Congratulations to RaBIT! A Big Step Forward

Congratulations to the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (RaBIT):

We did it!!! Just moments ago, City Council voted to request permission from the province to use ranked ballots for our municipal elections!
— RaBIT (@TorontoRaBIT) June 11, 2013

RaBIT button!

The vote was 26 to 15. It’s an important step forward in the timeline for this reform to occur by the 2018 election. There are still hurdles remaining in this lengthy process — but it’s happening, slowly but surely.

Congratulations to the team of volunteers on their accomplishment! Thanks also to Councillor Paul Ainslie for his leadership on this initiative.

On to the next phase... getting Queen’s Park to approve. If you’d like to support this reform, check out RaBIT here.

See also
Why I Support the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (And Why You Should, Too!)

Where the Money Goes, & Where It Comes From: City of Toronto Operating Budget

A broad diversity of opinions exists regarding how the City of Toronto should spend its money. Everyone has their own ideas about services that deserve more funding, or that ought to be cut to the bone.

When having these discussions, it’s productive to glance at how the city operating budget (currently proposed at $9.42 billion) breaks down, to serve as a reference point. You might be surprised at how much -- or how little -- some departments actually receive.

How We Spend the Money, & Where It Comes From

Where the money goes:
Expenditures, 2013 City of Toronto Operating Budget [source]
(Click images to view larger)

Where the money comes from:
Revenue Sources, 2013 City of Toronto Operating Budget 

[My own pet cause is the Toronto Public Library, which handles a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system in the world, for not even two cents of your taxpayer dollar.

Some of my techie compatriots mistakenly think that libraries are increasingly obsolete in an interconnected digital world -- but the reality is, demand for library services has never been greater.

I’d also mention Heritage Toronto, but in truth the level of funding here is basically a joke. Want to guess what the total program expenditure for this department is? For the entire city of Toronto? $740k. Yeah. On the chart above I believe it gets lumped in unceremoniously with ‘Other’.]

Take some time to read more about the City of Toronto’s operating budget, so that you can have an informed discussion about it:
• 2013 Operating Budget Presentation (proposed -- pdf)
• 2013 Operating Budget Analyst Notes

The analyst notes for specific agencies (e.g. the Toronto Zoo) can be quite intriguing... Deliberations and debate will take place in council over the next few months, with a final vote in January.

What are your budget priorities? Should we be spending more, or less -- and on what services?

Welcome Spacing Readers!

Hi folks. If you’re arriving here from this article in Spacing Wire quoting me as “skateboarder Nathan Ng”, you might be wondering where to find the letter I wrote to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.

Here are the two relevant links for your reference:

• Letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon: Why Jeopardize the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park?
• Update -- Ashbridges Bay Skate Park response

Enjoy -- and do stick around if you like!

See also (other skate-related articles)...
• Is Skateboarding Illegal in Toronto?
• Speed! Thrills! Women! FUBU Skate Race Recap
• Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
• The rise of Patrick Switzer, Downhill Skateboarder
• Our first longboarding tragedy
• Grappling with another longboarding death

Past letters to government officials...
• A Pratfall of Monumental Indiscretion
• Please reconsider the proposed service cut to TTC Route 101 - Downsview Park

WITHOUT CAUSE - a political comedy

Without Cause - starring Gary Webster

Sometimes, you lose. Gary Webster stars in Without Cause, a political comedy about a career bureaucrat who gets summarily fired, after a lifetime of service -- for not following the Mayor’s orders.

Hijinks and hilarity ensue, as the city’s transit strategy is thrown into turmoil! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry! You’ll never look at municipal politics the same way again, once you’ve seen someone terminated Without Cause. Produced by The Ford Brothers.

Opens Feb 21, 2012 in theatres near Toronto.

Graphic based on an original photo by: Charla Jones / The Globe & Mail
Prompted by Shawn Micallef’s #WithoutCause meme.

