One thing I feel ought to be discussed more is the fact that basically all rural and suburban places in the US are subsidized by cities. They resent cities. They insult cities. They elect politicians who abuse cities. But none of them could survive without cities.

Thanks to Mary Huang from the Centretown Community Association for coming to Finance Committee today, to voice support for the city’s acquisition of the hotel at O’Connor and Gladstone for family transitional housing.

This is amazing news. As someone who lives in Centretown, I’m happy to say “yes in my backyard!”

This is a very clever bit of writing from @robattrell.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy on the evolution of suburbs really in North America through the post-war period, and how they can be made better.

The agenda for February's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee is up and still no Bank Street bus lanes. It was supposed to be on the agenda for this meeting, but has been delayed yet again. This "pilot project" has been in the works for over 4 years, and is now over a year behind schedule.

This is bad, but then you realize that most cancellations likely happened at peak times and it starts to look really really bad. Peak time cancellations on the busiest routes means more unhappy riders, more traffic, and less fare revenue for an already broke system. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Has “Board of Trade” met “Ottawa public transit”?

At Planning Committee yesterday, we voted unanimously to replace a road that was originally going to connect Preston to Lebreton Flats with a pedestrian and cycling bridge. This is a win for active transportation and for traffic management in Little Italy. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Shoutout to @stephanieplante.bsky.social for speaking out on unfair transit reliability issues downtown. Thank you for stating your commitment to bus-only lanes and transit priority signals. Let’s speed up the 6, 7 and more urban routes! cc: @arieltroster.com @shawnmenard.bsky.social

It was wonderful seeing everyone who came out to the social last night! Look out for our next monthly meeting on the 12th which will focus on the zoning bylaw and infill! Info available on our website events section! strongtownsottawa.ca#Events

We don’t talk enough about how slowly the City of Ottawa moves to help residents. The Bank Street Transit Study was first proposed in 2021, and its implementation has been delayed again. The worst part? The study’s proposal includes just 2 hours of combined bus lanes a day!

We are building the first-ever standalone public bathroom facility in downtown Ottawa. It’s about damn time. Public toilets are a basic human need. Because when you gotta go, you gotta go … www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Thank you, Ottawa Citizen, for publishing my op-ed today on the financial crisis that municipalities across the country are facing due to aging infrastructure. To read the story, please visit the Ottawa Citizen web site and look for the Opinion section. @OttawaCitizen.com

Next Ottawa Urbanism Book Club on January 26 will discuss Ottawology by @tonyadavidson.bsky.social We meet at 6:15pm at Sunnyside Public Library. All are welcome and reading is optional!

@giopetti.bsky.social knocks it out of the park with his second documentary “The Train to Nowhere”. Was proud to talk to him and play a small part in the making of this great video. youtu.be/wLD0L63QgxU?...

I didn’t write this and only came across it recently, but it sums up well why I stopped posting on social media so much. It’s nice being able to walk around Ottawa and other cities and just enjoy them for what they are.

Shoutout to @derricksimpson.bsky.social for hosting the monthly Ottawa Urbanism Bookclub! I definitely think that attending the book club inspired me to take my reading ambitions to the next level this year 😎

What’s on our team’s reading list? Our Comms Coordinator, @etiennelefebvre.bsky.social, shares the five books that most influenced his thinking on cities in 2025. parkingreform.org/2025/12/18/f...

Great news: The Dalhousie Community Association has set a letter supporting improving bus mobility on Bank Street, including requesting to extend the study into Centretown. Love to see it! cc @bearswim.bsky.social @arieltroster.com @shawnmenard.bsky.social

And here’s the kicker: Tierney’s vote, the mayor’s vote, and all the like-minded councillors always have the numbers. They win. Every time. So if their approach is always the one implemented… how are things not improving, Tim? 17/

No longer waiting for a bus, now waiting for a train. Proud to announce the sequel to DUDE, WHERE'S MY BUS?... A TRAIN TO NOWHERE! Releasing January 2026! m.youtube.com/watch?v=RGKe...

The City bending over backwards to present Lansdowne 2.0 info with white gloves, make special financial exceptions, and then do absolutely nothing to meaningfully improve the transit and traffic situation on Bank Street is incredibly disappointing.

Lansdowne 2.0 passes 15-10. As a group dedicated to financial transparency and smart investments in community infrastructure, we had concerns around the reporting process and special financial treatment given to Lansdowne 2.0, as well as the lack of tangible transit improvements. @alex-is.online

What a wonderful turnout for our first ever monthly meeting, where we discussed preparing for the 2026 Budget, and how to give delegations! Look forward to our upcoming monthly meetings to get involved if you couldn't attend this one! Thank you to St. Peter's Lutheran Church for the space! #Ottawa

You would think the mayor was being ironic here when he says that we can't acquiesce to demands of wealthy sports owners, right before he says we need to be careful we don't lose the other wealthy sports owners in the same stadium 🤣🤣 #Ottawa #Lansdowne2.0

The contempt the city has shown for this expensive and genuinely impressive piece of art it bought and proudly installed is just perfectly symbolic of how it treats both the public realm and its own investments. ottawacitizen.com/news/artist-...

