Bsky: https://xitter.cf/t.co/OmkGShx4bY | https://xitter.cf/t.co/T1L4DFuZag Spatial Design and Urbanism Consulting in Canada’s Capital | Your city should be designed around you, not cars.
Ottawa, Ontario
Joined December 2010
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This could be #Ottawa’s Bank Street of the near future.
By keeping select parking spaces for accessibility, deliveries, and quick-stops, and using the rest of that space for people (in the same 18m), it’s amazing what one of our most popular destinations could become.
Duncan Rae retweeted
Hear me out: trees, chairs, restaurants, micro-playgrounds. Cities need space for people, and the only space that we're not using efficiently is the street.
Duncan Rae retweeted
No stepbacks. Extruded box. This simple building typology is the workhorse of so many great cities.
Duncan Rae retweeted
There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.
Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.
Took #Ottawa Line 2 today, it was a chilly 5AM morning but I wouldn’t dare miss the opening!
Such a great train — smooth, fast, comfortable.
Duncan Rae retweeted
Ever see a bus lane and thought it looked empty? Think again! Each bus lane can move more people per minute faster than a typical lane for cars.
💡 Learn more at translink.ca/buspriority
A rule I live by: I’ll never design an area or building I wouldn’t want to live in myself.
Here’s a woonerf design I’m working on for a typical 8m wide by 50m long street.
It’s part of something I’m calling the ‘Mosaic Grid System’ 😍
Hey #Ottawa, did you know?
In September 2023, the most popular bus route *by far* was the 88 on Baseline, clocking in at 4.7% of ALL weekly bus trips!
After that are Routes 6 & 7.
The time for bus lanes on Baseline Road and Bank Street is now.
Source: OC Transpo via FOI req.
Duncan Rae retweeted
North America is the only region of the world with an auto mode share over 50%.
You can thank massive amounts of government spending on automobile infrastructure.
Duncan Rae retweeted
It's impossible. Until it isn't.
Unlike some party leaders, I'm not going to be satisfied with second place.
I'm in it to defeat this Government & replace them with a government that gives a damn
In the words of Jack Layton: Don't ever let them tell you it can't be done.
This polling dashboard from Mainstreet Research is projecting a 0% chance for either the NDP or Liberals to form a majority or minority government according to the current polling numbers.
#onpoli
Duncan Rae retweeted
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating out there!
This year, I'm grateful for all of you, and the many places that give me optimism for the future of our built environment!
In this spirit, below are some of my favorite recent buildings and projects!
I loved using MapFrappe and MapMartini to compare the sizes of areas, but sadly they're now both offline with no easily found alts.
So last night I said why not -- I'll make my own!
Introducing MapMirror: A simple tool to compare geographic sizes.
mapmirror.dunrae.com
You can switch between a map and satellite imagery, and rotate the polygon too!
I also added a statistics box to show perimeter and area in m2 & ha.
Here's the Central Experimental Farm overlaid on Central Park, NYC:
And if even mine goes down for some reason, it's completely open source and self-hostable.
All you need is a simple pub. Mapbox API key. I'm hosting mine via Github Pages.
You can find it at github.com/dunxrae/mapmirror
If you have any suggestions on what I could add, let me know!
Duncan Rae retweeted
When we consider the potential threat of U.S. tariffs of 25% on our softwood lumber exports, now's the time for Canada's lumber and housing industries to pivot towards mass timber construction so that Canadian lumber is used to build Canadian homes. theglobeandmail.com/business…
Duncan Rae retweeted
The Conservatives have dropped a new 11-page amendment to Bill 212.
We'll be debating the amendment in committee this afternoon, and we're reviewing it now.
We think the amendment does the following; -
- Doesn't require the government to pay all the city’s expenses to remove the bike lanes
- Won’t reimburse municipalities for the cost of installing the lanes in the first place
- Bans people from taking the Government to court for its decision to remove bike lanes, including any individuals who are injured or killed due to a collision between a bike and a vehicle
- Approves the removal of the entirety of the Bloor St bike lane
- Bans municipalities from installing a bike lane on any road or street, including side streets, without provincial approval if a lane of vehicle traffic is removed
- Directs the provincial minister to remove the Bloor, Yonge and Avenue Road bike lanes themselves, without municipal action.
Would appreciate your take.
#Onpoli