Author | Lightnews

Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · May 15

Waiting for @jmcelroy.bsky.social to launch a bracket to determine “BC’s Best Downtown.”

Personally, I think Nelson would be a strong contender.

Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · May 12

Check out Gitano - it’s a couple blocks in from Burrard and along Davie. The pork belly tacos are excellent!

barragitano.ca

Barra Gitano – Mexican Bar & Restaurant

barragitano.ca

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · May 12

leaderpost.com/opinion/colu...

Mandryk: Using GTH to up new Costco land cost on brand for Saskatchewan Party government

As magical and mysterious as those land flips themselves, Costco suddenly was given reason to think it had a cheaper alternative at the GTH.

leaderpost.com

Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · May 9

What was it - a few hundred thousand allocated to incentivize intensification but $6.5M to support a big box store on a whim with seemingly no cost-benefit analysis done?

$6.5M could go a long way on unfunded City projects: The Yards, Taylor Field, Library, Arena, city centre transportation loop….

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · May 8

This is one of the more absurd things I’ve seen a municipality do in some time.

This Council would be wise to do a deep dive on the @strongtowns.org movement.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Apr 21

While cities across Canada are embracing dense, mixed-use, human-scaled development, #CityofPG has been slower to follow suit.

Seeing a proposal like this in PG feels like a promising sign of change in sprawling, low-density, car-dependent PG.

www.thevillageoncentral.ca

Reposted by Rylan Graham

Michael Janz @michaeljanz.bsky.social · Apr 18

This is not about bike lanes, this is about distracting Albertans from the Corruptcare scandal. Stay focused. Call a public inquiry. Reach out to me and let’s talk about what we can do together.

#ableg

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Mar 26

In Calgary (less than 10 years ago) it used to be that putting in a basement suite required discretionary approval. It’s a waste of Council’s time and they shouldn’t be the authority on these types of decisions.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Mar 26

Step 8 “Reduce Council approval for housing-related Discretionary Use applications” of Regina’s HAF action plan is an important move. It reduces Council’s ability to play planner. There’s two projects underway in Heritage which I don’t recall having to go to Council.

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Reposted by Rylan Graham

Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · Mar 23

got a new municipality as a welcome back present!

B.C. will soon get a new municipality after preliminary referendum results in Okanagan Falls | CBC News

The residents of Okanagan Falls, B.C., have narrowly voted in favour of creating a new municipality to represent the community in the southern Interior, preliminary referendum results show.

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Rylan Graham

Trudy Keil, PhD @trudykeil.bsky.social · Mar 9

Just a friendly reminder to rural Saskatchewan residents that we used to have bus routes to every corner of Saskatchewan. All gone thanks to the SaskParty.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Mar 2

Easiest of takes:

We need to create a more publicly accessible riverfront in #cityofpg - as a place for recreation, socialization, and to move people from ‘A’ to ‘B’ on foot/bike.

It’s unfortunate how little public space there is along the Fraser and Nechako riverfronts.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 13

Family-friendly in Regina = opportunities to buy a large home in a new suburban neighbourhood and can drive and park with ease.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 13

Wait until #yqr ✈️ hears about Harbour Landing!

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 12

Back to square one on convincing council that intensification/infill is a good thing actually.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 12

Decisions like this are illustrative of how local politicians are culpable in Canada’s housing crisis. Whatever “problem” they think they’re “solving” is negligible compared to the one they are exacerbating.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 7

This is 48 units + would be 100ish new residents. Regina hasn’t added 100 new residents to the downtown in a very long time.

The lack of development in the downtown indicates there isn’t a strong market for a denser development. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Feb 6

In #yqr we've become accustomed to seeing downtown housing turned into downtown parking lots.
Finally, a proposal that flips the script...! #yqrcc
cc: @pauldechene.bsky.social @alexanderquon.bsky.social

www.regina.ca/export/sites...

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Reposted by Rylan Graham

The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · Jan 27

“B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim's new plan for the Downtown Eastside will make the community less safe and lead to more homelessness. Sim's proposal, announced on Thursday, involves a halt on building new supportive housing in the city…” 🇨🇦 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

B.C. housing minister says Vancouver's plan for Downtown Eastside could increase crime | CBC News

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim's new plan for the Downtown Eastside will make the community less safe and lead to more homelessness.

www.cbc.ca

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Jan 23

🤦‍♂️ I can’t do this all over again…

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Jan 18

This week, another building burned down in downtown #cityofpg. This one - across the street from a building that exploded in 2023.

Lots of talk about downtown revitalization - yet addressing the vacancy issue may be the most effective strategy.

Attaching a recent article of mine on this topic:

Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Jan 18

Disappointing to see this building come down - but after 10 years of neglect, it’s hardly surprising.

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Dec 13

But the Mayor also has his own bold vision for the City-owned land. The plan for a monorail, previously proposed in the 1960s, has been resurrected....!

Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Dec 13

The #cityofpg 'Civic Core District' is back - with two concept plans...both have the same mix of uses (arena, arts centre, mixed use development, open space).
Option 2 scales back Dominion St., with a re-design aimed at improving the pedestrian experience
(cc: @darrinrigo.bsky.social).

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Rylan Graham @rylangraham.bsky.social · Dec 3

Vancouver has plenty of #stickystreets -which includes fine-grained retail + attractive storefronts that engage pedestrians passing by @brenttoderian.bsky.social

But this 3 storey 🚗 dealership on Burrard misses the mark + creates conditions that are neither interesting or engaging for pedestrians.

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