City: We unanimously declare a climate emergency! We must make change no matter what the cost, humanity's survival depends on it! Community: Can we put in a protected bike lane to get more people cycling. City: No, we'll lose parking spots.

Galling quote from Finance Minister Champagne here, while explaining away this underinvestment: "Without getting technical, there's a number of decisions that will have to be taken from now until 2028-29, "You don't take decisions for 2029 in 2025." Well my small community of 18,500 does… 1/n

One of the many reasons change is hard when it comes to better cities is that the ability to picture your city being and working very differently than it does now, aka “having vision,” is not nearly as common as we think. And it’s sadly not a prerequisite for leadership, although it should be.

There’s quite a bit to dislike here but the real icing on the cake for me is the visceral reaction caused by south of the border style “Hold up the important decree on a folder” photo. www.cbc.ca/news/indigen...

Second reading of the heavily revised OCP passed second reading on Monday. I stood opposed, as it was not the OCP that thousands of our citizens provided input to. There was no consultation with the public on amendments brought by the mayor with a handful of hours notice. My concluding statement:

The president of the Coastal First Nations in British Columbia says the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on an proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast "does nothing" to increase the chances it will happen.

Hey all you community folks watching the Oak Bay OCP process- (I see you!) just a heads up that the public hearing will be pushed back a week- likely to the 9/10 of December. Date to be finalized next Monday.

On this day in 1981, New Order released their debut studio album “Movement”

FYI, the “marathon five hour council session” was largely about myself and other councillors trying to get the OCP map that the public had provided input to on the table for debate, rather than a plan developed by the mayor and introduced on the day of the meeting. oakbaynews.com/2025/11/05/u...

Beautiful day to remember with the community. 🍁

“You're not alone in wanting a better world, one in which cars are relegated to their proper use. Cars are tools that can be useful at certain times and places. They’re not gods. They’re not the foundation of our society. They should serve us. We should not serve them. There can be life after cars.”

There’s a sort of Dunning-Kruger effect happening where people who read widely, consider various perspectives, and put in effort to understand views they disagree with worry that they don’t do that enough, while people who don’t do any of that accuse others of being in a bubble and call it a day.

Mister Peanut rocking the Rally Cap

For someone that’s not into baseball, I seem to be spending an extended amount of time watching it…

And that, folks is why you _don’t rake your leaves into the gutter_!!!!

Enough. Awesome to see this billboard up in Vancouver. Was really incredible to work with the people at @visionzerovancouver.ca to bring this to life.

📣 Be a voice for your community and serve on a volunteer committee. Openings for 2026 include: Advisory Design Panel Advisory Planning Commission Heritage Commission and more... Apply today: www.oakbay.ca/council-admi...

A refreshing editorial from the Oak Bay News, Oct 9, 2025:

Couple things: - For those keeping track (I am) that’s the third cyclist hit in Oak Bay in as many months. - A fractured ankle isn’t a “minor injury”. It’s a potential lifetime disability. - If we weren’t taking so long on AT infrastructure in OB, we would have a shot at preventing these incidents.

An adult driver angry at a child they hit with their car. Our car culture summed up in one video.

…On the subject of Canadian women kicking ass on the global sports stage: Magdeleine Vallieres became the first ever Canadian Road cyclist to wear the Rainbow Jersey of World Champion: www.cyclingnews.com/races/uci-ro...

⏱️ It's the last chance to have your say! 🚲 Our Active Transportation Strategy survey closes TODAY. Don’t miss your chance to help shape safer, healthier, and more connected ways to get around Oak Bay. Take the survey now: form.simplesurvey.com/f/s/ATS?ds=X...

Asked directly whether his government will fulfill this ask, Eby says he's a "huge fan" of libraries but says he doesn't expect the asked for funding will be in the next budget #bcpoli

Last day of UBCM calls for a bus ride and a concert shirt 🤘🚌

A little known fact about Oak Bay is that by bylaw, the District’s motto changes for two weeks around the fall equinox to “Sub Quercu Periculum” reflecting the annual tradition of getting beaned by acorns. 🪾

Teenaged me loved R.E.M.(still do). Middle aged me loves supporting independent media. My 2025 remix EP of Radio Free Europe, a fundraiser for RFE just arrived today, appropriate timing on a day rife with censorship. “Decide yourself if radio’s gonna stay Reason it could polish up the grey”

#OakBayBC - Oak Bay wraps up 'Hunt' for new CAO www.oakbaynews.com/local-news/o...

