New Thornhill ratepayers association's main concern is noise

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 27, 2016
By Simone Joseph

A major challenge for residents in the cluster of condo towers known as Thornhill’s World on Yonge is noise, says Jakov Zaidman president of the area’s new ratepayer association, which was formed about two months ago.

Staff from a car dealership across the street from his condo tower regularly use car alarms to locate cars in the parking lot, he said.

“It happens all day, every day, non-stop,” Zaidman said.

The dealership is one of several at the corner of Yonge Street and Meadowview Avenue, on the Vaughan side of Yonge Street.

“During the day, it is not a big deal. At night, it is noticeable, a loud noise,” Zaidman said.

Vaughan's bylaw only allows the use of car horns in a traffic emergency, he said.

Zaidman also said residents are bothered by noise coming from nearby trains.

It could be argued that residents knew there would be noise when they moved into World on Yonge condos not far from the busy intersection of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue.

However, the expectation was because the train tracks are on ground level, it would help control the noise above, Zaidman said.

But the noise bounces up, he said, adding he hopes one day the installation of a fence or sound barrier along the train tracks will improve this situation.

Freight trains moving from high-density areas of Toronto through Vaughan and Markham are also a problem, Zaidman said.

“We are moving the problem from one high-density area to another. The problem is going to get worse. The problem needs to be moved somewhere else.”

The trains are moving through Thornhill on tracks within a few hundred feet of the World on Yonge condos, he said.

His association plans to work with the nearby Grandview Area Residents Association to deal with the noise problem.

“We are joining forces to influence the municipalities (Vaughan and Markham) and York Region and Toronto and the province to solve the problem properly,” he said. Zaidman is married with two grown children and runs a security consulting business called InterLAN Consulting Inc. He is on the board of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto and lives in a World on Yonge condo.

Markham Councillor Valerie Burke said she is very aware of the issue of increased freight train traffic.

“Everbody is dealing with it across the line,” she said. This is a federally regulated area, Burke said, adding she suggested Zaidman contact Peter Kent, since he is Thornhill’s federal MP.

Another problem Burke said she has heard about in the World on Yonge area is the low number of shoppers.

When the project was in its infancy, she remembers planners raving about the potential for pedestrian traffic.

“It came with promises of animating Yonge Street with cafes,” she said, with the idea the neighbourhood would be filled with pedestrians.

Today, Burke has noticed a number of stores with papered windows, often a sign of a vacant shop.

“Many of the shops are empty,” she said, but added she does not know the reason for the light pedestrian traffic.

Another local issue is the electronic sign on Yonge Street that carries ads, she said. Residents have complained to her that it is too bright and they would like to see it dimmed.

GOOD TO KNOW:

WHAT: World on Yonge Ratepayers Association includes 1,200 condo units and five towers (four condos and one hotel). It includes a shopping mall called Shops on Yonge (an indoor shopping centre in the World on Yonge complex). Three thousand residents live in this area. It is not yet known how many residents will be members of the World on Yonge Ratepayers Association, Zaidman said.

WHERE: When construction began on the new World on Yonge project in 2010, at the corner of Yonge and Meadowview Avenue just north of Steeles Avenue, the Liberty Development project was billed the largest single-phase residential, commercial and retail development in the Greater Toronto Area.

WHY: The ratepayer association was formed as the area is high density and condo residents have different needs than low-rise residents, said Zaidman. The area’s traffic control needs and garbage needs are different, he said. He also said the area has more of a need for public transit than lower density areas.

CONTACT: Reach World on Yonge Ratepayers Association by e-mailing yrscc1271@rogers.com.