Want to fight a parking ticket? Here's what you need to do: head to Metro Hall located on John…read moreStreet just south of King. Go up two sets of escalators and follow the signs for Parking Tag Operations. If you stumble upon a collection of sad-looking people holding slips of paper morosely watching a board announce numbers, you're in the right place. You will need your parking ticket so be sure to bring it along. There will be a narrow form to fill out with your name and vitals. This is your Notice of Intention to Appear in court to dispute the charges on your ticket. If you are filing on behalf of someone else, you are considered an Agent and will have to put down your information as well. You might also be asked to wear dark sunglasses and a trench-coat. Once you have finished your paperwork, grab a number, a seat, and something to read, and get your wait on. In the middle of the day the wait times are negligible, so go then if you can. The service is as to be expected: surly, passive-aggressive and generally day-ruining. Don't let it get to you; just remember that there is a circle in Hell reserved just for city bureaucrats. After stamping your paperwork, you'll be given a slip and notified that someday in the far ahead future you may be summoned to court. Until then you may collect interest on the amount of your fine, and let the wheels of justice turn, however slowly. Obligatory Title Pun: TAG, you're it. Menu Readability: "Now calling miserable sod #137." Need to mention: Finish the paperwork first, THEN grab a number. Seriously, they are bitches about this. What this place teaches me about myself: I'm so glad I don't own a vehicle in this city.

How can the City of Toronto be in debt? I've paid out at least $100 per month since I arrived here…read moredue to these ridiculous and impossible to understand street signs. http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8443/park1w.jpg Got a $30 ticket here last night. I parked my car and walked up here to get a better look. Every other sign I've seen in these residential areas (Near 600 Bloor W) says "No Parking Without a Permit from 12:01am-7:00am). This one is identical however instead of 7AM it's 7PM! You can see that it used to say AM. http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9473/park2a.jpg This was a week ago. Notice that the top sign says "No Parking Snow Route" WTF does that mean? When can you park there? What if it's not snowing? These people are getting fines by deliberately obfuscating things. I'm incredibly careful and I STILL get loads parking tickets. Once a fire hydrant was partially hidden by a snow bank as well as some trash cans. That was $100 down the tubes. DO NOT WANT

Unlike another branch where I wasted a lot of time and left with no results, this location provided…read morefast and professional service. Within 10 minutes, I walked out with my Health Card successfully renewed. From what I understand, the wait time can vary depending on luck, but the service itself was outstanding. I'm completely satisfied and highly recommend this branch!

Islington Bloor office is very close to my home, 5 min walk in distance , so I went there around…read more3:30 pm, thinking it was enough time to finish renewing my health card and driver's license until the office will be closed. I was the seventh in the line up outside the office, while inside was full of people. After some time waiting we were noticed that there was no chance to go in, because people that were inside should be finished first and there was no chance for the others to wait. While waiting outside I realized that people inside had along time waiting there. A lot of other people came after myself waiting and hoping that they will be called in. I understand that there are some days, or some moments of the day that might be busy with customers, but what I realized was that most of the time the customer service reps were staying inside in the office, and just a few counters were with cust. reps. There were moments all counter desks were empty and I realized ZERO EFFICIENCY OF CUST. SERV. REPS working there. I had enough time to see how many people were coming out from inside and how often. It was terrible to realize and compare the rithm, eficency and time consuming work in a private company with what I saw in goverment offices' emplyees on the other side. And to think we pay taxes to have those cust serv reps paid!!!!! TERRIBLE!! Around 5PM I left the same line up outside, and had a chance to go to two other offices the other day. One in Cloverdale where was not that busy with people, but what I realized there was what I was expecting and hoping: A very good customer service and a 100% efficiency. I was out within 10 min and all went smooth and nice. To the customers like me: Abandon Islington and Bloor office, it is just a waste of your precious time. Go the Cloverdale or in Kipling and Queensway, you will be happy with efficient and so less time consuming service. Giving a star to them just because there was no way to post this review without a star.

Service should be improved especially the employees who are dealing with people. Need good customer…read moreservice seminar.

