Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Marta O'Brien

Chris Kemp @cbkemp.bsky.social · 4h

A driver going 154 km/h in a typical vehicle has ~2000 times the kinetic energy and destructive power of the average person on a bicycle, and ~500 times the destructive power of a typical e-bike. #BikeTO

Community Bikeways - TCBC @bikewaysto.bsky.social · 4h

"A driver going 154 kilometres per hour topped a list of the highest speeds recorded by the Parkside Drive speed camera, according to a freedom of information request (FOI) filed by community advocacy group Safe Parkside."

www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...

Parkside Drive speed camera records drivers going as fast as 154 km/h, says new data

The 10 highest speeds recorded by the speed camera on Parkside Drive were over 100 kilometres per hour, according to a freedom of information request (FOI) filed by Safe Parkside

www.torontotoday.ca

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Uytae Lee @uytaelee.bsky.social · 4h

Why tf does North America allow right turns on red? Was this ever a good idea? So proud of @ardenenglish.bsky.social for his first collaboration with the CBC!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqDV...

Right Turn of Death | Creator Network | A Film by The Greater Discussions

YouTube video by CBC British Columbia

www.youtube.com

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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 7h

Can’t wait for another wildly expensive subway project with poor architecture by an engineering firm/US defence contractor www.metrolinx.com/en/news/firs...

First look: New station designs for Yonge North Subway Extension

New artist’s renderings shared as procurement launches for the project’s final major contract.

www.metrolinx.com

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 3h

Replacing a golf course with housing & parkland seems like a win.

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The Narwhal @thenarwhal.ca · 3h

📣 Job alert! 📣

The Narwhal is offering a one-year fellowship for an Indigenous journalist in B.C., in collaboration with the Indigenous Journalists Association and IndigiNews. See the post for more details — applications are due Nov. 2. Spread the word!

thenarwhal.bamboohr.com/careers/40?s...

Two people sit in camping chairs in a meadow, in conversation with each other.

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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 14h

This is another place the mayor could force some change.

It's wonky and won't win hearts and minds widely but when asked about what she's doing about housing she can point to it vs her councillors stopping housing (Fletcher on Craven Ave)

Pamela Blais @pamelablais.bsky.social · 15h

After TO Council passed a motion indicating the City was open to Alternative Solution Proposals for a single stair in apts up to 4 storeys, I applied for a single stair in a 3 storey Part 9 6plex.

I’m told it’s the first one, so it’s a test case. Here’s how it’s going.

#singlestair #sixplex

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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 1d

On Oct. 15, 1872, 19 people from the USS Polaris became stranded on an ice floe near Greenland. They drifted on the ice for six months and 2,900 km before they were rescued near Newfoundland.
Their survival was thanks to Ipirvik and Taqulittuq.
This is the story.

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The image shows two black-and-white photographs side by side. The left photo depicts a person wearing a fur-lined hood and garment, suggesting traditional cold-weather attire. The right photo shows a person dressed in a plaid dress with a white collar and a decorative brooch, featuring a more formal and structured style.

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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 1d

Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria is a beautiful structure. It has served as a family home, military hospital, college, music conservatory, and now a museum.
Inside, some former residents don't seem to want to leave and they haunt the halls.
This is the spooky story!

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A grand, historic mansion with a stone facade, featuring multiple chimneys, steeply pitched red roofs, and arched windows. The building has a large porch with columns and intricate railings, set against a backdrop of a clear sky and surrounded by well-maintained hedges.

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 1d

I visited & photographed St. Luke's in 2015. Beautiful building. Carpenter Gothic style, 1834.

Front of white-painted wood church. Pointed arch entrance & windows. Main body of church behind porch. Short hexagonal (I think) tower topped by steeple with cross.

Stained wood interior of church looking toward altar in front of large arched stained glass window. Exposed roof trusses have ornamental iron straps.

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The Last Linda @thelastlinda.bsky.social · 1d

All set. Presenting 𝘌𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘙𝘛.

Enjoy, #Metrolinx.

#EglintonCrosstown #Halloween #Toronto #TOpoli #ONpoli @tabathasouthey.bsky.social

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Kunal Chaudhary @kunalchaudhary.bsky.social · 1d

Wrote about the dire straits of York University, which like many in Ontario is cutting its programming and employee ranks down to the bone. For decades, York has brought higher education to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the GTA -- the loss of this would be incalculable.

The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 1d

“We could no longer work things out.” Our Higher Education series continues with Sabika Zaidi and @kunalchaudhary.bsky.social on how York University lost the trust of its community. thelocal.to/york-univers...

