Court

Bike lane in central Paris filled with people on bikes moving smoothly and efficiently

When urbanists take pictures of a Paris street (like Rue de Rivoli) showing all the people on bikes now taking advantage of protected infrastructure, it’s not just because we “like bikes.”

It’s because we’re picturing the gridlock if they were driving cars.

And the public cost, pollution, noise…

All one has to do is hang out at any intersection in any Canadian city and you'll see multiple people on their devices at every single traffic light cycle.

A veritable good mine of tickets/education await any police service that might care to look - but they don't care.

Related to this is my personal beef with navigation apps that calculate your driving ETA on the assumption that you speed the whole time because it’s based on “flow of traffic” data

I wish Doug Ford would get as excited about the big machines involved in creating protected bike lanes.

#OnPoli

Poster announcing the new Cycling Guide app that helps you find low-stress routes

Affiche annonçant l’application Cycling Guide, qui permet de trouver des itinéraires sans stress à vélo.

Today’s the day! The new mobile-friendly Ottawa bike maps are ready. Plot the safest bike routes on your phone.
We’re a proud sponsor of the Cycling Guide app w/ @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social. Your donations helped us get to the finish line. Thank you!
Download it for free now
bikeottawa.ca/blog/

YouTube video by Fat Storytelling Fat girl reacts to Supersize vs Superskinny with Julie and Jade

Fat Storytelling: Fat girl reacts to Supersize vs Superskinny

Today, Lia reacts to a segment of a show she's never seen, and discusses all the ways it makes her screech in rage!

youtu.be/KmiaIjo0XXc

Ungrading Five Years On A Movement, A Backlash, A Rebranding, A Story

I wrote about #ungrading and my experience in the 5 years since the book appeared. You can read the e-book on my substack.
open.substack.com/pub/susandbl...

Another cyclist has died on Ottawa's streets today - a 70-year-old woman. I'm struggling to find the words to say how distressing I find the regularity with which serious and deadly collisions are happening right across the city. We don't know who this woman is, yet - but I know she was loved.

“Don’t pave paradise” in front of a photo of a paved road for drivers.

So silly. So selfish.

It’s crazy how much more learning takes place for my 5-year-old at swim lessons on the days when there are only 2 kids in the class instead of 3-4 kids and it is even crazier to me that people continue to think that class size doesn’t matter.

To Whom It May Concern, I became aware of your recent article “Trump posts fake video of Obama in jail, declares ‘treason’ and ‘crime of the century’ in AI-driven blitz” which contains a completely fabricated quote from me. The article attributes the following to me regarding Donald Trump’s AI video depicting Obama’s arrest: “This deepfake is political disinformation at its worst,” said Nina Jankowicz, disinformation analyst and former executive director of the US Disinformation Governance Board. “It erodes public trust, damages reputations, and poses serious threats to democratic stability.” I did not say this. In fact, I have not issued any comment related to this Trump AI video to your outlet or the public. The manufactured quote is incorrect and irrelevant, and it negatively impacts my professional reputation. Please remove the false quotation and append a correction to the article, stating that a prior version of this article included a quote falsely attributed to Nina Jankowicz. Sincerely, Nina Jankowicz

Can't believe I had to issue a request like this, but apparently news outlets are printing completely fabricated quotes now

Venn diagram showing you can’t achieve stable services, low density and low taxes at the same time.

My semi-regular reminder of a really important reality about cities, density, services and taxes.

Any questions?

Graphic recently cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath

#conefest

A quick look at the #Ottawa Traffic Cone Festival today. Something big is shaping up on Hunt Club Road, as we just lost our #bike lane.

#conefest

This may be of interest to @pylonograph.bsky.social and @joolzmadcat.bsky.social

The cover for the audiobook A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

The cover for the book There Is No Place For Us by Brian Goldstone

The titles of the two books I’m currently reading just clicked for me #booksky

I’m a few chapters in and am really looking forward to the rest!

I’m so surprised how quiet the streets are in the summer. I’ve wondered if another factor is more households have all adults working, with more children in camp during the day instead of in the streets. But also we’re definitely just less connected to the outside world!

I honestly think Canadian levels of government don’t want to do this cuz they know it would be insanely popular #cdnpoli

I was also hesitant, but I feel like my e-bike is more secure than my regular bike now. We have a lock that goes through the front wheel, which removes the possibility of rolling it away, and the bike is 80 lbs and I take the battery out. I still worry, but less than I thought I would.

If you outlaw behavior that people CANNOT AVOID because they HAVE NO HOMES, you outlaw PEOPLE.

If you outlaw PEOPLE, you're a police state.

Ppl who’ve ever bike commuted: What’s a misconception you had beforehand?

IMO: Thought it was 100% my responsibility to make sure ppl driving could see me. Turns out onus *might* also be on ppl using 3000lb vehicles? AND supporting smart road design/lighting protects better than yellow jackets can.

More than $5 million in repairs needed on Mackenzie King Bridge after new damage found Construction on the Mackenzie King Bridge in downtown Ottawa will continue for another two years after engineers discovered additional deterioration on a section of the busy roadway.

Last winter, we called attention to oversalting in OC Transpo facilities.

Specifically, we asked for information on sake damage to infrastructure.

Now we learn that salt damage has accelerated Mackenzie King Bridge’s degradation, at $5M cost—just one example.

www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Cycling advocates celebrate decision to uphold injunction in bike lanes Charter challenge Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the…

Finally some good news for #BikeTO! The Ford government lost its appeal over the injunction which prevents them to remove bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge, and University until the Charter challenge can be decided. #TOpoli #ONpoli #VisionZero ecojustice.ca/news/cycling...

I just want everyone to know that Mamdani did way better on his SATs than I did and my job is basically “professional smart guy on the internet.”

It’s *so depressing* to see some people criticising a list of books chosen by 11 year olds as their favourites.

Let children choose what they want to read!

Adults dictating to children what they should and shouldn’t read, is a huge part of the reading crisis today.

We should do better!

You are cordially invited to our Anti-Prime Sale, where every purchase will financially support bookstores, NOT billionaires 🥳

Good things here. Empty offices getting turned into downtown transitional space for people to live while getting services & support to move forward? Hell yeah. Beats a community centre gym floor.

hey remember when a rich ceo died then when they caught the suspect they made a circus of it like they found osama bin laden and charged him with terrorism but less than weeks ago two democrat lawmakers and their spouses were shot as literal assassination to shift control and everyone already forgot

PSA Neck gaiters are not masks. Neck gaiters are not effective at stopping the spread of airborne viruses. Masks, especially well-fitting ones are effective at preventing infection. Conflating the two is bad because it can encourage politicians to ban masks for the general public.

AI-powered study finds pedestrians, cyclists face daily danger at intersections, including in Ottawa A new CAA study used cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor and analyze intersections, and found pedestrians and cyclists face “life-threatening” near misses every day.

Using automation to reduce auto-nation seems positive. Having so much footage to show the thousands of moments that are dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians has to invoke tangible change to infrastructure, right? Right?!
#ottbike

www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

If you need a concrete example of what #CarBrain looks like, here's an example - privileging drivers at the expense of kids walking or wheeling to school. It's as disingenuous as blaming bike lanes for congestion when the real reason is too many cars with only one person in them #CarCult