Sarah Burrell

Urban planner / policy wonk. Year-round bike commuter. Probably reading. All opinions my own.

[august 🍂 @augustAP12]

lots of congestion and delayed 510 buses, stuck behind single-occupancy cars at bloor and spadina.

spadina doesn't have any bike lanes, only traffic lanes.

meanwhile on bloor street, cyclists whizz by.

it's clear - bike lanes don't cause congestion. cars do, they always do.

[Becky Katz @BeckyKatz96]

Bloor b/w Ave & Spadina) is looking 🔥.

Reconstruction projects are amazing. They realize accessibility, beautification, & operational benefits.

To achieve these outcomes, the road, cycle tracks & sidewalks were rebuilt and catch basins, poles, etc were relocated. #biketo

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

This is a public safety crisis waiting to happen.

[Jeff Gray @jeffreybgray]

BREAKING: Ontario has just proposed regulations that would rip out bike lanes in Toronto on Bloor, University and Yonge:
https://t.co/ug1CgvfKfr

[Michelle Cowbourne @Glastomichelle]

I hope nobody heard me as I was running up that hill this morning saying out loud "wait for me, wait for me" to the sky. 😂I don't care anyway because it did indeed wait for me. Glastonbury Tor about 15 minutes before sunrise.

[STOREYS @storeyspub]

Despite moves that have been made on the gentle density front over the past few years, Toronto is notorious for having restrictive zoning policies that rarely budge, with the lion’s share of its land zoned for single-family homes and not much else.

https://t.co/U2IRfL8ceq

[Ravi Kahlon @KahlonRav]

Today, I updated the BC Building Code to allow for Single Egress Stair (SES) designs in low- and mid-rise buildings.

By allowing SES, we will boost our housing supply and create more options for families who need larger layouts and designs.

👉🏾 https://t.co/E8UwCEuwZZ

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[keisha st. louis-mcburnie @KeishaStLouis]

Round 3! All graduate students at @UofT are welcome to apply to join Chiyi and I in Planning and Designing for Community Power. We're thrilled to offer this seminar again with the support of @geo_uoft, @UofTCities and @UofTDaniels. Let's dream up alternative futures together!

[Jeremiah Shamess | Toronto Land & Building Sales @JShamess]

I’m going to get hate mail for this post.

But this is me cycling on Bloor at 6am.

It took me 9 minutes to get from Dundas & Bloor to Yonge Street by bike (yes faster than average).

I hate the congestion, and I’m always driving since I need my car to get to meetings in the 905 areas.

But travelling by bike in the city is the only response right now.

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

@ShelRajan This week was wild!

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

This is exactly the type of small scale, mixed use local business that we NEED across Toronto's neighbourhoods.

[Dan Seljak @anotherglassbox]

Stumbled across this cute corner store/cafe at 42 Dewson St. There is a sign in the window for a petition because complaints from a neighbour have put the store at risk. If you are walking south to Do West Fest, consider popping in an signing it.

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

@sbuchananTO THB (take the bike). Got on to TTC today after which we went one stop when an announcement of delays was made. Immediately hopped off and took @BikeShareTO

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

Giving me ideas...

[Toronto FREE Events @HousesLaneway]

✪ Sold! ✪ Toronto's very first stand-alone garden suite sells for $1.1 million

MORE: https://t.co/Pk3UsMxO0T

[TCAT @TCATonline]

"Bike Share’s ridership last year was 5.7 million. That’s their highest-ever annual mark, and an increase of 1.1M above 2022. This year appears poised to smash the record again. Through to the end of March, ridership is tracking about 36% higher."

https://t.co/zrEqNMNS7P

[Eric Lombardi 🇨🇦🚀 @EricDLombardi]

Last week, I joined @Waterfront4All and @MoreNeighbours to discuss the future of Toronto’s Villiers Island and Keating Channel districts.

There have been many criticisms of the plan, championed especially by @alexbozikovic

Here is some of my thinking (a 🧵) 1/X

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

As seen on the way back from my morning run, a first-of-its-kind microforest in Toronto's Danforth Pocket neighborhood. Love seeing neighborhood level ecological restoration initiatives like this.

[Jennifer Keesmaat @jen_keesmaat]

You completely misunderstand. Let me try again (since you didn’t read the thread) a little more succinctly.

A subway does not defacto = a higher level of service (seems obvious, but your reiteration of lines on a map shows you didn’t get this).

We have a subway, buses, streetcars and soon LRT. If you want to make a comparison, compare *systems.* We have an excellent system (and it’s getting better as we speak, with billions under construction) that results in excellent transit coverage.

What we do not have is an excellent level of service.

Which is an operational issue. And which is easier to fix, than building new infrastructure. We could transform access to transit in our city by transforming frequency of service.

Again, buses that run every 2-3 minutes reliably and have capacity for all to get on is a higher level of service and better transit than subways that run every 15 minutes. It’s not the technology that matters, but the frequency (and reliability, which BRT delivers).

(Fascinating to me how hard this is for many folks to understand.)

[More Neighbours Toronto @MoreNeighbours]

It’s time for Ontario to legalize Point Access Blocks, or “Single Egress” up to 6 storeys, and ideally 8.

For too long our unwillingness to change, despite modern advancements for fire safety, has held bad a key reform.

It’s time to move forward on this in a new Building Code

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

Huge win! Indicative of the mindset shift re intensification happening at City Hall.

[Matt Elliott @GraphicMatt]

Chow’s motion to adopt the new staff recommendation to allow up to 60 units in the six-storey buildings permitted on major streets CARRIES 23-1.

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

...

[Sarah Burrell @NomadSar]

Thrilled that @crowstheatre is bringing back 'The Master Plan' for another run. Urban planning meets local theatre, yes please. Tickets go on sale June 3!

[Crow's Theatre @crowstheatre]

Our 2024.25 10-show season is actually our 2024.25 *11-show season*! Last fall's critically-acclaimed hit, THE MASTER PLAN, with much of the original cast reprising their roles, returns as a co-production with @Soulpepper November 24!

🎟 Subscribe: https://t.co/L085EQ0tT7