I had a very frustrating and unprofessional experience at this branch while trying to apply for a…read morehealth card. I presented valid documentation showing my legal status in Canada (a PGWP application that allows me to work and remain in Canada while waiting for the actual permit), which is accepted by IRCC, my employer, and other ServiceOntario locations (as I later confirmed). But it was not good enough for the staff here. The employee "assisting" me insisted that I had to go to a different "headquarters" location in order for my documents to be valid for this application. Their manner was unnecessarily aggressive and dismissive, especially considering I was simply trying to access a health card. I went to a different ServiceOntario location the same day (not the 'headquarters' one). Staff reviewed the exact same documents and processed my OHIP application without any issues or questioning. After reading other reviews (on Google, not here), it appears that misinformation is REPEATEDLY being given at this location. This causes people to lose time, money, and access to essential services due to staff not being properly trained about their services and basic human decency. I would strongly suggest avoiding this branch and going to another ServiceOntario location where staff are knowledgeable and actually willing to help.

This building was once the darling of all the former cities before the City of Toronto amalgamation…read moretook place. The City of North York and Mayor Mel Lastman up until 1997 was the envy of "the six" because it had rich ratepayers living here and hence a very nice Civic Centre. I'm here for a meeting and got to pay this nice venue a visit.

Every few months, I fly into Toronto Pearson International Airport. This is to visit family though…read moreoccasionally I have a work conference there, too. I typically fly in and out of Terminal 3 when I fly American Airlines though on the rare occasion, I instead fly Air Canada and travel in and out of Terminal 1. Unlike friends who absolutely hate flying, I enjoy the travel experience, especially when using some helpful tools like Nexus, airport lounge membership, and airline status, all of which I was able to enjoy during my Toronto airport visits. When checking in, I was able to skip the check-in area if I didn't need to check bags (as I checked in online) on one of my trips, and then this most recent time, I checked in at the priority area for assistance and checking bags. I then went to the Terminal 3 check-in and used Nexus to go through to the expedited part of the Security line (which also works if someone has Global Entry). Elaborating on the Security line, there are two options: (1) the general Security line, and (2) the Nexus/Global Entry Security line. I have a Nexus card (whereas I used to have Global Entry thanks to the American Express Platinum card, which also has other benefits at the Toronto Pearson International Airport). After making it through Security, there are three lines at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. One line is for U.S. citizens, one line is for non-U.S. citizens, and the third line is for any Nexus/Global Entry card holders. Nowadays, when you go through the third line, you just have a photo taken and then walk right to the front of the line where a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer will wave you through. After that, it's the Tax-free Duty Shop! All in all, it's a good airport, and throughout my regular trips to Toronto, I have gotten into my routine for my check-in experience, customers/security, shopping, lounges, and flights. I look forward to exploring more at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in the future, especially when next flying in Terminal 3.

Having Global Entry makes a huge difference, especially when traveling out of country. And this…read morelocation made it super simple and fast. They have this new camera system where once you look into the lens, it recognizes you and the agent will tell you if you're good to go or Not.

100th Library Branch Review! (I did it, finally!)…read more Weston is one of Toronto's Carnegie Library built in 1914, which the library was renovated in 1980's to expand the size of library to three times the size. The orginal entrance is still standing but its serve as an emergency exit now. The original part of building serve as part of adult area and quiet area on main floor and has washroom and staff area downstairs which include a program room which was original kids area are before the expansion. Now with expansion we have newer kids area, larger adult and teens area and more of collection while the library still isnt too big its a nice branch, It still contain the original 24 stain glass windows in which have names of Authors who were well know from the era. I got a little tour from Branch Head as I knew her from another branch, she explain to me and show me their program room which function as kids area before the expansion and that kids under 14 wont be allow upstairs (Dont know if that still the case but I did see librarian ask two kids to head downstairs when I came in). I do like that kids and adult area area separate, While kids section did move due to expansion, it is still downstairs which is nice. I like this of branches to have some division between the sections since kids will be noisy and I cant blame them. Functional, historial, and well design, its definitely worth the visit if your in Weston and Lawrence area, this just a few street up from Lawrence at King Street (not to be confused with one downtown)