I’ve lived in #yyj for a decade plus and still haven’t figured out how and where drivers here learn the “honk as you come up behind a person on a bike, ostensibly to warn them” thing. Does anyone find this useful or effective? If you’re leaving required space when passing, nothing to worry about.

Hey @oakbaygazette.bsky.social They’re kind of teeing this one up for you… www.oakbaynews.com/local-news/c...

Shared Responsibility. @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social

As someone who nearly wore out his cassette copy of Document rewinding in an attempt to learn the lyrics to impress a girl, this comes some 35 years too late- I am nevertheless deeply grateful and enlightened 🫡🥲

“We can’t all be expected to bike.” Fair. But that’s not the point. “Not everyone can or wants to bike. But some people can & do—and they deserve a safe, efficient, affordable way to move through the city. It’s about freedom of choice.” This & other useful comebacks, in @momentummag.bsky.social.

The efforless conflation of “vehicle” amd “car” here is - notable. www.timescolonist.com/opinion/adri...

The whole family was elsewhere tonight so I foraged my own dinner. 🦀😎 #catchlocal #eatlocal

I was stunned to see a full size American pickup in Rome last year, and was struck of course by how ridiculously out of scale it was and how it loomed over those using the public space. The size of these vehicles is especially jarring when inserted into a streetscape that doesn’t prioritize cars.

AGAIN a cyclist struck by driver in Oak Bay, literally blocks from where our Active Transportation Plan calls for infrastructure. Are we still of the mind that OB roads are quiet and safe just as they are? Or because the bike and rider only suffered “minor damage” we’ll just explain this away?

Closest I’ve been to dead on a bike in quite a few years- driver blew through four-way stop without the slightest awareness of the world around them. So let’s talk some more about how fast e-bikes go.

the CBC was founded as a bulwark against US cultural imperialism, to ensure we had canadian news and canadian culture. there should be a renewed emphasis on that mandate, particularly to stop reporting so much on what happens in the US for eyeballs and ad dollars.

Wish you were still with us, Joe.

Table For One Please.

As our kids go #BackToSchool, never forget that we ARE the traffic that we’re afraid of. If more kids walked, biked or rode transit to school, it would erase a massive number of car trips each day, and our kids would be safer, healthier and better at school. HT Ian Lockwood. Spread the word.

Slightly diminish a band: Indifferent Division

In the past 24 hours I have once again evicted wasps from my walls and raccoons from under my deck. Nothing personal, I have to respect the persistence.

Got to see the new Lochside PIGLETS today! This is legitimately the best news I’ve gotten all week 🎉🐷

🗣️ What topics are you interested in? What activities are you most likely to participate in? 🔗 Help us shape public engagement for the District of Oak Bay by taking our short Questionnaire: ow.ly/nc0650WCl23 Questionnaire closes Aug. 15. #yyj #oakbay

In discussing active transportation infrastructure in OB, some recent argument against is the purported lack of evidence of cycling incidents, implying the roads are already safe. Exhibit A: www.oakbaynews.com/local-news/d...

Hobbes would like to wish all who celebrate a happy #internationalcatday. We can confirm that he is as much of a creature of leisure as this depicts.

As a lifelong ‘Caps fan, hard to not get excited about this one. If you sat around in the rain watching 86ers games at Swangard wishing for pro soccer, this would have felt like pure fantasy.

I went on a 90 minute ride this afternoon and had the presence of mind to put a bunch of change in my jersey pocket. I hit up four different lemonade stands, tipped everyone at least 100% and if there’s a better way to create smiles and happiness for a handful of toonies, I’ve yet to see it. 😊

If market housing used to be much more affordable in the past, we can’t say the current lack of affordability is an inherent property of capitalism. It’s the specific market conditions of today. The market will not serve everybody, but I think a functioning housing market can serve most people.