@sandyjamesplanner
@sandyjamesplanner.bsky.social
West Coast, Advocating best practices walkable, livable spaces, accessibility & micro-mobility.I write original content.
Managing Director of Walk Metro Vancouver Society.TEDx speaker
City planner, writer, lapsed master gardener, public space champion.
Managing Director of Walk Metro Vancouver Society.TEDx speaker
City planner, writer, lapsed master gardener, public space champion.
Pinned
Vancouver Council Proposes Slowing Residential Driver Speeds In Neighbourhoods to 30 km/h
Six years ago Councillor Pete Fry proposed 30 km/h driver speeds to create safer, cohesive neighbourhoods. Now Vancouver Council will consider this new driver speed, which has been adopted internat…
sandyjamesplanner.wordpress.com
Kudos to Vancouver Councillor Pete Fry- 6 years of advocacy for 30 kmh driver speeds (20 mph) in Vancouver neighbourhoods. The Province didn't provide needed authority but Vancouver Engineer Paul Storer comes up with an elegant solution. Read below.
sandyjamesplanner.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/v...
sandyjamesplanner.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/v...
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
It’ll be in the Fraser Valley and Tri-Cities later this week
December 16, 2025 at 4:13 AM
It’ll be in the Fraser Valley and Tri-Cities later this week
That disappointment after you open your Christmas gifts early.
December 15, 2025 at 11:43 PM
That disappointment after you open your Christmas gifts early.
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Want an introduction to professional fields dedicated to shaping and making livable, sustainable, and inclusive communities?
Sign up for the @sfucity.bsky.social Jan 7 CITY100 Info Session
Wed, Jan 7 | 5:30pm PST | Free | Register: www.sfu.ca/contin
Sign up for the @sfucity.bsky.social Jan 7 CITY100 Info Session
Wed, Jan 7 | 5:30pm PST | Free | Register: www.sfu.ca/contin
www.sfu.ca
December 15, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Want an introduction to professional fields dedicated to shaping and making livable, sustainable, and inclusive communities?
Sign up for the @sfucity.bsky.social Jan 7 CITY100 Info Session
Wed, Jan 7 | 5:30pm PST | Free | Register: www.sfu.ca/contin
Sign up for the @sfucity.bsky.social Jan 7 CITY100 Info Session
Wed, Jan 7 | 5:30pm PST | Free | Register: www.sfu.ca/contin
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
"We will not give in to fear': Vancouver Hanukkah celebration goes ahead without incident"
vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...
vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...
We will not give in to fear': Vancouver Hanukkah celebration goes ahead without incident
The event at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza, attended by around 1,500 people, followed the deadly antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney
vancouversun.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:55 PM
"We will not give in to fear': Vancouver Hanukkah celebration goes ahead without incident"
vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...
vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of ancient humans igniting fires.
The question of how far back human ancestors conjured fire is deeply intertwined with some of the biggest outstanding mysteries about human evolution.
The question of how far back human ancestors conjured fire is deeply intertwined with some of the biggest outstanding mysteries about human evolution.
Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire in a 400,000-year-old hearth
A new archaeological find pushes back the timeline on when humans mastered the ability to make fires, a transformative technology.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of ancient humans igniting fires.
The question of how far back human ancestors conjured fire is deeply intertwined with some of the biggest outstanding mysteries about human evolution.
The question of how far back human ancestors conjured fire is deeply intertwined with some of the biggest outstanding mysteries about human evolution.
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
New: The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has closed major highways between the Lower Mainland and the Interior due to flooding, falling rock and debris, and high avalanche hazards. #BCStorm @citynewsvancouver.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 5:21 AM
New: The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has closed major highways between the Lower Mainland and the Interior due to flooding, falling rock and debris, and high avalanche hazards. #BCStorm @citynewsvancouver.bsky.social
London England now has a completely electric ferry to cross the Thames. Will Vancouver be next?
Better (and greener) facilities for crossing the river by bike in East London ✅
The result of lobbying by LCC that started over a decade ago ✅
The fact that a journey is costing more than a zone one tube fair ❌
The result of lobbying by LCC that started over a decade ago ✅
The fact that a journey is costing more than a zone one tube fair ❌
London now has its first fully electric cross-river ferry.
The Orbit Clipper is faster, greener and can carry up to 100 bikes. It means cleaner and faster trips between North and South London - a big win for a more connected city.
The Orbit Clipper is faster, greener and can carry up to 100 bikes. It means cleaner and faster trips between North and South London - a big win for a more connected city.
