So for the past few months I’ve been trying to incorporate biking into my transportation routine. As another Canadian winter sets in, however, it’s unlikely that I’ll be doing too much of it. I like the warmth fellow TTC riders provide during the long, dark winter.
However, the cooler fall made it much easier for me to bike compared to summer. My commute hasn’t been especially long (6 km or so, mostly downhill on the way to work), but once the temperature starts creeping up over 25 C I arrive at work a hot, sweaty mess.
As biking has become more popular as a form of commuting, though, there has a been shift towards ditching the usual perception of bikers as spandex wearing geeks. A recent NYT article even makes it look sexy (thanks to Rebuilding Place for the link). There are certain things that a workplace needs to make arriving in style a reality, though.
A change room – Ideally a locker-room style space with running water. In the hottest months it’s just not possible to ride in your work clothes. Right now I have to change in a storage space across from my cubicle. I lock it by propping a wooden shelf against the door. This is not ideal.
Bike parking – The Conde Nast bike parking area in the NYT article has cultivated serious envy in me. I mean, look at that place. Clean, indoors, lots of space to maneuver. At least I have a bike rack that’s under an overhang. Better than a tree or a gas meter, I guess. There is an underground lot at my work that would likely have space for bikes. However, I doubt the property company would want to sacrifice their $40/day (cost for two spots) to something as useless as bike parking. The City of Toronto recently opened a bike parking area at Union Station, but that doesn’t really help me.
Incentives for active transportation – Right now if I have to travel for work-related meetings I have four options: Walk, TTC, cab or bike. If I walk, bike or use transit, I’m out of luck. If I take a c ab it is covered. If I had a car, the mileage would be covered, as well. I’m not saying I want to get paid to ride my bike, but it seems like there could be some sort of reward for making the smarter choice. You know, like an embarrassing picture of me in our monthly newsletter all disheveled from a ride in. Anything, really.
Shortly after my arrival in my current job I submitted a proposal to convert an unused janitors space into a changing facility. One year later it is apparently under review. Maybe by the time it gets approved I’ll be driving my Rascal to work.
One addition to my biking arsenal has been a bike rack garment bag. My wife gave it to me as a birthday present and it works pretty well. There are few options out there for this sort of thing, and the Two Wheel Gear bag seems like a decent choice. My work clothes arrive slightly more wrinkled than I’d like, but better than drenched in sweat.
Beyond biking for my commute, I’d eventually like to arrive at a point where I could show up at a bar without looking like a fool. We’ll see how that goes, I don’t know if I’ll ever reach this point.
Anyone out there have any tips on cycling in style?
I came across this incredible photo series by Fixinmytie via Urban Toronto earlier today and wanted to share it. A few weeks ago two friends decided to walk follow Yonge Street from Aurora, ON south for 42 kilometers until they hit the lake. Cool enough in itself, but to make it even more mind blowing they photographed virtually every step of the way, creating a beautiful stop motion capture of their 14 hour trek.
Some fun things to watch for:
On the north facing shot, the hat spin (I didn’t notice it until the second time around)
My street (you have to have a really sharp eye, it sort of blends in with a couple of pictures around the 1:05 mark)
The shift in density from suburban to urban, and the corresponding increase in foot traffic
The fun sun dial effect on the south facing shots
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
So kudos to the photographers, a terrific piece of work! Check out the video below (and you really should watch it full screen):
(not to be confused with Mappy the crime fighting(?) mouse)
I like maps. I like when governments post maps with key information that they own. I’m always happy to learn about public entities that are map happy.
Recently, I was happy to learn about the Chicago Police Department’s CLEARmap website. First of all, someone actually took the time to come up with an acronym that worked, Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (the CLEAR), so that scores a few points with me. I suppose it’s better than Sexy Maps Are Really Terrific (SMARTmaps).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some city-folk, craving data on crimes and other incidents in my neighborhood. I’m not out to see how “dangerous” my neighborhood is. I already live here, I already walk the streets the daily and I feel perfectly safe at any hour. However, its perhaps a little different seeing them here, on a map with a semi-physical location instead of in some newspaper’s crime blotter (just where in the heck is the 4600 block of S Bishop anyway?). I say semi-physical, because for as far as I can tell police only report crimes on the block level, instead of the specific address. I’m sure there’s some privacy dealie here going on.
The first map I pulled up was the Crime Incidents Map. This is what I refer to it being a little odd seeing the physical locations. For example, I’m not suddenly going to be afraid to hang out for a bus at W North and N Ashland (upper right). On a sad note, there’s no prostitutes in my neighborhood. Speaking of crimes, I swear what I’m downloading on Bit Torrent is perfectly legal.
(All Images given smaller thumbnails to preserve the full details when you click to expand)
Some more details are emerging on Toronto’s waterfront revitalization efforts. Christopher Hume has a nice write up in the Star today on the proposed “Parkside” development at Sherbourne and Queens Quay, calling the development “the best thing to have been proposed for Toronto’s long-neglected harbour lands in decades.” If you think that’s a lofty claim, you haven’t seen Toronto’s waterfront.
Having a striking new development is exciting and it’s always great to have architecture that takes risks. I’m not in love with the cubist look, necessarily, but you never can really get a feel for these things from the renderings. I do like the attempt to break up the typical glass block in the sky look of Toronto condos. And if promises are followed up on, I will be happy with the amount of mixed use development involved. And the promise of 3-bedroom apartments is important in terms of giving families options outside of the typical semi-attached home.
