Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Now that their sidewalks are paved in gold, Yorkville bans hot dog verdors

We only eat street meat if it's purebred, darling.

Another sampling of Toronto's arrogant rich, who forget a city is a city to all.

To our non Toronto readers, we're talking about a very small area here, 2 or 4 blocks. But they've tarted it up, and are getting very territorial about it. Condos have solved the problem for them of having those nasty poor anywhere near their living space, but the street is still a problem.

Hot dogs just aren’t haute enough for Yorkville.

Fresh off a $20-million makeover, the Mink Mile won’t be welcoming back its hot dog vendors this spring.

Despite bigger sidewalks along Bloor St., the improvements installed as part of the renovation were built on or near the spots permitted for vending, squeezing out eight hot dog vendors, two street retailers and an ice cream truck.

The Bloor-Yorkville BIA says the old carts don’t fit into the new street but that’s a bitter deal to swallow for Marianne Moroney, executive director of the Street Vendors Association.

She told the Sun she’s baffled why the vendors — some who have served up sausage on Bloor for decades — are now being told they don’t cut the mustard...


Steady yourself for a healthy dose of snoot.

Briar de Lange, executive director of the Bloor-Yorkville BIA, says the stretch of Bloor St. between Church St. and Avenue Rd., is no place for street meat.

“Essentially the whole premise of vending on the street is not something that our BIA has been all that much in favour of,” she said.

The multi-million dollar renovation of Bloor, funded by members of the BIA, installed granite sidewalks, extended the sidewalks by more than a metre on each side, added planters and other street furniture and will see more than 100 trees planted this spring.

“Aesthetically we are trying to create a different street,” de Lange said.

“We’re not making any bones about the fact that this was done to be an enhancement to the pedestrian environment and sticking a cart in the middle of it doesn’t make any sense.”


Yorkville would build a walled gated community if it could. Great idea, if only to keep them in.

Read more here.

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