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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
@pentastich.bsky.social
670 followers 780 following 1.3K posts
Urbanism, utility cycling, rowing, food, vintage cocktails, and city living. Victoria, BC, Canada. He/him. Blog: https://www.boomin-in-victoria.ca Mastodon (rarely) https://urbanists.social/@pentastich Formerly @pentastich on Birdland
www.boomin-in-victoria.ca
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 1d
Fall in Victoria is full of little pleasures!
#yyj
A brightly coloured wet leaf on a concrete stair. Some red leaves on a branch in front of a chain link fence.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 1d
European Wall Lizards are a nasty invasive species here on Vancouver Island. They're impossible to get rid of, so I guess it's a good thing I find them delightful! I remember them from a trip to Italy when I was a teenager. Love them or not, I wish we hadn't introduced them here.
#yyj
A European wall lizard on a rock wall in Victoria. A European wall lizard poking its head out above some moss on a rock wall.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 2d
I find it odd that the only two municipalities considering amalgamation are the two that need it least and that are most likely to see problems. Personally, I think around 100,000 people is the Goldilocks size for a city. Big enough to do stuff, but small enough to be responsive.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 2d
Maybe so, but this amalgamation won't help with that!
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 2d
Another thing is to separate the Saanich-Victoria amalgamation from the broader question of whether there are too many municipalities in the CRD. If that's your concern, then merging the two largest is… suboptimal.
A table showing the population of the municipalities and electoral areas in the CRD. Saanich and Victoria are by far the largest.
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Reposted by Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
stateofthecity.bsky.social
Brian F. Kelcey @stateofthecity.bsky.social · 3d
Praise for Montreal's bike-share system, from TIME. Worth a holiday thread on a couple of operational + political aspects of Bixi's history that are intriguingly left unsaid.
cultmtl.com
Cult MTL @cultmtl.com · 3d
“Montreal revolutionized the bicycle-sharing trend. The tech behind BIXI became the backbone for bike-sharing programs in London, New York, Chicago and dozens of other places, turning two wheels into a genuine option for navigating cities.”
BIXI named among top 25 inventions of the past 25 years by TIME magazine
TIME magazine has released a list of the top 25 inventions of the past 25 years, and Montreal's bicycle-sharing system BIXI is on it.
cultmtl.com
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Reposted by Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 5d
“The transformation is astonishing. [Paris] has quietly—& quickly—become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. What started as a series of emergency “coronapistes” or pop-up bike lanes, built during the pandemic has evolved into a permanent bike network spanning hundreds of kilometres.”
New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution
Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.
momentummag.com
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 4d
After watching our parents age, we looked for a walkable city where we wouldn't feel isolated without a car. We found Victoria. As a test, we didn't buy a car when we arrived, and decided we liked living that way. The safe bike & roll network that goes to real places is wonderful!
#yyj
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 5d
FYI, the 2 & 3 bedroom designs could qualify for a density bonus in some cases. In a "Priority Growth" area, a 6-storey building where 15% of the units have at least three bedrooms can get an extra 1.25 FSR, taking it from 2.6 to 2.75. The setbacks are bigger, though, so few single lots would work.
A section of the newly amended zoning bylaw showing the density bonus for the bedroom units.
pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 8d
And "ordinary" ministers going 70 in a 40 zone.
pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 8d
These fines don't go on anyone's driver's record or affect insurance for that reason. The reasoning is, I believe, that the owner is responsible for the use of the car no matter who is driving it.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 8d
The speed cameras Doug Ford is hellbent on removing because of their impact on "ordinary citizens" (who are going well over the limit) have also racked up thousands of dollars in fines for cars registered to "ordinary" cabinet ministers.
#streetsforall
youtu.be/v7XgD7zuVdc?...
Speed cameras caught vehicles registered to Ford cabinet ministers over 20 times
YouTube video by Global News
youtu.be
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 8d
Amazing! For another comparison, the Centennial Square Parkade has a max capacity of 190 spots!
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Reposted by Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
timfordwrites.bsky.social
Tim Ford (Tomb Fart 🎃) @timfordwrites.bsky.social · 8d
I couldn't resist poking my head in on my lunch break to see how packed in the Bike Valet was today. Over 200 bikes, scooters, cargo bikes and other devices. If this were car parking it would require a surface lot the size of the Royal Athletic Park lot.

