
Little Portugal
Long Branch Village
Mimico by the Lake
Mimico Village
Mirvish Village
Mount Dennis
Old Cabbagetown
Pape Village
Parkdale Village
Queens Quay Harbourfront
Regal Heights Village
Riverside District
Roncesvalles Village
Rosedale Main Street
Sheppard East Village
St. Clair Gardens
St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood
Toronto Entertainment District
Upper Village
Uptown Yonge
Village of Islington
West Queen West
Weston Village
Wexford Heights
Wychwood Heights
Yonge Lawrence Village
York Eglinton
 
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Why not outlaw all of them - and pool the excess cash of their business backers to improve the city as a whole?
 
That completely defeats the point.

This way a sense of community is built ... if they can raise money they can *actually* change their own community. The incentive disappears completely if it's to help the city as a whole.
 
taal said:
That completely defeats the point.

This way a sense of community is built ... if they can raise money they can *actually* change their own community. The incentive disappears completely if it's to help the city as a whole.
Click to expand...

+1

I think it's a great program, but it's only as strong as the community's willingness to organize. Bloor West Village and The Beach are two examples of where the money has gone to good use. Bloor West Village does a lot around christmas, and you can't say The Beach without saying Jazz soon after. It does work!
 
I think the BIA's can be of large benifit to the communities, the economy, the environment and the lives of the citizens around them.

If people can shop and eat within their community, they have less need to drive, easing traffic congestion, using less fuel. People will likely walk the couple blocks to their neighbourhood BIA more frequently.

Small shop owners will have an opportunity to attract more customers, employ more people, creating a more lively atmosphere for the neighbourhood.

I also think some of the BIAs could benifit from a theme. Unlike the ethnic BIAs which have a built in theme, creating a somewhat cohesive subject for the others could help attract people. The painted BIA where all ugly brick boxes are painted brightly, the lighted BIA where buildings are outlined in lights in the evening, the Fancy window BIA where focus is put on visually stimulating window displays.

We want people to get out of the malls and big box stores and back to the communities and the BIAs are the natural means to do this.
 
A Mount Pleasant BIA was created in my neighbourhood last year, an area that despite its affluence, does need one. And yes, BIA's are *completely* necessary as they've allowed many parts of the city to escape the neglect that the city imposes upon the rest. Let's not forget as well that businesses aren't forced to create them, they vote as to whether to join them or not, so an argument can be made that BIA's act as an effective vehicle to promote financial self-interest *and* civic improvement.
 
I like the concept of BIA's, definitely. Some work better than others. Naming no names....but the experiences I have had with my local BIA have been atrocious. The pool of money has a history of being mishandled, mispent and generally abused, there is so much infighting & distrust within the BIA membership that it is totally dysfunctional and can't accomplish anything. People in good faith join and then are edged out, their initiatives fall to the wayside. Ad hominem attacks and libel are acceptable, same as irrationality and loud-voices being raised at board meetings as acceptable behaviour. The BIA Chair receives no training, and so the quality/leadership of the various Chairs is not uniform. Some are better than others depending on their experience.

But despite the horrendous experiences at my local BIA, essentially BIA's are a good initiative in Toronto to rejuvenate & maintain the business areas.
 
"Self-interest" sums it up nicely - they're products of 1980s thinking, an example of the kind of privatisation process that exacerbates city-wide disparities, and elected officials use them as an excuse to avoid thinking of the city as a whole.
 
Can't speak about the BIA's themselves but my "Village of Islington" BIA website is behind the times. Lousy mid-90's look to the site, outdated forum (and it was erased without explanation) and updated irregularly. Hey, it's the new millenium--BIA's are a bit abstract to begin with, just connect with the people. Update the @&$!% website!

But I love those murals!
 
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The City is offering $10K towards a building facade improvement program through 53 BIA's.

I think of all the buildings this would benefit within various BIA's in the city. I also think of how this could be used so wisely on downtown Yonge although only Scollard to Charles Sts. and Grosvener/Alexander to Richmond Sts. are covered under the Yorkville & Downtown Yonge BIA's to qualify for the improvement fund leaving a considerable gap of buildings between Charles & Grosverner/Alexander Sts.

http://churchwellesleyvillage.ca/designedit/upload/2010_Building_Facade_Program.pdf
 
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