Mayoral Race
• Editorial: Platform numbers don’t measure up [Toronto Star]
• Fiorito: Jumping on the subway bandwagon [Toronto Star]
• The issues? Transit, gridlock, apathy and, of course, taxes [Toronto Star]
• Nobody to vote for? Get over it [Toronto Star]
• Downtown needs bike lanes, mayoral candidate says [Toronto Star]
• Mayoral candidates sketch out fantasy schemes for Toronto’s transit dilemmas [Globe & Mail]
• David Miller to Toronto: Psych! [Globe & Mail]
• Closing Toronto to newcomers would lead to economic collapse [Globe & Mail]
• Rob Ford’s hidden agenda [Globe & Mail]
• Posted Toronto Political Panel: Smitherman’s ‘diversity policy’ [National Post]
• What the #!%*?: One for the money [National Post]
• Chris Selley: Sarah Thomson’s simple sell that may backfire [National Post]
• Group of downtowners turn Rob Ford into Ford Spice in online parody [National Post]
• The Race This Week: Super Candidates AWAY! [National Post]
• Wynne bashes Ford, Hudak [Toronto Sun]
GTA Elections
• 5 tight city council races to watch [Toronto Star]
• 5 GTA mayoral races to watch [Toronto Star]
• Why the balance on Toronto council will swing right [Toronto Star]
• Nail-biting rematches in Toronto municipal election [Globe & Mail]
• Group says city council candidate misrepresented palm tree cost [Globe & Mail]
Neighbourhood Improvement
• Regent Park: Revitalization or gentrification? [Toronto Star]
• Porter: The Pocket is paying $2,000 a pop for boulevard trees [Toronto Star]
• A Toronto bridge becomes a symbol of hope [Toronto Star]
• The Fixer: Neglected garbage bin causes a stink [Toronto Star]
• The Fixer: Fence is no fix for tumbledown docks [Toronto Star]
Other News
• Parking officers endure scorn of drivers [Toronto Star]
• Two more charged with G20 offences, alleged to have burned cop car [National Post]
• Peter Kuitenbrouwer: Mandatory Mandarin [National Post]
7 comments
From “Downtown needs bike lanes, mayoral candidate says”
“If elected mayor Oct. 25, Thomson said a priority would be to install separate bike lanes down the middle of University Ave. and along the sides of Richmond and Adelaide Sts.
“Thomson couldn’t say whether her downtown bike plan requires removing traffic lanes.”
How could she not know that her plan will require removing traffic lanes?
I figure either:
A. She doesn’t know what separate bike lanes involve.
B. She doesn’t know the layout of these important downtown streets.
C. She is lying to not scare off some of her car driving supporters.
Maybe that was some semantics about putting bike lanes in parking lanes, which are not technically traffic lanes? Or D, All of the Above. Regardless, Toronto’s hot air and inaction makes one rather drool for this, accomplished with paint and fast agency decision-making:
http://www.dnainfo.com/20100830/upper-west-side/columbus-avenue-bikes-lanes-inspire-praise-complaints-on-upper-west-side
Sarah Thompson doesn’t always get the fine details right, but she’s on the right track. Clearly, she envisions a Toronto with much better infrastructure for green travel. She’s not afraid of bold measures like road tolls, either.
She should have gotten onto council first and built up more recognition and experience on city council. (Though, I’m afraid that would leave her jaded.) At least she’s fueling the debate on transit and cycling in an election where the two main candidates seem to be too focused on suburbanites.
Darwin,
I’d say,
A. You don’t know what separate bike lanes involve.
B. You don’t know the layout of these important downtown streets.
C. You just don’t want to see any improvement of Toronto’s cycling infrastructure.
Actually, Thompson’s plan on this one makes a lot of sense. These streets are the best candidates for separate bike lanes in downtown area. Richmond and Adelaide St have been on bike plan for ages but nothing has happened. These wide, one way streets can easily accommodate a separate bike lane by losing a car/parking lane. And they will provide a much needed east/west artillery for bike traffic through downtown. As for University, was it a coincidence that the council tried to run a separate bike lane along it the past summer? It only failed because of a stupid voting gaffe.
A.R., I agree with you. As it stands now, she seems to be the best candidate out there.
I’m probably more pro-car than most people here (which ain’t saying much…), but as far as transportation goes I think Sarah is generally on the right track. During rush hour, there are plentiful transit alternatives to get into Toronto, so I don’t have a problem with tolls to pay for expanding transit. And let’s face it: cycling is the best way to get around the core, no contest. I may disagree with parts of her plans, but she seems more focused on improving transportation rather than punishing cars, which is what I got from the Miller administration.
Shame there is virtually no chance of her getting elected.
“You just don’t want to see any improvement of Toronto’s cycling infrastructure.”
I definitely support these proposals from Sarah Thompson. I am questioning how she could not understand the basic facts about them.
These streets have parking that could be removed, although removing parking is usually even more controversial then removing driving lanes. I’m pretty sure there is no parking during rush hour, so traffic lanes would be removed at those times. For Richmond and Adelaide, at least, there is no other room it could be taken from.
@Regent Park: Revitalization or gentrification?
I know I will be sounding very Ford-like on this one, but I cannot help:
I sorry for this lady who now has to walk 20 minutes every day to access the social services she needs in Regent Park, but please consider this: on average a working Torontonian needs to commute for 45 minutes to work so that they can make money so that they can pay the tax dollar so that there can be the social services to begin with.
The sense of entitlement is just everywhere, from bank executives to welfare-collectors.