Further reading...
• TTC Chief Gary Webster fired (CBC)
• TTC: Transit commission fires chief general manager (Star)
• TTC commissioners move to fire GM Gary Webster (NP)
• Webster ousted in close TTC vote (Sun)
• TTC Special Meeting Feb. 21, 2012 Petition via S.21B (TTC pdf)
• TTC Special Meeting Feb. 21, 2012: minutes (TTC pdf)

Update -- Ashbridges Bay Skate Park response

Ward 32 Councillor McMahon:
Apparently paying attention

I received, in response to my recent letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon (regarding the diversion of Section 37 funds from Phase 2 of the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park), the following communiqué, which presumably went out to every skater who took the time to contact her.

It’s good to know that some Councillors are ostensibly listening:

-------------
Beach Skateboard Park Update from Councillor McMahon
Feb 9, 2012   

This week Councillor McMahon met with community stakeholders and has come up with an alternative plan to get the Beach Skateboard Park bowl built. She met with representatives from the community, skateboard enthusiasts and city staff and been thoroughly impressed with everyone’s commitment to this local park and facility.

“The project was always approved, we just had to ensure that the financing responsibilities were shared as widely as possible,” explained Councillor McMahon. 

“Balancing the requests and demands of other local residents who are facing disruptions caused by the TTC Ashbridges Bay storage yard construction project is never easy. I am happy to say that we’ve found some new sources of support that will allow us to divert some of the TTC monies to other local community benefits.  The construction tender should be ready to go out in the next few weeks.”

The bowl represents the completion of the skate park project that has been ten years in the making. “Nobody questions the importance of this facility to the community and how it lives up to our shared priorities of youth recreation, connected communities, vibrant park spaces and stewardship,” she stated.

“Anytime I’ve been by this skate park there are people using it. It’s taken an underutilized corner of the park and made it a hub of activity. Local parents and youth organize events, paint murals and even do the maintenance and clean-up of the skate park. This is the type of stewardship and engagement I support and encourage in all our parks, with groups like Friends of Moncur Park, the Icemasters,  and others,” says Councillor McMahon.

“I’m looking forward to spending time at the skatepark to meet some of these local park champions soon.”

Updates as available will be posted on Councillor McMahon’s website.

-------------

For now, I am willing to accept this as a sincere acknowledgement from Councillor McMahon of the importance of the skate park to the local community.

Of course the devil is in the details, and like many as-yet-unbuilt city projects, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” (meaning Phase 2) There remain key unresolved questions:

• What were those new sources of support, and what were the amounts involved?
• Will the change in funding impact the design or the timeline for construction of Phase 2?

We’ll see what happens. This appears to be a positive step forward for the park and a good example of citizen activism, as I know many people got in touch with the Councillor. In particular, Nicky Young and Dave Buchanan deserve credit for taking action and making sure this issue got visibility. Steve Jarrett has long been the park’s key local proponent.

I must also grudgingly give the Councillor some credit for a quick response during a time period where the attention of most of Council has (understandably) been on the transit file...

Skate on!


Previously...
• Letter to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon: Why Jeopardize the Ashbridges Bay Skate Park?


See also (other skate related articles)...
• Is Skateboarding Illegal in Toronto?
• Speed! Thrills! Women! FUBU Skate Race Recap
• Aftermath - 2011 Toronto Board Meeting
• The rise of Patrick Switzer, Downhill Skateboarder
• Our first longboarding tragedy
• Grappling with another longboarding death

Additional reading (external commentary)...
The Town Crier’s article on what happened...
Spacing Wire’s summary (in which my letter is quoted)

City budget underway: let the snarling begin

The City of Toronto Budget process -- always a contentious adventure -- is now underway for 2012.

The Budget Committee approved the proposed 2012 City Budget, which now moves to the City’s Executive Committee for consideration.

Rob Ford’s policy approach

The reductions are numerous. The Toronto Public Library budget (for example) is being decimated -- literally.

