Raise the Hammer

Vancouver's traffic outcome is the predictable result of a deliberate policy to change the context in which people make transportation choices.

I would hope every city councillor has at least an inkling of ambition to be mayor of the whole city. With that ambition in mind, now is the time to practice having a city-wide focus.

The opportunity for councillors like Whitehead, who persist in driving a wedge between the downtown and the suburbs, is to recognize that a thriving downtown serves the best interests of his constituents.

Councillor Sam Merulla is challenging his Council colleagues to address a long-standing failure of amalgamation by ending area rating for transit.

A cheeky new campaign is collecting pledges to encourage Councillors to commute by transit for a week.

Ontarians have good reason to be concerned over the increasing number of bee deaths and the overall decrease in numbers of our native pollinators - deaths linked to the use of neonicotinoids (NNI), a relatively new class of systemic pesticides.

The City of Hamilton's Department of Planning and Economic Development has produced a sylish new video, the first in a series promoting the city's downtown revival by sharing the stories of its champions.

I really want to believe the Province is acting in good faith on the LRT file. However, if they are just being prudent there seem to be less confusing ways to go about it.

An important but problematic cycling connection in Hamilton could be fixed easily with wayfaring signage at each end and a curb cut.

It's time to raise the bar for our leaders since too many of them seem unwilling to raise the bar for themselves. We need to sweat the small stuff.

As a driver I would find traffic calming measures inconvenient. As a parent I say bring on the speed bumps, the bump-outs, the pedestrian-activated signals.

If we take the stand that paying for a service gets you a vote and rebalance the votes to suit that notion, we come to a very interesting point of view.