From the NY Times write-up of the incident that kicked off billions in sidewalk shed requirements: "Despite the number and density of high-rise buildings flush with sidewalks in [NYC], there have been relatively few fatalities caused by falling objects." timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine...
lmao
Stay safe out there
North America’s Best Housing Reform is Under Attack
You really suck
OSS simple sabotage field manual
NEW VIDEO: North America’s Elevator’s Problem
Elevators are absolutely essential to modern cities..... and it turns out North America kind of sucks at them. We partnered with @sightline.org to look into the many issues plaguing our elevator industry, and what it might take to fix it.
Not sure what to do about this. If you try to raise it with councillors, they will ask staff and staff will say that the money in reserves is all allocated and the growing reserves aren't a problem. But, if the money came out of underspending on the operating budget, it sure seems like a problem?
An important chart to understand as Toronto heads into next year's budget process. We'll hear that the budget is barely balanced, the situation is precarious, the same as we have heard for the last 5 years, despite the City actually posting billions in surplus except in 2023. Why?
From the Metro Toronto Planning Board's 1959 draft Official Plan (voted down by Metro Council). You could not say something this obvious in Toronto's Official Plan anymore.
Obviously no one from Toronto is in a position to criticize Calgary since we didn't even pass the citywide sixplex reform that our HAF agreement required. But I feel for Calgary advocates who worked on zoning reform, saw it succeed and people then said "Too much housing. Roll it back."
The promise: Subway for the cost of a streetcar
The result: Streetcar for the cost of a subway
I distinctly remember the consensus in Toronto 10+ years ago that subways were about wasting money to preserve more surface space for cars.
LRTs were the sensible progressive option, providing almost as good service for much less money.
It turns out the service is... not so great after all.
Great deputation. I would bet that they got the quote from the 1960 planning board report by way of House Divided.
The estimated budget for the Waterfront East "LRT" (streetcar with tiny tunnelled section) is $2 billion?!?! Subway prices for 4km of streetcar. Glad we'll spend next year's municipal election talking about a made up crime surge.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
Metrolinx: we'll need to do discontinuous electrification at Union Station because we can't touch the heritage canopy
SBB/CFF/FFS: we are raising the existing canopy at the Gare de Lausanne by 1 m and move it laterally by 90 cm to slightly modify the tracks' geometry.
youtu.be/CNuJLQguRgo?...
Stacked bar chart showing the number of apartment units in Toronto by year of construction with categories for private, TCHC, and other social housing. The vast majority were built in the 1960s and 1970s, with a minor up-tick in recent years.
Charting number of rental units in apartment buildings in Toronto by year of construction
(This is a quick update to a similar chart I made ~2.5 years ago)
#toronto #housing #dataviz #NationalHousingDay
Are you fucking kidding me it’s like we are living in a cartoon
The real galaxy brain Canada is to make London Ontario the biggest London, but Canadians are afraid to dream big
“A large housing project delivering more than 500 homes in west London will no longer go ahead…Specifically, [the developer] claims that the most significant reason for its termination was the new requirement to provide two staircases in London for buildings over 18 metres.”
I've done something that I don't do very often. I wrote a short, quick polemic post. It was prompted by a discussion in here.
It's about why I'm still skeptical about ALTO's HSR project and why there is no way around transparency in public projects.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
What I want to know is if there’s a way to adjudicate cases with fewer resources while maintaining high standards of justice
This is an incredibly absurd way to develop laws. It’s essentially a fact free vibes Only method of developing rules. It can’t go the way of the dodo fast enough.
My disdain for these people is indescribable.
Platner chair retailing for $27,000 Canadian
Still making me feel old
That's what I thought but I was looking at it today and the number for the Eglinton Crosstown seems to include both giving it a much higher cost than other sources
transitcosts.com/toronto-egli...
schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/wp-content/u...
@alonlevy.bsky.social In your transit costs spread sheet, do you usually include things like operations and maintenance or just the capital cost?
Strange scenes at Planning and Housing Committee yesterday: a heritage listing of a 1930s 4plex in Leaside was upheld over objections of residents and neighbours. The residents clearly know what's up, even as the City sticks to canned lines that listing is no big deal, doesn't impede development.