December 11, 2025 at 4:16 AM
London England now has a completely electric ferry to cross the Thames. Will Vancouver be next?
BREAKING: Officials in Sumas, Wash., immediately south of Abbotsford will be sounding their flood siren that warns residents to evacuate. This is a sign of likely flooding in Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford.
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
December 11, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Santa arrives by boat in Steveston today then will be available for photos at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery
Winter in Steveston Village with Gulf of Georgia Cannery
Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site in Steveston is ready for the winter holiday season with the Festival of Trees, Santa photos, and more.
miss604.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Santa arrives by boat in Steveston today then will be available for photos at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery
When people tell me that rents in Vancouver are not expensive, I remind them that salaries have not kept pace with the asking price of rents. Take a look at the graph Brian has below.
Somehow one feels that this timeline sucks at times
Is it any wonder why so many think the system is rigged against them?
December 7, 2025 at 5:13 AM
When people tell me that rents in Vancouver are not expensive, I remind them that salaries have not kept pace with the asking price of rents. Take a look at the graph Brian has below.
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
In the UK and across Europe, cars are becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them. They're seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing steadily. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them? @theothebald.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
'Carspreading’ is on the rise - not everyone is happy
In the UK and across Europe, cars are becoming longer, wider and heavier.
www.bbc.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:36 AM
In the UK and across Europe, cars are becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them. They're seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing steadily. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them? @theothebald.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Prof. @ayan604.bsky.social spoke to @globalbc.bsky.social about Vancouver's Chinatown, & pivotal moments in its past: Anti-Asian riots of 1907, its fight to stop a freeway being built through the neighbourhood, a near-ban on BBQ'd meat...
globalnews.ca/news/1153599...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
globalnews.ca/news/1153599...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
Global BC Presents: Chinatown Stories - BC | Globalnews.ca
Through all of its struggles, the building blocks of Chinatown's community have remained. It's a place of refuge where those who weren’t accepted elsewhere could find support.
globalnews.ca
November 25, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Prof. @ayan604.bsky.social spoke to @globalbc.bsky.social about Vancouver's Chinatown, & pivotal moments in its past: Anti-Asian riots of 1907, its fight to stop a freeway being built through the neighbourhood, a near-ban on BBQ'd meat...
globalnews.ca/news/1153599...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
globalnews.ca/news/1153599...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
Yes, it is December in Vancouver, but having a balcony garden never disappoints. First time I’ve had strawberries in December and lavender re-blooming.
December 1, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Yes, it is December in Vancouver, but having a balcony garden never disappoints. First time I’ve had strawberries in December and lavender re-blooming.
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Men who go through healing lodges are half as likely to end up back in jail compared with similar offenders who do time in conventional prisons
Canada’s indigenous-style prisons are designed to right historical wrongs
When rehabilitation is the focus, reoffending rates drop
econ.st
November 30, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Men who go through healing lodges are half as likely to end up back in jail compared with similar offenders who do time in conventional prisons
This is how it’s done. Take a look at the terrible design of his three-way intersection and how cyclist aren’t even given a clear way through and motorist have no indication that a cyclist path is there. Excellent job of advocacy by the London cycling campaign.
👨💻 Emailed the Mayor to call for safer junctions?
🚧 Urgent action is needed across London, and especially in Wandsworth, if the most dangerous junctions are going to be made safe for cycling...
📨 Email the Mayor today: bit.ly/47QcmUF
🚧 Urgent action is needed across London, and especially in Wandsworth, if the most dangerous junctions are going to be made safe for cycling...
📨 Email the Mayor today: bit.ly/47QcmUF
November 30, 2025 at 10:49 AM
This is how it’s done. Take a look at the terrible design of his three-way intersection and how cyclist aren’t even given a clear way through and motorist have no indication that a cyclist path is there. Excellent job of advocacy by the London cycling campaign.
11 months and only one house has been rebuilt in Pacific Palisades. The whole area has become one big toxic soup. Cleanup and remediation and rebuilding is well in the billions of dollars.
The first completed Pacific Palisades home after the January fire is set to reopen to the community Dec. 6.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-21/first-home-has-been-rebuilt-in-wake-of-palisades-fire?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-21/first-home-has-been-rebuilt-in-wake-of-palisades-fire?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_
The first home has been rebuilt in the wake of the Palisades Fire
The first home to be rebuilt in the wake of the Palisades fire — a two-story home on Kagawa Street — received a certificate of occupancy on Friday.
www.latimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
11 months and only one house has been rebuilt in Pacific Palisades. The whole area has become one big toxic soup. Cleanup and remediation and rebuilding is well in the billions of dollars.
