Mayor John Tory announced the launch of a “clean sweep blitz” for the city’s Yonge and Dundas neighbourhood on Saturday.
Tory told reporters that the co-ordinated effort with members of different city agencies such as Toronto Public Health and the Toronto police will begin immediately.
The effort will include “significant” cleaning of streets and laneways, more outreach and help to the city’s “vulnerable population” and increased police foot patrols in the area.
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“We live in an extremely safe city and an extremely clean city, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t sometimes problems,” Tory said. “And when those problems pop up, I believe it is my job as mayor, working with the team from city hall and anyone else whose help we need to work as quickly as we can to fix them.”
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The cleanup and daily foot patrols started Saturday morning and will continue throughout the holiday season.
The announcement came after Tory did a walkthrough of the area with a local councillor, members of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Ryerson University — all expressed “concerns about increased litter and other issues.”
Tory said he will assess the efforts in January in order to determine the “next best steps” for 2018, with the goal to keep “this lively, dynamic and important part of downtown safe, clean and welcoming.”
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The mayor also pointed out that while this initiative is a big step, it is not a solution to some of the underlying issues facing the city as a whole.
“We have challenges with mental health and addiction that are causing a number of people to be lonely, displaced and struggling, and we have to continue with those efforts.”
Tory said he will continue to work with the city, in particular with the health system, to be more responsive to these issues, adding that Toronto needs more help with treatment programs and supportive housing.
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“This is home to thousands of people, a place where thousands of people go to school, a place where employees do their work and a place where people visit, and I want everyone to have a good experience in downtown Toronto, especially at this time of year,” he said.