Categories
Cycling Travels

A ride through Midwestern Ontario, Part II

The Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail, part of a network of rail trails that join together in the City of Brantford Previously in this blog, I described the first day of a two-day ride through Midwestern Ontario, between Guelph and Kitchener via West Montrose and St. Jacobs. I rode through Ontario’s only authentic covered bridge, along infrastructure […]

Categories
Maps Toronto

Mapping Toronto’s homeless shelters: an interactive mapping exercise

Earlier this week,  I mapped the locations of Toronto’s homeless shelters for Torontoist. While there are shelters located across the city, the capacity is located almost entirely within the old city of Toronto, especially in the Downtown east side, between Church Street and the Don River. This is despite the fact that the need for shelters, like all […]

Categories
Politics Toronto Transit

Not so FAST: SmartTrack gets a lobby group, raises many questions (Updated)

I find myself feeling frustrated, worn down, and at times angry about this federal election that’s thankfully coming to an end on Monday. As a progressive voter, I’ve been disappointed by Thomas Mulcair and the New Democrats, for reasons that Desmond Cole explains so very well in today’s Toronto Star. (Locally, I ‘ve been supporting the NDP’s Linda […]

Categories
Cycling Travels

A ride through Midwestern Ontario, Part I

Just prior to Labour Day weekend, I went on a two-day bike excursion west of Toronto, starting in Guelph, staying in Downtown Kitchener, and finishing my ride in Downtown Hamilton. [Part II, Kitchener to Hamilton is here.] I find that cycling long distances, especially in the countryside, is valuable “me” time. I go at my own […]

Categories
Election Maps Toronto

A disappointing step backwards for ranked ballots

I’ve long been a fan of ranked ballots, a voting system that Dave Meslin and the good people at RaBIT have been promoting for a long time. At the municipal level, ranked ballots —also known as instant run-off voting — is a simple, yet effective way of improving local democracy. Ranked ballots ensure that politicians are […]

Categories
Maps Politics Toronto

Exploring the downtown federal election races: Part II

Back in April 2015, I looked at the impact of changes to the new federal electoral districts in three key downtown races: Toronto Centre, University-Rosedale, and Spadina-Fort York. The three downtown ridings were created by splitting two larger electoral districts, Trinity-Spadina and a larger Toronto Centre. As a downtown resident and political junkie, I was very […]

Categories
Toronto Transit Walking

Not seeing the light on pedestrian safety

Earlier this week, I ranted on Twitter about a poster I spotted on the TTC. The poster, showing a pedestrian crossing a downtown street, is one of a series of posters aimed at pedestrians, all with the tag “Stay Focused. Stay Safe.” They are co-produced by the TTC and the City of Toronto. The poster, as seen above, shows […]

Categories
Cycling Toronto

More thoughts on cycling infrastructure

In Torontoist last week, I mapped the new and improved bike lanes proposed for 2016. There are some great new additions – more contraflow lanes in the east end and through Kensington Market allow cyclists to take direct routes along quieter residential streets. There will finally be a pilot of the long-demanded Bloor Street bikeway; at least between […]

Categories
Maps Toronto

Mapping Toronto’s Legal Rooming Houses

Rooming houses are often-overlooked in Toronto, but they provide an essential form of affordable housing in a city that struggles with the issue. In Torontoist, I looked a little more closely at this issue and created a map of all licensed rooming houses located in the City of Toronto. (The list from which the map was […]

Categories
Cycling Travels

A Simcoe Day ride from Georgetown to Newmarket

A few weekends ago, on Simcoe Day (Civic Holiday), I cycled a new route, taking 90 kilometre ride between Georgetown and Newmarket. Just over half of the roue took me on the Caledon Trailway, a beautifully-maintained rail trail between Terra Cotta and Tottenham. From Georgetown to Terra Cotta and between Tottenham and Newmarket, I mostly […]