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Patrick Johnstone

@pjnewwest.bsky.social

1.6K followers 320 following 1.5K posts

Former Citizen of the Year, current Mayor of New Westminster, though nothing here is Official City Communications. Every step from wrenches to ichnofacies to peristaltic pumps to rabble rousing to Public Policy made sense at the time... Go Dumples!

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · Nov 15

Hey new followers. I’m an Environmental Geologist who became Mayor of a really cool city. Historic (by Canadian west coast standards), young & diverse (in demographics), dense, transit-oriented, compassionate, and punching above our weight on climate, housing, & reconciliation. It’s called #NewWest

A crowd of people viewed from the stage at a street festival.

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2h

Rob Ashton: "Politicians and the oligarchs are screwing you"

Punditry: "Ohh... here's a fresh new voice!"

Emily Lowen: "Oligarchs are a problem, and politicians are not doing enough to address this."

Punditry: "Here we go with culture wars. Where are her solutions?!"

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2h

😬

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2d

Really interesting chart. All my favourite cities are over on the left…

Marcus P. @reluctantaxe.bsky.social · 2d

A Redditor made a graph of the percent of population of US and Canada metro areas over 1 million that live in a given density. When they ordered them by average density the lowest ranked Canadian metro area, Edmonton, was ranked 14th between Miami and Washington. 6 of the top 15 were Canadian metros

Graph of Canada and US metro areas with a breakdown of percentage of people that live in density density bands

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2d

Being able to pay with your Compass Card would of course be ideal. Current Compass tech does not allow that, but planned upgrades to the system may make this at least technically possible?

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2d

I read a story once where they did a survey and found 90% of people think they are among the 10% best drivers. 😂

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2d

So you are for monopolistic oligarchy? /s

Really, a regional co-op model belonging to the municipalities (with voluntary opt-in) would make sense. But I’m not sure that suits the current political zeitgeist in our region.

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 2d

Who is *they*? One problem is local government procurement rules that make it hard to coordinate across borders in a region with 21 separate municipalities. Add to this a large number of private parking operators.

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

The Province is speeding the wrong direction down a one-way street. Making access to driving easier and cheaper while stripping away safety measures in the name of "efficiencies". This is the opposite of Vision Zero. www.biv.com/news/comment...

Rob Shaw: NDP moves to scrap second road test without proving it’s safe for B.C. roads

Opposition argues inexperience remains a leading cause of crashes

www.biv.com

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

Unlikely. Cycling testing is the toughest in the world now, and its hard to imagine one athlete in the modern context having access to science unavailable to others. There is an argument that the doping crackdown has kept less talented people off his heels, though.

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

for those interested, Gould's 2004 essay argued the level of play for everyone has increased so much that variation between best & worst players is too tight; it's much harder for one athlete to be anomalously *way* better. It's a stats argument, and a great read: rbaanthro.com/blog/gould-4...

Revisiting Gould on the death of .400 hitting — ryan b. anderson

Last summer I wrote a series on Anthrodendum about beaches and baseball . I plan to do a bit more of the same this summer. Considering everything that’s going on in the world these days, this may b...

rbaanthro.com

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

Never thought I would live to see Merckx-level dominance, the sport has just changed too much for one person to solo break so many wins in the same season (for the same reason Stephen Gould argued we would never see a .400 hitter again) www.cyclingnews.com/races/il-lom...

Il Lombardia: Unparalleled Tadej Pogačar solos to record-breaking fifth consecutive victory and 10th Monument title

Remco Evenepoel second, Michael Storer third as world champion claims much-anticipated win with 36km solo

www.cyclingnews.com

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

[Also laid down some sweet acoustic tracks and vocals for our folk ensemble Patrick Paul and Tasha]

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

At Union Gospel! It was a great evening to volunteer at the annual Thanksgiving meal!

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 3d

It was fun to meet with an talk to CJSF producer and new New Westie Necole Hines about the City of New Westminster's housing situation The interview is right at the start of this program: djland.cjsf.ca/podcasting/a...

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 4d

Why make 1 pie when you can make 10?

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 6d

London street has been a conversation in the community for a few months, here is where #NewWest Council landed on Monday regarding safety improvements and addressing community feedback: www.patrickjohnstone.ca/2025/10/lond...

London Street

If you follow Council (and if you don’t, what are you doing reading this!?) you have probably seen the saga of the London Street bikeway project. Before I report on all of Monday’s Council me…

www.patrickjohnstone.ca

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Reposted by Patrick Johnstone

Tony Jordan @tonyjordan.bsky.social · 7d

Imagine if a water pipe broke and the water department had to ask city council whether to fix it and then spend 12 months asking everyone on the street their opinion of how to fix it before they could start work.

That's how cities manage curbs.

Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 8d

This is the process chart for the City of Bellevue's potential plan to add parking meters.

Fourteen steps completed over the course of one year

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 8d

👀

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 8d

When newly-elected Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson started converting car lanes to bike lanes in 2009, pundits claimed it was political suicide. In 2018, he stepped down after three terms as the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. So what can this tale teach us about so-called "bikelash"?🧵

People of all ages and abilities ride bicycles on protected cycling infrastructure on the streets of Downtown Vancouver.

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 8d

finally had time to write up my report on #UBCM2025. #NewWest was there, had some good meetings, some good learnings, and engaged in great debate with our colleagues across the province on resolutions. Here's a summary: www.patrickjohnstone.ca/2025/10/ubcm...

UBCM 2025

If you follow my social media, you might note I was at UBCM last week. The Union of BC Municipalities is the annual conference/convention for local government leaders from across the province, and …

www.patrickjohnstone.ca

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 9d

...a fresh take on the Golgafrinchan approach.

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 10d

Hey #Newwest! There is an open house at Glenbrook Fire Hall today until 2:00. Drop by! Fun activities for all ages, Hot Dogs, fire safety info, and more!

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 11d

My dad.

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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 11d

Part 3 of my video series on housing. We are starting to fill the affordable housing need in #NewWest, and are getting hurdles out of the way, but need significant senior gov't investment to meet our need and our real target: a time when everyone in #NewWest can afford a secure home.

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 11d

And the 104. And the 410. And a half dozen SkyTrain rides. It was a very #GoByTransit day.

Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 12d

It’s #GoByTransitWeek! @movementyvr.bsky.social
Take a bus this week, you’ll never know what friends you’ll meet.

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