In Vancouver we would have done 3 rounds of public consultation, and asked staff to study the feasibility of a pilot interim fix with a report due back by Q1 2027

Inauspicious start to the day

I emailed a couple local politicians with blue checkmarks on X asking them to stop paying given *gestures broadly* and to their credit both replied and canceled their subscriptions. Email someone you know and ask them to do the same, you never know!

oh good, the company bot apologized, nothing to see here folks! really excellent headline

Kind of incredible that people are still justifying being on X, a site that is creating content that, if it were on your hard drive or something you sent in an email attachment, would get you a visit from the FBI.

A few months ago I got the story of a duck who aspires to curling greatness stuck in my brain and simply couldn't get it out until I did this

Is #BookSky a thing? Either way, my 7 favourite reads of 2025, in no special order: 1) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Yes I'm very late to the game. What a rich and beautiful world Clarke builds. Only drawback - the last act felt a bit rushed. Still a 5-star read.

This New West project checks all the boxes: ✅ Fully protected bike lane ✅ Vehicle access maintained ✅ No lost parking (I don't care about this but it's often the main concern) ✅ One-way orientation reduces rat running on this residential street Should be the standard for all local bikeways!

When I was 10, I got an electric toothbrush for Christmas. It was such a bad gift that I cried every time I looked at it. This year I asked for an electric toothbrush for Christmas. How times change! Merry Christmas to all

Every time a somewhat high profile person leaves twitter, about a hundred definitely-very-real users (all with blue checkmarks) post the same "jokes." If you're still using that site because you like your engagement numbers, I assure you it's not as good as you think.

A proposal for W 16th Avenue on the stretch where it's separated by a boulevard (MacDonald to Wesbrook). Thoughts?

July 2024 after a string of fatal crashes: "It's the summer weather." December 2025 after a string of fatal crashes: "It's the winter weather." I don't know maybe our road design just isn't safe?

The streetscape where this happened. No sidewalks, the only bit of gravel space beside the road used for more parking (despite massive driveways and garages at each house). This is a half block from a daycare and elementary school.

A lot of great motions coming to Vancouver council on Dec 10. I'll be writing in support of 4 of them, and you should too! 🧵 Quick read I promise. Instructions on writing in at end. council.vancouver.ca/20251210/cfs...

Absolutely no one: What the world really needs is something that completely devalues human creativity, hampers our ability to learn and communicate, makes it impossible to trust anything we see online, and destroys the planet in the process. Every tech company: We've got you

Carney, Smith, and their oil billionaire donors will not hold our province hostage. Call your MP and demand they end this betrayal of British Columbians. #bcpoli

All pretty grim

Pretty shocking how AI consistently gets incredibly simple single-source facts wrong, and how tech companies still shove it down our throats anyway. Quickly searching for reliable info is the #1 thing google is good for and they're like "eh why don't we ruin it"

Loss of provincial $ sucks but this was always an event that mainly benefitted Vancouver. It's nice the province sponsored so much before but it was never a given that it would last. The city should easily be able to make up this shortfall, but instead they've chosen vibes-based austerity.

I know fireworks aren't for everyone, but for me this is really sad. When I was a kid I would force my parents to take me on the SkyTrain every year for the show. I don't think I've missed a single year since. I own an actual radio that I use only for this occasion.

"Without evidence?" Terrible headline. There is in fact an overwhelming amount of evidence. Hundreds of massive population based studies showing no link between vaccines and autism. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

This is all fine and don't worry AI will definitely serve the betterment of humanity rather than the corporations and billionaires who own the algorithms

They say a picture tells a thousand words, and this picture of a woman complaining about the "view of her garden" being blocked by a new Lime station says that maybe the Sun needs to find better things to write about

This speaker had a very insightful line: the zero means zero budget "is almost an addiction to a strategy." Absolutely right. We're going to slash city services and lay off hundreds for a slogan. I hope (but don't expect) that council snaps out of it.

City staff are estimating that sponsorship and naming rights will generate $9.5M for the city next year. The problem is that all local events, artists, non-profits, shows, etc need the same dollars and now have to compete with the city. I don't see how this isn't a huge loss for them.