Here is a small but very charming public library, originally built in 1914, and since renovated…read moreand expanded in 1982, situated in the former town of Weston, off of Weston Road north of Lawrence Avenue West. If you are interested in the Arts & Crafts movement in architecture, and you love stained glass windows and Art Nouveau mosaic panels, here's a historical Toronto example for you. Each of the stained glass windows bears the name of a famous author. Given the time, First World War era, the authors were all British and some, like Charles Lamb, are not read much these days. Funding for the Weston library was donated by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The stained glass windows and Art Nouveau mosaic panels are a unique feature among the Ontario Carnegie libraries. It is definitely a neighbourhood library with a welcoming atmosphere. You should stop by and sit for a spell in you're in the Weston area of Toronto :-)

Where government buildings and passport offices are concerned, this is a 5 star facility. Going…read morethrough the process of re-newing your passport is more painful than pulling teeth. I have bad memories of lining up and sitting and waiting for hours on end for my number to be called. They have made the process easier now. You can fill out the form online and bring it to the passport office. This gives you free range to bypass the line. I've been to the office twice, and both times the process was relatively pain free. This location is pretty sweet, it's right on the subway line and it's fairly not busy. Go up to the third floor and the passport office is a short walk away. The whole building are government offices, and unless a lot of other government buildings it's quite cheery. They even have a cafe and tons of seating area. Not that you'll need it. The lines aren't too bad and the staff is pretty efficient. If you're going to re-new a passport, I say slot down a one hour timeslot for getting the stuff done. Not too bad.. Not too bad at all..

I consider the service decently quick. I was the 20th person in line.. and they did a pre-screening…read more3 mins before 8am. Got checked and was given a ticket. my turn came up 30 mins after. All in all, very organized. There could have been more tellers, but I can't complain, still got into work for 9:30am downtown.

Friendly, quick, clear, and problem free service in a nice building…read more Arrived 15 minutes before opening and applied for an adult passport. Was out in under 2 hours. Around 50% of the waiting time is spent standing, and 50% sitting.

For a government service bureau that you have to go to, this place is not too bad. The people are…read morequite helpful and they try to be efficient. Even thought there is a bit of a maze to get through. Once you get to the third floor of the castle. Turn to your right and follow the signs. You will come to a fork in the road with two gate keepers. They will ask you some questions and if you answer honestly, they will give you a number. Then you go to magical waiting room and when you see your number appear you will know where to go next. That is about it. Then out you go. It really is on the third floor. Oh and picking up your passport is very quick. But do bring your ID.

I was impressed with the diversity of their collections. They have Chinese, French, Italian,…read moreSpanish, Gujarati, Tagalog, Tamil, Hindi, Turkish, and Vietnamese books and dvds. There are lots of available computers upstairs and downstairs. Many tables and chairs for reading, studying or doing work. They have an auditorium that seats 74, three meeting rooms and even a kitchen. Some of the staff are friendly while others are a little cold but all were helpful. Only two bathrooms with one stall each, the bathroom downstairs was dirty. With dated furnishings and large stains in the carpet, this branch is badly in need of a renovation. It was a Tuesday night at 7:30pm and the place was noisy with lots of kids, better to come earlier on a weekday when kids are in school. Small designated (free) parking lot but you can park in the adjoining Metro parking lot.

Between the noise on main floor from the kids and random I guess homeless dude, its hard to get…read moresome peace, the bottom floor seem to relieve this a bit but it seem during my stay but the kids seem like to play with elevator. This could be an issue as possible fire hazzard, i dont know if staff upstairs are doing anything but doesnt seem to be case down here It a shame because this bottom floor seem ideal for studying but I guess would be best to come in morning for that. This library seem to have about 30 computer most on ground floor, and right now the one is basement seem to be used well. There is alot of seating and enough oulets that if you could get some quiet, it could make a good place to study but I can hear yelling from upstairs and noise Probably going to stay clear of this one, seem to be worse the others I have been to despite being one of more functional and space credited but the noise of the kids and mess of a library is it would take away from that. I think i over stay here long enough I have only been here maybe half an hour and that all I can take since these kids have been misbehaving for past 10 minutes or so. Well time to treck upstair to see the choas. Also, there is tool library where you can rent power tools depending on the membership you buy. They arent connected to tpl but this only library thwt has one of their tool libraries in it