Came across this movement for New Traditional architecture arising in Europe. I think it is kind of interesting how this is being spun as right wing. I think the caution to avoid kitsch is warranted, but I have to admit I find a lot of the modernist vernacular pretty impractical, especially flat...

Came across an idea that seems like a very good way of traffic calming the really unpleasant high speed, high traffic volume arterial intersections that are common across the GTA. This solution also has the benefit of maintaining throughput capacity and minimizing delay for drivers despite...

Thought I would extract this discussion from the TRBOT regional rail thread. The 407 is clearly not busy in the evenings. Tolls could be set lower during off peak times and still allow traffic to be free-flowing. If road tolls could really be or would need to be set as high as the 407 to make...

With so much midrise development taking place, it makes me wonder how unique the form they are taking in Toronto. Particularly the terracing required by 45 degree angular plane/shadowing. Looking at other big NA cities such as NYC and Chicago, it seems their new midrise developments don't...

This popped up in my feed recently and thought I would share: Trackless trams may be the best alternative to light rail The idea being to provide a very rail-like user experience in terms of ride quality and boarding (and higher capacity than BRT with 300-500 passenger vehicles) with lower...

Maybe a hot take, but I'm not a fan of the indigenous people symbol. It's just not very visually appealing, and I'm not sure they really need to be specifically called out in that particular location.

Hadn't seen this mentioned here before and stumbled across it as a reference in something else I was reading. Haven't read it all yet myself, but I thought it made ought to be shared while I'm thinking about it. From what I gather from a quick scan it talks a lot about 'plinths' or the immediate...

The system is 105 km, 143 stations. The vendor is ULTra, the private developer is Fairwood Holdings, an infrastructure company that partnered with ULTra on the smaller Amritsar system under construction. Three phases will be built at the same time, to be completed in 2.5 years. Fares are set...

An essay that some here might find interesting. ------------------------------------------- The other day I read a paper promoting “robocars†and related technologies and I ran into the following quote: “There are two weaknesses in the PRT idea. 1. The need to construct new...

While ULTra is pretty far removed from an ideal PRT system, it is encouraging to hear that the technology will have an opportunity to be proven in an urban application. Considering that 700 million people will be moving to cities in the next few decades, creating hundreds of new cities, it is...

Does anyone know of sources for statistics on TTC route operating costs and ridership statistics, particularly the bus routes? I think the ridership stats are obtainable, but I've been unable to locate operating costs broken down by route.

Any favourites? I don't need anything particularly luxurious. Preferably near the subway.

I can't help but wonder what the government will do in order to fill such a huge gap in their budget. I suspect that big-ticket capital projects like MoveOntario will be among the first to face cuts. Maybe this will mean a decrease in scope, or maybe it will mean Metrolinx will no longer be able...

Any recommendations?

I guess I'll kick off discussion of the soon-to-be-called federal election. Apparently Harper is doubling down and saying that it's majority or bust for his government. Do you think this is a wise strategy for Harper to take? It makes anything short of a majority a failure on his part. And...

Thought some people might be interested in some more intelligent media analysis of the HST. This is from the BC perspective, but the issues are quite similar here in Ontario. You can love it or hate it but the HST is good public policy Vancouver Sun September 1, 2009...

The hypocrisy is really rather astounding, especially considering that Kinsella has a more legitimate case of libel, whereas the CPC suit was just a tactic to prevent the LPC from discussing the issue in public.

I found this a couple days ago. Not quite about Toronto, I suppose, but interesting nonetheless. It certainly opened my eyes to the extent to which rail freight is really being held back by the lack of infrastructure. Back on Tracks

The quiet unravelling of Canadian democracy Muzzled MPs. A powerless cabinet. Politicized senior bureaucrats. Unaccountable parties. Canada's democracy is in trouble. To fix it we have to connect the dots April 04, 2009 James Travers OTTAWA–For a foreign correspondent reporting some of...

From Macleans. A bit shocking, to me at least. Ian Brodie offers a candid case study in politics and policy Ian Brodie offers a candid case study in politics and policyIan Brodie, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, delivered an astonishingly frank explanation today...