Early signs that the city might be seeing some positive progress re: transit speeds. Streetcar speeds up ~5% year-over-year. LRTs on Finch and Eglinton trending in the right direction. (Eglinton data sure looks noisier than you’d want though.)

TTC ran a “pilot project” to track the number of cars illegally passing streetcars at stops: “Preliminary data indicates that near-miss incidents may be very pervasive and that there is likely merit to developing a technology-based solution to this problem” Shocker. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Notable quote here from former cop Councillor Jon Burnside re: Chow and the police. And it’s true: after that brief budget spat in 2024, she’s given the police everything they’ve asked for in the budget process. www.thestar.com/news/gta/bra...

Check your inbox: it's City Hall Watcher #392! 🔭 PLATFORM VIEW returns for 2026 with a look at three Brad Bradford campaign promises. Could they work? Sorta. Are they funded? Nah Plus: apostrophe arguments, overdose data, trail loops, and developer fees toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/breaking-b...

*The Imperial March plays*

Check your inbox: it's City Hall Watcher #391! LOBBYIST WATCH returns with a look at a potential big-deal land deal. Plus coverage of four RIDICULOUSLY long agendas, featuring big development, barbed wire, bad-smelling trees, floating cars, and more. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/lobbyist-w...

My @thestar.com column: Toronto's not the only city in the world. It's true. I swear. I looked it up. And a lot of these other cities, it turns out, have car-free streets. With clear examples to follow, we REALLY don't need to make pedestrianization so complicated www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Some next-level handwaving of the financial question here for Bradford's Sankofa Square proposal. Who will pay for it? A Canadian brand. What brand? Uh, an iconic one! www.thestar.com/news/gta/san...

Check your inbox: it's City Hall Watcher #390! Your complete recap of the June 2026 meeting of Toronto Council, featuring the most QUOTABLE QUOTES and trade analysis of the giant-cheque-for-reduced-Development-Charges swap. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-ac...

Toronto Council meets today! It's the PENULTIMATE regular meeting of the term. To mark the occasion, they'll talk car-free streets. And maybe parking requirements, too. Multitudes. The meeting streams here. I'll post the things that occur, as they occur. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2X_...

Check your inbox: it's City Hall Watcher #389! Council's got their PENULTIMATE meeting this week. I’ve got a preview, with notes on car-free streets, parking policy, and more Plus: the tardy list! Are some councillors late to file for re-election? toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/the-tardy-...

If you missed it in this week's newsletter, this week I launched a new CITY HALL WATCHER LIVE web app that archives 15+ years of my live Council meeting coverage. The main page surfaces a random quote from the past on each refresh. It's addictive as hell. Share your faves. live.cityhallwatcher.com

My @thestar.com column: To call the island airport expansion idea "half-baked" is an insult to baked goods. There are scant details. No credible projections. And few facts. Toronto is in absurd situation — debating a notion instead of a plan. That won't fly. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

I'm back in City Hall Watcher. Despite my best attempt at posting it to relevance, I think the housing aspects of Bill 98 have gone unnoticed. I think it's the end of the current Official Plan. Toronto will need to write a new OP next term which means the people we elect this fall are crucial.

Check your inbox: it's City Hall Watcher #388! And it's FREE! @damienmoule.bsky.social returns to tell us why Bill 98 is a "big freaking deal" for council candidates. Also: 15 years of Council coverage, archived. And, uh, rain barrels? Rain barrels! toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/are-counci...

In a June 4 letter to advocacy group Safe Parkside, staff from Councillor Gord Perks' office confirm that the safety redesign for Parkside Drive is stalled due to new provincial rules re: bike lanes. City spent years studying how to make the road safer, but dragged their feet and now, well, whoops.

Working on an archive project for my past council coverage and some of these old quotes from Councillor Brad Bradford are wild in retrospect. This was April 2022! Not that long ago!

My @thestar.com column this week: With the city working at a feverish pace to fix infrastructure and spruce things up before Friday's kickoff, I'm asking: why does it take something like hosting the FIFA World Cup for Toronto to try to look its best? www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Stuff like this and the annual weeks-long crush at the Christmas Market really shows the huge unmet demand for pedestrianized spaces in the city. The right answer is more, but I worry the city will opt for less. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Bradford attacking Chow for "scalping" World Cup tickets is another example of him attacking a thing he voted for. The hospitality program was approved by Council in March 2025. So non-controversial at the time no one spoke on it and it passed on consent.

Familiar face alert: Former Conservative MP Ted Opitz has registered to run for Council in Councillor Amber Morley’s Etobicoke-Lakeshore Ward. He’s been added to the Candidate Tracker: toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Check your inbox: It's City Hall Watcher #387! The COUNCIL SCORECARD returns with a big update, and a new COUNCIL COMPARE feature that lets you put councillors head to head. Plus: island airport impacts, road safety without speed cameras, and more. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-sc...