How York University Lost the Trust of Its Community | The Local

After program closures, questionable major capital projects, and increasingly fractious labour relations, what is the future of York University?

thelocal.to

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 1d

Yes. Another good reason to WFH.

Ariel Troster @arieltroster.com · 1d

Home sick and doing Planning and Housing Committee from the couch. My assistant is sleeping in the job.

(And this is exactly why I support hybrid work — me not getting everyone sick and still being able to participate is a win.)

A corgi curled into a ball, lying beside a laptop with a meeting underway

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 1d

There are too many phony progressives on council. Saxe is another example.

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Sam Grinsell @samgrinsell.bsky.social · 1d

This was the sort of wideranging historical discussion across periods and methods that I first became a historian for, wonderful event!

Society for the Study of the Past @socstudyofthepast.bsky.social · 1d

Let’s take a trip back to last week when we held our first ever annual meeting on the topic ‘Beyond Methodological Nationalism’. Thanks to all those who joined us, and those who were not able to will be able to catch up on the recordings soon! 🎥

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 1d

On this day in 1614 the first great British architect, Robert Smythson, died at Wollaton Hall which he had designed.

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 1d

Shawn, do you still have your radar gun?

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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 1d

"Safe Parkside" filed a Freedom of Information request to get top speeds from the ill-fated & much abused Parkside camera. The speed limit is 40km/h.

Killers, all of them, with the ear & heart of Premier Doug Ford.

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Jamie Bradburn @jbcurio.bsky.social · 2d

Also today: my latest newsletter is out, with a few extras from the 1985 Jays piece.

open.substack.com/pub/jamiebra...

41: The Post-Canadian Thanksgiving Edition

Plus photo radar! Blue Jays playoff runs! And more!

open.substack.com

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Glyn Bowerman @glynbowerman.bsky.social · 2d

New @spacingradio.bsky.social episode for you! We have the team behind the book “Messy Cities: Why You Can’t Plan Everything,” we speak to The Laneway Project, and we preview the newest Spacing Magazine: spacing.ca/toronto/2025...

PODCAST: Spacing Radio 90, Bless this urban mess - Spacing Toronto

Change in cities is often slow, when using official channels. There is a desire to achieve the perfect plan, one that balances everyone’s needs an preferences. But sometimes you need to get down and d...

spacing.ca

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Lady Topham Catt @ladytophamcatt.bsky.social · 2d

Get you a friend like @tudoraf.bsky.social, who will take you to a spot where you can both touch grass & photograph glass

Bernard Horwich JCC (rear)
Architect: Epstein & Sons, 1960

Color photo of the back of a two story light tan brick box of a building with a flat roof, taken from across a grassy field. The facade is enlivened by a large expanse of vertically oriented glass block in different colors.

Color close-up of the expanse of glass block in the previous photo reveals that the glass is not just in different colors, but also different sizes and textures.

An even closer color photo of the glass blocks, detailing the different sizes, orientations, textures and colors of the glass block.

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Hayden Clarkin @thetransitguy.com · 3d

I really enjoyed Life After Cars, written by Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, the podcast hosts of The War on Cars. It’s a must-read!

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Jason Thorne @jasonthorne.bsky.social · 3d

Toronto’s Cycling and Pedestrian Projects Team continues to hit it out of the park. Out for a ride today and here’s just some of the new cycling facilities that I came across. New concrete planters and permanent curbs on Harbord Street. /1

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How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 3d

Montreal Urbanism Superthread.

About 25 years ago, I lived in Montreal as a student. I’ve always found Montreal to be more walkable and bikeable than Toronto. But over the past 25 years, the city’s urbanism has only gotten better.

Here’s just a few places where I’ve noticed impressive changes. 🧵

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 3d

Excellent Lloyd. Love your quote "Efficiency isn’t enough anymore. We need to ask ourselves what we really need."

I've long lived by "I have what I need and need what I have" (don't remember the source). Could easily be "I already have what I need... ."

Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 3d

on the plane home from conferences on #sufficiency and #passivhaus I read "Form Follows Fuel" by Florian Urban and @barnabascalder.bsky.social. It has remarkable relevance to both, a brilliant book demonstrating that we cannot get a real grip on upfront carbon without embracing sufficiency.

A tale of two conferences and a book, "Form Follows Fuel"

I attend a Sufficiency conference in Edinburgh and a Passivhaus conference in Belfast, and read a new book relevant to both.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Aug 21

Remember, whenever you hear that “speed wasn’t a factor” in a deadly crash, what they mean is that the car involved wasn’t technically speeding. At least “not by much.” It presumes that the speed limit wasn’t too high to begin with.

When it comes to death from collisions, SPEED IS ALWAYS a factor.

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