January 30th, 2012
Every fiscal conservative in this city should thank TTC chair Karen Stintz for daring last week to speak truth to power about the Eglinton Crosstown fiasco.
Yes, fiscal conservatives. Not just Transit City lovers.
By asking whether Metrolinx will be using the appropriate vehicles in that 19-km tunnel, Stintz nailed the key technical question hanging over Mayor Rob Ford’s plan to bury the entire LRT at a premium of $2.1 billion. But by proposing ways to stretch those dollars (a Sheppard subway extension to Victoria Park and a BRT corridor on Finch), she has, in effect, posed a hard-headed question that no one, to my knowledge, has adequately answered:
Can Metrolinx prove to Ontario taxpayers that it will maximize its massive investment in Eglinton by proceeding with Ford’s faith-based burial scheme?
Nope.
In fact, the curious reality is that neither the province, nor the city, has a clue. While Metrolinx has conducted so-called “benefits case analyses” on several other of its undertakings, Spacing has learned that the agency didn’t apply this kind of rigour to the Crosstown, even though it officially ranks as Canada’s most expensive infrastructure project.
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CITY HALL
• Councillor Mammoliti faces audit of campaign expenses [The Star]
• Hume: Rob Ford's Toronto can't keep up [The Star]
• James: Council rookies offer hope for the future [The Star]
• Not much walking at Mayor Rob Ford's fitness walk [The Star]
• Toronto councillor, staff at odds over city podcasts [National Post]
• Selling TCHC houses won't raise cash: Vaughan [The Sun]
LABOUR DISPUTE
• No progress in contract talks with Toronto civic workers, union says [The Star]
• CUPE 416's Mark Ferguson calls Toronto labour talks 'a union-busting exercise' [National Post]
• 'Union busting' is Ford's goal: Ferguson [The Sun]
• Could this be reality if there's a lockout by the City? [National Post]
• Union status quo not an option: Holyday [The Sun]
• Ford plans to provoke strike, union says [NOW]
TRANSIT & CYCLING
• York region transit strike over as workers approve deal [The Star]
• Legal opinion on killing Transit City buoys foes of Mayor Rob Ford [The Star]
• Mayor Rob Ford had no authority to cancel Transit City, lawyers say [The Star]
• Toronto's Rob Ford "overstepped his authority" in cancelling Transity City: legal opinion [National Post]
• Far more support for Stintz's transit plan than Rob Ford's [The Star]
• Ford allies in Scarborough support his Eglinton LRT plan [The Sun]
• Burying Eglinton Crosstown would save money, Ford says [NOW]
• Sheppard subway extension in play [The Sun]
• Toronto's transit planning: no way to run a railway [Globe & Mail]
• TTC takes on Metrolinx over Eglinton line [Globe & Mail]
• Long-running subway car takes final journey [The Star]
• Saying goodbye to the H4 subway cars [Torontoist]
• Separate lanes at last [NOW]
OTHER NEWS
• The widespread presence of coyotes has become one of the most divisive issues in the GTA [The Star]
• Is it lights out for Toronto's electrical grid? [Globe & Mail]
• One person's art project is another's condo sales pitch [National Post]
• Hill not the only thing rising on Toronto waterfront [National Post]
• Historicist: nights out at the Naaz theatre [Torontoist]
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January 28th, 2012
Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region.
The Video Vancouver feature presented its first original video this week, capturing the atmosphere of Vancouver at the winter solstice, a feeling described as unique amongst Canadian cities.
Yuri Artibise reviews new work by Emmanuel Buenviaje who uses mix of photography and graphic design to create images of his Mount Pleasant neighbourhood that capture the intricacy and history of Vancouver's older and industrial districts.
Members of the Spacing Ottawa diaspora returned this week with posts from their new home cities. David McClelland writes about his observations of Niagara Region's new inter-city regional bus service as a prime example of the question of what comes first: the transit or the riders?
Adam Bentley, a Spacing Ottawa contributor who recently moved to Edmonton, shares his observations of his first several months in the city including its good and planning history. His central conclusion: Edmonton doesn't suck.
Jacob Larson gives an update on the latest twist in the saga to replace Montreal's aging Turcot Interchange which involves a significant delay caused by sinking ground and wonders if this could be an opportunity for sober second thought.
With an opportunity to share her findings at an upcoming conference, Alanah Heffez seeks reader feedback on Montreal's electronic fare payment system initiating a conversation about intricacies of the City's OPUS fare card.
As part of the ongoing Altantic Snapshots series Stephen Archibald profiles the Wellington Barracks. Hidden within an active Canadian Forces Base, the barracks is amongst Halifax's most important mid-nineteenth century buildings, retaining significant elements of grandeur.
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January 27th, 2012
Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local artist
Jerry Waese.
