Geoff Kettel welcomes a new Tim Hortons planned for Flemingdon Park - as long as customers get out of their cars and go inside to order their double doubles and crullers.
But he's upset the restaurant's drive-through will have cars pumping out exhaust as commuters with no ties to the neighbourhood wait in line for their iced cappuccino and Timbits."Why do they need a drive-through? Why can't people get out of their car and walk 10 steps? It's bad for the employees and bad for the community to have this exhaust puffing away," said Kettel, who also worries about the traffic tie-ups the drive-through will cause on Don Mills Road.Although Kettel said he is speaking as an individual, he does have a high profile in the community.For example, he is chairperson of the North York Community Preservation Panel, ran unsuccessfully as a council candidate in Don Valley West four years ago and helped organize workshops this summer aimed at making Toronto a more livable city accommodating pedestrians and cyclists.Kettel lives in Leaside, kilometres away from the Tim Hortons expected to open next spring or summer on a former gas station site at the southeast corner of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard. "But that is not the point. The point is we should be concerned about making livable communities for all and producing and making road safety for bikes and reducing green house gas emissions," he said.Kettel is particularly upset the Tim Hortons is coming without any notification to the community.But Don Valley West Councillor John Parker argues the property is zoned properly for the Tim Hortons. "I wasn't aware of it until fairly late in the day because it is an as-of-right application. If we got a notice every time somebody proposed to do something that complies with the law, the inbox would be inundated," he said."I don't think anybody has the authority to prevent it from going ahead."While the city is moving away from drive-throughs "in the fullness of time," Parker said they are now permitted.As a courtesy, he has forwarded Kettel's concerns to city planning staff.Nick Javor, Tim Hortons vice-president of corporate communications, said the company commissioned a study which showed drive-throughs produce no more vehicle air emissions than busy parking lots where cars drive around looking for an empty spot.Meanwhile, drive-throughs provide convenience for many customers who find it difficult to go inside restaurants such as people with disabilities, parents with babies and people with medical conditions who have trouble coping with extreme temperatures.Tim Hortons provides many benefits to the community including creating jobs, supporting sports teams and disadvantaged children and providing a community gathering spot, Javor said.Both Kettel and Parker support the Tim Hortons restaurant, which will provide much-needed jobs in the neighbourhood that the city considers "at risk".Parker pointed out Flemingdon Park is undergoing a resurgence as businesses such as Tim Hortons, a grocery store and a Shoppers Drug Mart are investing in the community which not long ago was seeing businesses move out.He argued the Tim Hortons will hopefully encourage customers to shop at other stores at the Flemingdon Park Plaza.But while Kettel said the restaurant might boost shopping at other local stores, he argued the drive-through merely caters to commuters dashing through the neighbourhood on their way elsewhere.