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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 3h

There still is a very unofficial NDP slate, and I think that if parties were allowed it would be bad for that affiliation to be what matters rather than those councillors developing a municipal platform separate from the needs of the provincial and federal parties.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 3h

The upside of this for Toronto is that if the results in the Alberta municipal election convince Doug Ford to allow municipal parties in Toronto, we should found an ideologically urbanist party, disconnected from provincial parties, designed to persist past the first leader.

Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

In the middle of the video, they spend some time contemplating why the boroughs system is producing good results (because local control often produces bar results elsewhere). My squaring of this circle is that the combination of *local ideological* political parties produces the result. 1/

Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 3d

This video is a long time coming.

People always ask me: what makes Montreal so ambitious on urbanism? (At least for bikes and pedestrians.)

I've been thinking through this and asking Montrealers, and in this video I want to cover *part* of the answer.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 5h

Ya Ensemble win we'll see if they have an agenda or is just SMF becoming the centre of a personalist party, Peronist style.

Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 5h

A Coderre personalist party trying to sustain itself that may or may not morph into an ideological party.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

So I think Project Montreal being an ideological party in a system that mostly wasn't gave them a big advantage to getting things done. What I would watch out for in Montreal is the party either devolving into a personalist party or the emergence of an ideological suburban party.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

You also get the advantage of recruiting for *your issues*. You have a (partial) block against the national/provincial parties using municipal politics as a farm system. No issue or loyalty tests for non-municipal stuff. 5/

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

If you can form a party with a municipal ideology Montreal's system gives you a lot of advantages. You can implement policy in boroughs you control, especially if remaining councillors are less or non-ideological. 4/

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

On the negative side it makes the system even more vulnerable to personalist politics than other municipal systems (which is a lot). Most of Montreal's history is just personalist parties and I think personalist parties + local control is a bad mix for decision making and corruption. BUT... 3/

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

I think municipal political parties are good but what's different about Montreal is they aren't allowed to affiliate with other levels. I think this comes with some positives and negatives 2/

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 6h

In the middle of the video, they spend some time contemplating why the boroughs system is producing good results (because local control often produces bar results elsewhere). My squaring of this circle is that the combination of *local ideological* political parties produces the result. 1/

Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 3d

This video is a long time coming.

People always ask me: what makes Montreal so ambitious on urbanism? (At least for bikes and pedestrians.)

I've been thinking through this and asking Montrealers, and in this video I want to cover *part* of the answer.

The Secret of Montreal’s Urbanism Success

YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!

youtu.be

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 7h

This is consistent with his statements to the Star but Burnside is looking at removing cameras as a bankshot to get around a previous council vote to reduce speed limits. Can't say how much I dislike bankshot workarounds. If you find yourself contemplating them: stop.

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 8h

Burnside's point is that maybe the 40 km/h speed limit on Avenue Rd and other streets is too low. Getting a ticket for "going 50 or 51 on Avenue Road that's six lanes wide, seems to be the kind of thing that would get under people's craws," he says.

Gray points out there are schools on Avenue Road.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 12h

Within a *parking lot.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 12h

Toronto should endeavour to do something similar. Preferably while tackling setbacks and scaling site plane control and amenity performance requirements to the zone.

Josh White @jwhiteyvr.bsky.social · 19h

Vancouver City Council approved establishment of standardized apartment zoning districts today, as well as a significant City initiated rezoning in the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor areas. I delivered these remarks in closing during the item at Council:

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 20h

If you are making side streets twice as wide as Queen Street you have lost the plot.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 1d

This would get you asked to leave the call followed by coaching from a manager in my industry.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 1d

Literally doing this tomorrow.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 1d

Imo you should ignore the drop in DC contributions. One because of the $2.9B buffer which I think will last us through to a resumption of building and two because DCs (should) fund growth related projects so if the growth isn't manifesting then delaying is fine.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Matt Elliott: How the popping of the condo bubble led to a looming budget crisis in Toronto

Toronto’s condo boom finally going bust isn’t just a concern for developers and investors. The collapse is also causing major financial woes for the city.

www.thestar.com

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

I find so much about this attempt to stop a shelter being built on a parking lot in Etobicoke contemptible. But I just want to point out two things:
-They incorrectly state the zoning for the site only allowed parking
-The city freaking changed the zoning explicitly to allow the building they want

Alex Beheshti @alexbeheshti.bsky.social · 2d

*When* the city wins this case, they better be demanding costs. Historically the city avoids doing this, but screw that, I'm so sick of this as a taxpayer.

If the case is found frivolous, then we the taxpayers should get every dime back as is the right to ask for in court.

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Reposted by Damien Moule

Alex Beheshti @alexbeheshti.bsky.social · 2d

*When* the city wins this case, they better be demanding costs. Historically the city avoids doing this, but screw that, I'm so sick of this as a taxpayer.

If the case is found frivolous, then we the taxpayers should get every dime back as is the right to ask for in court.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

Trams can work in mixed traffic (see all of Marco Chitti's documentation of various small European cities that do this better than us). We just do none of the things that would make them work.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

It's not the meaning of inclusive being used, but I found it very funny that the TTC item on the foundations of inclusive governance has a confidential attachment.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

I actually think most people would be surprised to learn the streetcars have a schedule.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

Nothing to see here just years on end of the streetcars miserably failing to meet an incredibly lax on-time departure metric.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

I'm fairly committed to an across the board upzoning, simplification of process, build code rationalization, and reduction of fees approach to housing but for many of the architects or old New Urbanists out there I think this book/pamphlet should be something you take very seriously.

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 2d

I read Impossible Toronto over the weekend. I like their approach of stating what type of building they want to see and then thinking through what needs to change to make it legal and economical. I think this would be a good exercise for many urbanist-but-not-fully-YIMBYs to do.
impossibletoronto.ca

Impossible Toronto — On the Courtyard — Introduction

impossibletoronto.ca

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