North York City Centre - Willowdale : Innovation + Job News

Art Starts is a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to "build healthier communities using the arts." It runs neighbourhood cultural centres in at-risk neighbourhoods where artists of all ages can find "relevant creative opportunities."

In an email to supporters, Managing Director Liz Forsberg recently announced the opening of the org's fourth neighbourhood hub, located in Lawrence Heights. Also, Art Starts is moving its headquarters to the Yorkdale Community Arts Centre at Yorkdale Mall as of March 18, a move that Forsberg writes, "is a very exciting opportunity for us; not only will it allow us to share a state-of-the-art facility with all four of the communities we work with, but it will also give us the opportunity to begin developing and offering fee-for-service programs as a means of providing some sustainable funding to our free programs in underserved neighbourhoods."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Art Starts

Fifteen years ago, Toronto engineers Phil White and Gerard Vroomen of vroomen.white.design began designing and manufacturing racing bicycles under the brand name Cervelo. Today, still owned by White and Vroomen, North York-based Cervelo is the world's largest manufacturer of time trial and triathalon bikes, with Tour de France and Iron Man trialthalon victories and Olympic gold medals won on its bicycles.

Last week, Vroomen and White were honoured at the Canadian Innovation Awards as Canadian Manufacturer of the Year in recognition of their world-leading technology and innovative leadership.

According to the company, Cervelo was founded in a pure quest for innovations that would lead to racing excellence. "We wanted something that was unbeatable in aerodynamics yet sacrificed nothing in weight or stiffness, and unfettered by issues of marketability," reads a company history on its website. Today, with eight engineers in its employ and selling more than 10,000 units per year, the same spirit is visible in their philosophy. "We apologize in advance if our ads look like they were written by engineers," they write. "We figured you would rather read an ad designed by an engineer than ride a bike designed by the marketing department."

Currently most of Cervelo's manufacturing takes place in Asia, but recently White told the Toronto Star that they intend to begin manufacturing bikes at their North York facility within the next two years.

Four other Ontario companies were honoured at the Canadian Innovation Awards, including Scarborough Tim Hortons franchisee Megleen Inc, who won the Canadian Innovation Award for Innovator of the Year.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Cevelo, Toronto Star

Late last September, Toronto City Council approved a pilot program to allow car-sharing services to use on-street parking spaces and Toronto-based service AutoShare announced almost immediately that it would be putting cars in various locations downtown and in North York.

But last week, Toronto's other big car-sharing service, the Massachusetts-based Zipcar, announced that it was first in getting with the program. The first-ever space on-street, the company says, will be a Zipcar at the intersection of Harrison Garden Blvd. and Humberstone drive. The company expects to add 10 more spaces at other locations in the coming months.

While cycling and transit often dominate sustainable transportation discussions, car-sharing is proven by long-term studies to reduce reliance on vehicles among members and to increase demand for public transit. The City of Toronto, with a growing and competitive market, has been quietly encouraging the growth of car sharing services by, for instance, reducing parking requirements on condominiums with car-sharing services on-site.

In a release announcing Zipcar's new spot, City Councillor John Fillion said, "I'm pleased to have the first car in this program located in my Ward so our residents not only can save money, but also enjoy less traffic and less pollution."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Zipcar, City of Toronto, Autoshare