I guess you could argue that the mayor should try to play a more active role in Metrolinx scheduling (good luck!) but five of the six transit closures the Bradford campaign highlights here are provincially-run services.

Report to next week’s Planning & Housing Committee includes an analysis of the province’s airport expansion plan, with the caveat that a lot of details are TBD. City is working off basis that runway would be extended westwards. Here’s how that would look. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

My @thestar.com column: in the early days of Toronto’s mayoral election, the two leading contenders have spent a lot of time… mostly agreeing with each other. So far, both Chow and Bradford are making plays for moderate votes. I’d like to see some more radical ideas www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

BREAKING: 🚨🚨🚨 Uncovered video suggests city is planning to build a community for animal-human hybrids near Downsview Park. And some of them will be CYCLISTS. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikvm...

Nice little bit of new business at yesterday’s meeting of the General Government Committee: councillors would like to see more places to sit at Nathan Phillips and other civic squares. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Following Doug Ford’s cancellation of the speed camera program, Toronto cops say they’ve got no room in their budget to add more traffic safety enforcement. So they might get a piece of the new provincial fund intended for infrastructure changes like speed bumps. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #386! LOBBYIST WATCH returns! A look at an attempt to elevate Toronto’s waterfront transit plan, Weston’s park problem, FIFA prep, and more. Plus: the TTC Board talks fences, AI and drones with new security push toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/lobbyist-w...

Further to the “squeaky wheel problem” thing, there’s one guy who has basically been waging war against these food stalls for several months. You can read his correspondence with the city here: www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis... (PDF)

Gift link 🎁 www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

My @thestar.com column: City Hall has a “squeaky wheel” problem, where a small number of haters and complainers get outsized influence over city decisions. This summer, they’re likely to come for the Church Street pedestrianization project. Let’s not let them win. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

We’ve gotten used to it, I guess, but the one-third override part of the strong mayor powers is just terrible policy-making. Just plain feels gross and undemocratic. Would be more defensible if they had just given mayors some broader executive powers. www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Look at me, motivating people. www.thestar.com/news/gta/for...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #385! Olivia makes it official! The mayor is running for mayor, again. Plus: your complete recap of the May Council meeting, with notes on a car-free Church Street, the island airport, e-bike wrangling, and more toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/after-mara...

Popular day for incumbents to make a decision, apparently. Councillor James Pasternak has filed for re-election too. So far, he’s running opposed. It’s early. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Mayor Olivia Chow makes it official: she’s running for mayor for a third time. Press release confirming her run touts her work hiring cops, speeding up Gardiner construction, freezing TTC fares, expanding school food, etc.

Council’s meeting was so inexplicably, bafflingly long that my app at live.cityhallwatcher.com called it quits and failed to capture the last couple of hours of coverage. I’ve fixed the issue. (I think!) You can now view the complete compiled thread here: live.cityhallwatcher.com/may-20-2026-2

Toronto Council meets today! The agenda includes free AC units, Church Street pedestrianization plans, the island airport, and more. It will get started shortly. I will post various things that happen. Meeting stream is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDQ...

My @thestar.com column this week: Told ya so. Told ya so. Told ya so. The data since Doug Ford banned speed cameras is definitive. Speeds are up significantly across the city as drivers seemingly aren’t worried about police enforcement. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #384! Council returns this week for a meeting about pedestrian streets, keeping cool and — of course — the island airport. Plus: a look at the speeding data since Ford banned speed cameras. You won’t be surprised! toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-se...

Imagine the level of grumbling that led to this motion re: Bike Share on the island. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

"At the event, Chow thanked the councillors and called Bradford (who is considered Chow’s political rival and is currently running for mayor) 'the muscle' of the team, Nunziata 'the brains,' and designated herself 'the mouth.’” www.torontotoday.ca/local/events...

From Safe Parkside: look what happened on Parkside Drive after Premier Doug Ford banned speed cameras.

City announces the names of the two electric ferries coming soon: Lady of the Quays and Toronto Islander. Zzzz. www.toronto.ca/news/new-ele...

Not your imagination - seems there are way more potholes this year (via @graphicmatt.com ) datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zQYBX/3/

Another incumbent councillor has registered for re-election: Councillor Vince Crisanti is now added to the big board. That’s three. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Check your inbox: it’s City Hall Watcher #383! The annual ROAD WARRIOR report looks at the councillors spending the most time behind the wheel. Plus: other office expense notes, complete council attendance records, and this year’s pothole problem. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/how-do-cit...

The Port Authority has submitted a letter to the Planning & Housing Committee re: Ookwemin Minising requesting that future residents agree to “warning clauses” about noise from the airport. Also suggests buildings be designed so windows can stay closed. www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis...

Sound the gong. Xiao Hua Gong, AKA Edward Gong, has registered to run for mayor again. His campaign in 2023 was most notable for deploying approximately twenty bazillion signs across the city. He got 0.41% of the vote. My candidate tracker is here: toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...