Infrastructure
-
The horror of the Rupert Hotel fire still lingers
The fire had been burning out of control at the Rupert Hotel for 17 minutes before someone called 911. As flames and acrid smoke filled the corridors of...
By Chris Bateman -
REID: To press or not to press: a guide to pedestrian buttons
I’ve seen a few inquiries recently by people who noticed pedestrian signal push-buttons being installed at major intersections. They found it odd...
By Dylan Reid -
The slow and deadly evolution of Toronto’s crosswalks
Crossing the street in Toronto has been a potentially deadly challenge for almost a century. Until the 1950s, when the number of automobiles dramatically...
By Chris Bateman -
REID: Laneways as shared spaces
Last week, I was part of a panel discussion about the potential of Toronto’s laneways, organized by The Laneways Project. I talked about the way...
By Dylan Reid -
Good Reads: Special Edition of Fort York’s newsletter Fife & Drum
A special edition of the Friends of Fort York’s quarterly newsletter, Fife and Drum was released recently to celebrate the opening of the new visitor...
By Shawn Micallef -
There are 100 graves in the parking lot of this mall
The 100 or so people interred at Christie’s Methodist Cemetery near Warden and Finch never expected they would spend a portion of eternity buried...
By Chris Bateman -
Does Toronto need a transit referendum?
Transit referendums are a common tool in the US to raise money for infrastructure investment. I have not found evidence of them being used to date in...
By Shoshanna Saxe -
How Tomlin’s Creek was lost, found, and lost again
There’s ancient Lake Iroquois sand on Glen Davis Crescent near Kingston Rd. and Woodbine Ave., you just have to look closely to see it. A clue to...
By Chris Bateman -
Toronto’s swelling bedrock
In general, Toronto is a relatively easy place to build underground. Our glacial history left the city with stiff clayey soil and our earthquakes are...
By Shoshanna Saxe -
In memory of the St. Lawrence Market canopy
In 2012, National Geographic ranked the St. Lawrence Market the best in the world. The vendors on both sides of Front Street were lauded for the quality...
By Chris Bateman -
10 NO BRAINERS: Lead the Way for Cyclists
10 No Brainers to Make Toronto More Awesome! is a project of the Centre for City Ecology that highlights small, achievable actions at the City-level that...
By Claire Nelischer -
10 NO BRAINERS: Activate our Laneways
10 No Brainers to Make Toronto More Awesome! is a project of the Centre for City Ecology that highlights small, achievable actions at the City-level that...
By Claire Nelischer