Be like Delta BC.
November 22, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Be like Delta BC.
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
When anyone asks what did the French ever invent you can respond with the calculator, developed in the 1600’s by a son for his dad’s work. Fascinating story below.
Christie’s withdraws rare ‘first calculator’ from auction after French court halts export
Christie’s withdraws rare ‘first calculator’ from auction after French court halts export
Move comes after French scientists issued urgent appeal to prevent La Pascaline from leaving the country
A rare example of the first functioning calculating machine in history looks likely to stay in France after Christie’s withdrew it from auction pending a definitive ruling from a Paris court on whether or not it can be exported.
La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal in 1642, when he was just 19, and billed as “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction”, had been expected to fetch more than €2m (£1.8m). Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:25 PM
When anyone asks what did the French ever invent you can respond with the calculator, developed in the 1600’s by a son for his dad’s work. Fascinating story below.
Vancouver is not only city struggling with providing public access washrooms along transit & in commercial areas. Even in Ottawa with all those public buildings, there’s no comprehensive signage to allow the public to know where people can go. Clean washroom access should be a universal right.
What ever happened to Ottawa's self-cleaning public toilets? ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
November 19, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Vancouver is not only city struggling with providing public access washrooms along transit & in commercial areas. Even in Ottawa with all those public buildings, there’s no comprehensive signage to allow the public to know where people can go. Clean washroom access should be a universal right.
As told by Dan Fumano at @vancouversun.bsky.social residents perceive city less than what it was for affordability & regional accessibility. But Gregor Robertson and Ken Sim as Mayors have focussed on city boosterism dissing regional policy, cooperation.Is it too late to focus on regional strength?
Most Vancouverites believe the city’s 'brand' is in decline. Why is that? vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...
November 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
As told by Dan Fumano at @vancouversun.bsky.social residents perceive city less than what it was for affordability & regional accessibility. But Gregor Robertson and Ken Sim as Mayors have focussed on city boosterism dissing regional policy, cooperation.Is it too late to focus on regional strength?
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Carney shouldn't pay any attention to David Eby's lust for LNG. #SiteC Dam destroyed 10,000 acres of the best farmland & produces power for fracking the Montenay gas fields & producing LNG. Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal major study finds www.nationalobserver.com/2024/10/09/n...
Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal, major study finds
Research challenges idea that sending liquefied natural gas around the world is cleaner alternative to burning coal
www.nationalobserver.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Carney shouldn't pay any attention to David Eby's lust for LNG. #SiteC Dam destroyed 10,000 acres of the best farmland & produces power for fracking the Montenay gas fields & producing LNG. Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal major study finds www.nationalobserver.com/2024/10/09/n...
Reposted by @sandyjamesplanner
Now accepting abstracts for the 2026 Cambridge Talks symposium, “Surfacing,” 4/24-4/25, 2026, inviting scholars of the built environment to consider the physical production of surfaces and their mediating roles. Deadline 1/2/26.
hgsd.us/4pg1wgp
hgsd.us/4pg1wgp
Cambridge Talks 2026: Surfacing
In his 1993 essay on “The Topology of Environmentalism,” anthropologist Timothy Ingold critiqued the concept of "the global environment." The image of
hgsd.us
November 18, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Now accepting abstracts for the 2026 Cambridge Talks symposium, “Surfacing,” 4/24-4/25, 2026, inviting scholars of the built environment to consider the physical production of surfaces and their mediating roles. Deadline 1/2/26.
hgsd.us/4pg1wgp
hgsd.us/4pg1wgp
I listened to interview on CBC by Vancouver’s current Mayor and was so disappointed at his lack of data and comprehension of city services. Not increasing property taxes and taking away community services is another cliff between the very rich and the very poor. So very disappointed in fumbling.
Listening to Ken Sim’s @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social interview and it’s kind of surprising his team doesn’t prepare him better for this tough interviewer.
He says the police board has said no to some budget asks and the police have cut back their spending - but can’t name examples. #vanpoli
He says the police board has said no to some budget asks and the police have cut back their spending - but can’t name examples. #vanpoli
November 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
I listened to interview on CBC by Vancouver’s current Mayor and was so disappointed at his lack of data and comprehension of city services. Not increasing property taxes and taking away community services is another cliff between the very rich and the very poor. So very disappointed in fumbling.