Scarborough-Mirror January 18, 2018 Mike Adler

A motorcoach stops to pick up passengers on Bonis Avenue, near an entrance to Agincourt Mall, on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the day Scarborough councillors decided to investigate making the street a no-stopping zone for buses. – Mike Adler/Metroland
Casino shuttles parked near malls and plazas are being targeted by a Scarborough councillor who says they pose a safety hazard.
Jim Karygiannis says he’s asking companies to keep tour buses off residential streets in his Scarborough-Agincourt ward.
That includes Bonis Avenue beside Agincourt Mall, Redlea Avenue near Splendid China and Bamburgh Circle near a commercial plaza at Warden and Steeles avenues.
“On one hour on Bonis you will probably find three or four buses,” Karygiannis told Scarborough Community Council on Jan. 15.
“I’m asking: please find other places.”
Companies which operate the shuttles seven days a week started stopping on Bonis, and then approached Agincourt Mall about using its parking areas, said Steve Bishop, vice president of development services for the mall’s owner, North American Development Group.
Last fall, after a year or two of complaints from customers, tenants and residents about their presence, the mall told companies their buses were no longer welcome.
“We were concerned about liability,” Bishop added.
The shuttles, however, went back to picking up and dropping off passengers on Bonis, sometimes “right in front” of a crosswalk close to the Agincourt Public Library, Paul McKinlay, who lives nearby, told Scarborough councillors.
“They’re just using it as a cheap bus terminal,” he added.