#yyj
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 9d
Irene and I biked through Beacon Hill Park, checked out Clover Point, and then explored the excellent new bike lanes on Dallas Road. Clover Point was beautiful!
#yyj
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
I hope not. The SOS types are very loud and motivated, but perhaps not as numerous as they like to think.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
2/2 The gory height & setback details start on page 37 (page 45 in the file) of the transparently named "Zoning Bylaw 2018, Amendment Bylaw (No. 17), No. 25-038":
engage.victoria.ca/38461/widget...
Documents | 10-Year Official Community Plan Update | Have Your Say
The Official Community Plan (OCP) for Victoria has been updated to meet the needs of our growing population and address the housing and climate crises. What’s Happening On October 2, 2025 Council adop...
engage.victoria.ca
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
1/2 There currently are minimum parking requirements, and, IIRC, there's a parking modernization process in motion that would, at a minimum, make it possible to opt out of car parking (other than accessible and visitor spots) with extra TDM measures and fees. I believe that it's a work in progress.
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Reposted by Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 11d
This is good —the Mayor of Yellowknife NWT in Canada’s far north weighs in on “Car Bloat” (truck bloat actually) and its many big costs & consequences (thanks @davidzipper.bsky.social for heads-up). And like most who dare tell the truth about that, he’s taking flack.
www.linkedin.com/mwlite/feed/...
Screenshot of LinkedIn post from Yellowknife Mayor describing the costs and consequences of trucks having gotten so much bigger. In the link, he explains the backlash he received for his post.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
Ugh, I meant to type "…made building a safe bike & roll network here A PRIORITY."
Reposted by Jim Mayer 🇨🇦
bencollins.bsky.social
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 11d
Folks they're calling it The Mario.
samanthabrennan.bsky.social
Samantha Brennan @samanthabrennan.bsky.social · 11d
World’s first mushroom-powered toilet debuts at UBC

www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
World’s first mushroom-powered toilet debuts at UBC
Tucked away in a forest in the University of B.C.’s Botanical Garden, a first-of-its-kind toilet is ready to turn human waste into nutrient-rich compost using the power of mushrooms.
www.ctvnews.ca
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
"Fulsome," whose primary meaning is "complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree."
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
I also appreciate the provincial and federal politicians that provided the grants that helped make the network possible. We've been subsidising car infrastructure for a long time, so this was both timely and welcome.
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
I am thankful every day for the Victoria Council members who, for more than a decade, have resisted the "bikelash" and made building a safe bike & roll network here. It's how this senior citizen gets around, and I love it.
#yyj #yyjbike
calgaryclimatehub.ca
Calgary Climate Hub @calgaryclimatehub.ca · 28d
The data on #Bikelanes are clear & consistent: GREAT for cities in just about every metric you can think of. So why are politicians across Canada attacking them? We dig in with @bikecalgary.bsky.social's Doug Clark & Alyssa Quinney

PODCAST: www.podcastics.com/episode/3835...
#yyc #yyccc #yycbike
Divide & Conquer: The B.S. Against Bike Lanes
Build barriers between cyclists and cars, not between people and their neighbors.
www.podcastics.com
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pentastich.bsky.social
Jim Mayer 🇨🇦 @pentastich.bsky.social · 10d
Some success stories about the "radical" idea that health begins with a home. There has been a lot of backlash on Housing First in Victoria lately. It's worth looking at good news, too, so we can build on what works best!
#yyj
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 10d
#IdeasAtWork

“It still feels unreal sometimes. What started as a “radical” idea — that health begins with home — became a place where people who were living inside and out of hospitals, shelters, or on the street could finally exhale.” - Andrew Boozary

h/t @uhn.ca @unitedwaygt.bsky.social

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Andrew Boozary MD MPP in • 1st Executive Director - Social Medicine and Population Health 1h • O It's been one year since we opened Dunn House - Canada's first social medicine housing initiative. And this has been family over the past year. It still feels unreal sometimes. What started as a "radical" idea - that health begins with home - became a place where people who were living inside and out of hospitals, shelters, or on the street could finally exhale. A year later, the preliminary data is staggering. Emergency Department visits for the tenants have plunged by over 50%. And days spent in hospital have similarly plummeted by nearly 80%. But the real drive for change, I hope, is how human dignity and health economics are completely aligned. The first story is from Victoria Gibson at the Toronto Star - about Jason Miles, a man whose addiction and homelessness cost more than $260,000 through ER visits, shelters, and jail stays. Not because he wanted that path, but because there wasn't another one. The second is from Liam Casey in the CBC, about our University Health Network teams and community partners deciding to try something different and center those patients that been sidelined in the health system. The cost calculus is clear when it can be over $50k per month in hospital, $15k in provincial jail and $4k for supportive housing. I believe both these stories show the cost of crisis - and the return on compassion. It's still early, and there's a lot more to do across the province. But one year in, I'm certain of this more than ever: housing is healthcare. compassion saves lives. and dignity has to be designed into the system - not left to Chance.