Check out some images from the article below, click to see full size and find the full gallery here.
I had the opportunity through a United Way fundraiser (way cooler than a bake sale) to tour the abandoned central tower of the Whitney Block next door to my office. According to Wikipedia, Whitney Block was built in 1926 by F.R. Heakes, and the tower was added in 1932. Apparently the tower was designed to be in the centre of the building, with another six story wing stretching south to Grosvenor, but the depression put the kibosh on those plans.
Our tour was led by a volunteer who had been hosting these as a fundraiser for a number of years, and she was able to impart some fun facts about the tower:
Apparently, for reasons undetermined by anyone in our group, a freight elevator was used to shuttle livestock up to the 7th floor of the tower, where they were housed. All jokes about politicians aside, I can’t think of what practical purpose this served. And it couldn’t have smelled very good. The closest guess I have is for use in a restaurant for MPP’s at the time?
The intricate statues that adorn the four sides of the tower represent different government ministries (lumberjack for Forestry, lawyer for Justice, doctor for Health, etc.) and all, at one time, had faced their relevant ministries. Now not all of them match the current ministry locations.
The building was cooled by placing ice in an enormous wooden tub (see below) at the peak of the tower. The cool air would then be gravity fed to the different floors.
The tower was last used in the late 1960s before it was deemed unsafe due to updated fire codes. There is only a single staircase leading out of the building, and trust me, I wouldn’t want to be caught in a mad rush down them.
There are also apparently some ghost stories, but those bore me so I wandered off to look at the old washrooms. Much more exciting.
Anyway, have a look at the pictures. Sorry for the crappy quality, but I’d forgotten my normal camera and was forced to use my cell phone. Some people on the tour had better cameras, so I’ll add more pictures when I can get them. Enjoy! (Click for larger images)
When I’m not moonlighting as a millionaire-playboy transit enthusiast, I have a day job as a mild-mannered policy analyst. Sometimes, however, my alter egos overlap and I find some pretty cool stuff.
I came across this research from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Services when I attended a presentation by one of the authors, Dr. Richard Glazier. The study utilizes a whole whack of data, ranging from Stats Can to City of Toronto GIS data. It looks at diabetes prevalence across Toronto, and adds a whole bunch of fun map layers.
Most interesting is the links that are drawn between diabetes prevalence and how the urban form contributes to it. The authors developed a measure termed the “Activity Friendly Index (AFI).” Basically it combines a number of indicators (crime rates, income levels, car dependency, land use) which can be used to rate an area on how easy it is to be healthy.
The result? The lower the AFI score, the worse health problems an area will have. Check out some of these maps.
I had a full plate of Canadian music this weekend in Toronto. Friday night I was lucky enough to check out my second Rural Alberta Advantage show, and Saturday I was able to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert for the first time.
It was nice seeing both bands within 24 hours of each other. Despite over 50 years of seperation between RAA and Gordie, the common themes of Canadian place and identity were present in both concerts: “Alberta Bound” and “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” for Gordie and “The Ballad of the RAA” and “Frank, AB” for RAA.
I’m no music critic, but I can tell you that I enjoyed both shows. The RAA show Friday was at Lee’s Palace and was jammed. The band seemed a little surprised at the crowd and people were lining up out the door to listen. It was a hot, sweaty mess and I enjoyed it all. But the best part of the evening came after the show. As you can see below, I totally scored a photo op with Amy Cole (vocals, keys, percussion). However, if it was up to me I would have just stared wistfully as she walked by. Luckily, my good friend RB chased her down and forced her to stand next to a overly geeked and sweaty me.
The single greatest moment in my life (next to meeting my wife)
Sorry for the crappy crop, there was a cowboy hat in every freakin' shot
Saturday night brought me, my wife and family to Massey Hall. This was the first time I’d been there. Knee breaking small seats notwithstanding, it’s a beautiful venue and a perfect space to check a Canadian music legend. I’d been warned that his voice was really starting to show its age, and in a couple spots I could tell, especially during “If You Could Read My Mind.” That said, it IS Gordon Lightfoot, after all, so he still brought it. “Sundown” was especially strong and my personal favourite from the night. Well, that and his kick-ass red velvet jacket he wore for the first set. I would totally rock that if I could.
I need that jacket.
2nd act and still going strong.
So a terrific weekend for music, and just one more reason I love living where I do. Now if I could just get Amy Cole and my wife onto polygamy…
Just wanted to relay a fun little back and forth on Twitter today involving Sue Ann Levy. For those who don’t know her, Sue…Ann is a columnist for the Toronto Sun who ostensibly monitors the City Hall beat. Or, to quote her delightful witticism, “Socialist Silly Hall”. Do you see what she does there? You see, Silly Hall is a lot like City Hall, and Socialist is, well, the opposite of this conservative ink slinger. For our U.S. viewers, imagine Glenn Beck with a little less hysterics, the same level of hyperbole and lack of journalistic integrity, and arguably worse hair.
In any case, I’ve about had it with people in Toronto bemoaning the recent TTC fare increase (for a solid analysis of this increase check out Steve Munro’s blog). Sue Ann, of course, had to weigh in via her Twitter account:
Cities are inherently cool - From Toronto to Chicago, London to Cleveland, Detroit to Vancouver, cities reflect a society’s culture.
World class cities have world class transit - A comprehensive transit system is the life blood of any great city, and we love mass transit in all it’s forms (especially dirigibles).
These themes, and other urban issues that tickle our fancy, are the focus of TRR.
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