I have been relatively quiet on here this week, because my office has been dealing with a barrage of email from people who attend a particular church, upset about the addition of paid parking on Saturdays nearby. BTW: there 525 free parking spots within the 400m zone (and 202 spots within 200m).

It was a joy to join @strongtownsottawa.ca for this month’s Urbanism Book Club and to honour @derricksimpson.bsky.social for his 2025 Eco Award for Active & Accessible Champion. Congratulations, Derrick, and keep up the excellent work! #Ottawa #EcoAward #Community #Environment

Turns out the real political spectrum is just how people feel about free parking 😂 Tag yourself!

Spoke with the Centretown Buzz about the (not so great) proposal for bus lanes on Bank Street, and the need to put people before parking. centretownbuzz.ca/2025/10/be-b...

The musical acrobatics event in the Byward market last night was a great example of the potential of our neighbourhoods when we pedestrianize streets and prioritize people. More space for people, more business, more fun.

We heard from many groups today about the Tewin development. This is unfortunately going to be a development that further entrenches us into unsustainable sprawl. Property taxes have not and will not be able to provide long-term support for these types of developments. We have decades of evidence.

"Bettors lose billions of dollars a year on parlays ... and operators bring in far more revenue for every dollar wagered on these bets than they do straight bets. In most of the states that publish the relevant data, parlays account for between half and two-thirds of the operators’ revenue."

The LRT being closed for maintenance on Panda Game weekend is such a confusing and poor decision. Ottawa consistently forgets to think of the needs of students and transit riders when making decisions.

Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s Ottawa Urbanism Book Club. Amazes me that after 2 years we’re still sharing ideas and listening to each other on how we can improve our city.

Ahead of tonight’s Ottawa Urbanism Book Club, here’s my favourite quote from Strong Towns. Meeting at 6:15 pm tonight at Sunnyside Public Library. All welcome, reading not required. @strongtowns.org @strongtownsottawa.ca

CBC Radio joined us at the last Ottawa Urbanism Book Club to talk about how we’re building community and pushing for a better Ottawa. A book club for people who care about the future of their city www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

The Centretown Community Association has sent a letter to @arieltroster.com supporting a ban on right turns on red in Centretown. “The lives of pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers are more important than a few seconds saved at a stop light.”

The Berczy Park Dog Fountain in Toronto is a great example of a small improvement leading to big benefits. For the small price of a fountain we get a more interesting walk and increased foot traffic, a tourist attraction, and an all around more liveable and enjoyable space.

Weeps in Bank Street, Montréal Road, Wellington West tears. @strongtownsottawa.ca @derricksimpson.bsky.social

Reliability is the biggest issue, but we don’t talk enough about how unenjoyable OC Transpo can be sometimes. Yesterday riders waited outside in the rain because the bus shelter was filthy. If you want people to take transit, it needs to be clean and enjoyable.

An underrated place in Toronto that impressed me was the North York Central Library. Easy to get to by subway, connected to a mall and a beautiful outdoor square. Almost the entire outside ring was bookable rooms. Seems amazing for studying or meeting. Every new library should do this.

I’m obviously not a fan of Ottawa’s 2026 budget direction. I just wish we had the honesty to tell people what this budget will really mean. Transit will get worse, traffic will take longer, life will get more unaffordable for those who can least afford it. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Thanks to everyone who came out to the @strongtownsottawa.ca meetup this weekend at one of the the Uncommon Event Spaces. Who would have thought that when you make space for people, people enjoy the space. Thanks to @markomiljusevic.bsky.social for organizing.

Finally visited the nicest looking library in Canada, the Toronto Reference Library. My photos don’t do it justice.

Spoke with Apartment 613 about the Ottawa Urbanism Book Club and what @strongtownsottawa.ca is doing to push for positive change in Ottawa. apt613.ca/ottawa-urban...

Washington, DC is by far the cleanest city I’ve ever visited. It was so clean that when I visited last summer I wrote about it. I’d be weary of anyone calling it dirty or saying it needs to be cleaned. open.substack.com/pub/improvin...

I will never understand why Via Rail makes you arrive so early and line up to take the train. In Europe there’s often no super early arrival or huge lineup for rides between different countries. Anything we can do to make taking the train more convenient than flying, we should be doing!

Took the 4AM train from Ottawa to Toronto earlier this week. It was 90% full and basically on time. Good on Via Rail for trying something new and providing more options to riders.

What’s your urbanism take that the general public would absolutely hate? Mine is that making driving or parking less convenient can be incredibly helpful to public transit and active transportation.