Listening to the Vancouver council budget meeting. City staff just presented the budget survey results which "is meant to guide Council" as they set the upcoming property tax rates and budget. Except council already did this weeks ago 🤔 Guess they didn't want to hear from the public this year.

Deep gratitude for the activists and political leaders advancing a Vision Zero agenda. Traffic violence is not inevitable. Stopping it is possible and necessary.

Get ready for a lot more of this

"Establish eye contact" have the people who made these PSAs ever tried walking at night?

A story in 3 parts

Our event with @thewaroncars.bsky.social is ONE WEEK AWAY! 😱 Tickets are still available. This is going to be a super fun night, and also a fundraiser for us. If you support the work we do, and if you want to be part of a discussion on the future of transportation in Vancouver, get tickets now!

Begging publications to stop treating existential threats as if they're fun hypotheticals. "What would it mean for Canada to become the 51st State?" "What's the path to a Trump 3rd term?" This isn't a college term paper. Do your jobs

Over the past few years, I've frequently criticized Brian Montague for living in North Vancouver. Today I'd like to formally issue an apology. It turns out he actually lives in Kelowna.

In voting down this motion, Clr Montague indignantly claimed that the VPD "puts out a message telling drivers to avoid non-essential travel every year" and that to suggest otherwise is "outright false." Can anyone find evidence of this? Here's their PSA for this year:

Maybe the reason Brian Montague brought forward the amendment to kill this Halloween safe streets motion is that he's still recovering from the time children "intimidated" him with their climate change art. vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/11/27/v...

This is a pretty hilarious take given that Sim didn't engage with the City or First Nations at all when he decided to spontaneously get rid of the park board over a personal upset

New billboard in town 👀

Bitcoin fans (including unfortunately our own mayor) love talking about how two of Bitcoin's greatest assets are that it isn't used for crime and that it's outside government control. Both of which are consistently shown to be untrue.

This budget is reckless. Our infrastructure is crumbling, our amenities are quite literally falling apart. A 0% increase combined with a raise for the VPD means big cuts to already struggling services and infrastructure, no matter how ABC wants to spin it.

I'm realizing that I don't know the name of a single judge on Canada's Supreme Court and how that's probably a good thing

Stumbled on the grand opening of the new public plaza in uptown New West, complete with wider bollard protected sidewalks along 6th. Looks awesome!

Our "progressive" government will bend over backwards to make driving slightly cheaper (gas prices didn't even go down btw good job lining the pockets of the oil & gas industry) but won't do anything to prevent about one death per day on our roads.

What if, hear me out, our transportation system didn't result in this every single day of the year

Montague doesn't even live in Vancouver, has brought forward zero good ideas in 3 years on council, and only made it into the chamber because the VPD endorsed Sim and wanted their personal spokesperson at the table. He's a bully and actively makes our city worse.

I love google maps for cycling directions. "I see you're already on Point Grey Road, one of the best bike routes in the city, and it takes you directly to your destination. But have you considered rerouting to the alley between 2nd and 3rd ave instead?"

On a walking tour of $tens-of-millions mega mansions in Point Grey (no sidewalks), which areq the only properties legally allowed to be built under the local zoning, @pwaldkirch.bsky.social asks "is this really the best thing we could be doing with this land?"

If you're wondering why our facilities our crumbling, our infrastructure projects are half-built, our arts & culture sector is struggling, it's simple. Our current government is committed to keeping property taxes artificially low, while handing a blank cheque to the police. (1/3)

Ah finally, Stanley Park getting what everyone has been clamoring for... a multi year study 😑 (jk this is a good result... But seriously can't wait for this saga to conclude)

Why are "nation building projects" always things that accelerate the destruction of the planet largely to the benefit of multinational corporations, and never things that would benefit millions of Canadians like, say, high speed passenger rail? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

As usual Ford is wrong on the basics. “Eighty-five per cent of people who have been issued one ticket have only been issued [that] one ticket” People are caught speeding once, get the message, and change their behaviour. It's incredibly effective & saves lives. www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/ar...