by Leslie DeGagne
Remember the unicorns and rainbows you created on the road with your colored sidewalk chalk? Remember when your friends called, and you grabbed your stick and played street hockey all day? Remember the games of imagination that filled your day as your bicycle became the Batmobile and you were the hero? The street was your playground and the whole street would join in the fun. Children, teenagers and adults made the street an extension of their property and all were welcome. Play was not a word it, was a part of everyday life and all ages participated, right outside their homes. Community emerged in the neighborhood and life was good.
Today some communities have outlawed using streets as a gathering space. The children are breaking the law when they use their chalk on the street or play street hockey. The children must be in organized activities to be able to play with others. The street is no longer the catalyst of community. It is easy to become the community of no fun. All it takes is ambivalence on the part of the residents and the naysayers will take over. A healthy community needs people with vision and people who like children and understand the role of play in life.
This last year our community was chosen to be involved with The City’s This is My Neighborhood program. We have had feedback from residents and the ideas are now becoming a reality. Time constraints postponed some projects, but many are coming on line as we speak. As you make your way around the community, you will see the colors emerging as the chalk box opened and the colors created beautiful artwork on the utility boxes and painted intersections. My thanks on behalf of the residents and board members go out to Amanda Turvey and the committee of residents for their diligence and hard work. I heard that a lot of fun was had by all in coming up with ideas to beautify and make our community a better place to be.
Community involvement takes many forms, some work quietly behind the scenes while others put time in to drive the ship. No matter what role you take on you, make a difference. October is the month we hold our board elections and new faces and ideas are always welcomed and needed. Our board this year has been a pleasure to work with and I thank all the volunteers who took time to sit on this board for their caring, their talents and their dedication. Thorncliffe Greenview is a diverse community and we are working hard to meet the needs of the neighborhood. I invite all to attend the Annual General Meeting at the end of the month. Bring your ideas and put some faces to names. We need to become the street where play is good, and the children can explore. To enable us to do this we need all members to become involved. You could be the difference between TGCA being a good community or TGCA becoming an even greater community.