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Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
Highways can carve up and scar urban neighbourhoods, which is why many North American cities are looking for ways to cover this infrastructure and restore community. The Chicago Tribune explores the experience of Columbus, Ohio which saw increased pedestrian traffic and business for local stores following the installation of the "Cap at Union Station". But with a $10 million+ price tag, is the cap a viable option for other centres?
Image from PlasticsSafety
For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter. Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca
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CITY HALL
• Ford tours TCHC building [The Sun]
• Ford's weight loss a hot topic [The Sun]
• Crackdown planned on Toronto chicken coops [The Sun]
LABOUR DISPUTE
• City of Toronto and outside workers still 'a long way apart' [The Star]
• City and Local 416 no closer to agreement [Globe & Mail]
• Nothing's happening in city's labour negotiations [The Sun]
• Unions must change quickly to survive, says secret report by CEP/CAW [The Star]
TRANSIT
• Mayor Rob Ford digs in on transit plan [The Star]
• City councillors seek own changes to transit plan [Globe & Mail]
• City reveals plan for separated bike lanes on Sherbourne [Globe & Mail]
• Barrier from cars in bike-lane design 'not a pronounced enough separation' [National Post]
• What the #!%*?: Competiting visions fight for future of Toronto's rapid transit [National Post]
• York region buses set to roll after long strike [The Star]
• After 3 months, York region expects to have buses running next week [National Post]
• TTC routes during rush hour: watch them all at once [The Star]
OTHER NEWS
• Urban ideas: transit passes for jobless, pebble mosaics [The Star]
• Parent pleas persuade Peel council to keep daycares open [The Star]
• Big venue changes coming for Pan Am Games [The Star]
• Former Unilever factory at DVP and Lake Shore sold, to be redeveloped into office park [National Park]
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January 26th, 2012
Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
Spiegel speaks with starchitect Rem Koolhaas about the magazine's new building, generic urban design, the changing role of the architect and the negative outcomes of commercial and bureaucratic impulses.
Image from Spiegel
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CITY HALL
• Rob Ford's trojan horse [NOW]
• Housing minister not yet sold on sale of city-owned houses [The Star]
• Ford's scattered sell-off stalls [NOW]
• Toronto committee votes to uphold backyard chicken ban [The Star]
• Councillors reject backyard hen reform [Torontoist]
• City ponders clothing drop box ban [The Sun]
TRANSIT
• New plan for Eglinton LRT appears to be a go [The Star]
• Spineless Metrolinx is failing transit users [The Star]
• Premier open to 'formal proposal' on changing Eglinton LRT [Globe & Mail]
• 'I'm building subways': Rob Ford [National Post]
• Transit plan battle brewing [The Sun]
• Queen's Park wants a TTC decision [The Sun]
• Striking Viva bus drivers set to vote [The Sun]
• Seizing the transit initiative [Torontoist]
• Colour coding your commute [Torontoist]
• Power shift [The Grid]
• The TTC responds to our diagonal bus-route idea [The Grid]
OTHER NEWS
• Demolition of historic Toronto house has locals fuming [The Star]
• Ideas to make Toronto better? Let's steal some [The Star]
• Mississauga property tax the provincial government's fault: Hazel McCallion [National Post]
• The secret of Occupy [NOW]
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January 25th, 2012
Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
We often think of architecture as a permanent art form, but temporary installations are becoming more and more pervasive. Think pop-up shops, post-disaster shelters, mobile food carts, streets cafes and pocket parks. Allison Arieff at the New York Times considers the challenges and advantages that temporary architecture poses to buildings and the planning process.
Image from Alliance for Downtown New York
For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter. Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca
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CITY HALL
• Mayor Rob Ford compares rival councillors to Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin [The Star]
• Rob Ford says five councillors are 'left of Joe Stalin' [Globe & Mail]
• Ground shifts at Toronto's city council as the Ford agenda stalls [Globe & Mail]
• Ford's executive avoids bold moves on TCHC, Hydro, EMS [The Star]
• Paramedics are an essential service [The Sun]
• Del Grande wants housing money shifted to 'burbs [The Sun]
• Task force recommends no major changes to arts funding [The Star]
• Mayor Ford hits the track, tries to ditch the snacks [National Post]
TRANSIT
• A new Toronto transit proposal delivers more bang for the $8.2 billion buck [The Star]
• Compromise would bring leg of Eglinton LRT back to street level [Globe & Mail]
• Street-level transit plan gains traction [National Post]
• This is no time to get cute on transit [National Post]
• Tentative deal reached in York transit strike [The Star]
OTHER NEWS
• Street art shakes up the AGO [Torontoist]
• The artists' soup kitchen feeds the body and soul [Torontoist]
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