Observer Matt Elliott acerbically describes the approach as

“Austerity-as-ideology, not austerity-as-necessity.”

It’s a tense conversation that lays bare the difference in perspective and vision between Ford and his allies, and the rest of council.

You see, it’s not merely about scaling back expenditures for Ford -- it’s about justifying whether funding for certain programs should even be taking place. Unlike most of my progressive-leaning friends, I do think this is a valuable question to ask. Whether Ford’s clumsy approach is going to get anywhere is a separate matter.

As the Budget proceeds through to council for debate (likely next week), look for plenty of fireworks on this subject.

What do you think about the proposed budget? Have we allowed program creep to expand the scope of what the city provides, unsustainably? Or are we cutting out investments critical to our idea of how the city should work?

Should we be spending more, or less -- and on what services?


Photo sources 

• Bay Street looking north from Front, April 1904   Photographer: William James, City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1244, Item 2
• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford kicks off the Metro Bowl at the SkyDome, Nov 2011  Tara Walton, Toronto Star

Signed up for the Yonge St 10k!

Years ago when I was in shape
Around the Bay 30k

The new year provides most people with an opportunity for reflection on their physical goals. Due to some nagging injuries and other problems I’ve fallen severely out of running condition, but I’m hoping to get back on track, starting today...

I just signed up for the Yonge St. 10k, organized by Canada Running Series (CRS).

A plethora of spring races
The event used to be sponsored by Sporting Life, but that relationship got screwed up, in a sad illustration of how political meddling often results in unintended side effects.

There used to be two fall marathons in Toronto. Some members of council and city staff didn’t like how this disrupted city roads, so political pressure was exerted to move one of the marathons to the spring.

Unfortunately, the date that was chosen -- May 6 -- was the same as the original date for this 10k. That meant the 10k had to move. This wasn’t suitable for Sporting Life, which proceeded to sever the relationship with CRS. The latter organization then decided to hold a run on April 22, while Sporting Life scheduled their own 10k, three weeks later on May 13!

As a runner that’s kind of funny to me, since now there are way more spring races than before -- I hope the short-sighted members of council who opposed two major fall events feel somewhat chastened...

[Note: I’ve glossed over the heated wrangling that occurred between race organizers; see the linked articles at the end for a detailed account. I’ve picked the April race specifically because it works in my calendar. I don’t have any affiliation -- I’m just happy to run, and I hope all the races are successful. Other runners in the community may have stronger feelings, which I can understand.]

Race goal
I’m going to shoot for sub-50 minutes. Anything approaching 45 minutes will be great. I never was a fast runner.

Longer term plan
It’s a modest plan with modest goals, but it’s a lot better than sitting around, so here it is:

• Run a 10k in the spring, per above 
• Run a half-marathon in the fall, and see how that goes (sub 2hrs, shoot for 1:55)
• Run a full marathon next spring (or at least the Around the Bay 30k, which has always been my favourite race)  

This might seem like a slow ramp up -- why not do a half this spring? -- but I’ve been extremely frustrated with getting injured in the past, not to mention I’m getting a bit on the creaky side what with the climbing, so I’m going to take it easy this time around.

I’ve really missed the running lifestyle. I look forward to getting back into a regular training regime.

Anyone want to join me? (Early bird rates are still on until Jan. 2!)

Let’s do it!!


Read more
‘Marathon wars’ flare up over spring races (Toronto Star)
More races than ever in Toronto this spring (National Post)
Sporting Life’s version of events [Link now defunct]

We Are The Traffic

I've been following some of the recent discussions about the interactions between cyclists and motorists with some amusement.

This latest kerfuffle was set off by an open letter in Spacing from a cyclist venting about her fellow cyclist's behaviour. That spawned an article in the Star: Are cyclists alienating drivers by being selfish and rude? Which was followed by hand-wringing and pontification, debates over the right approach to reform, and even suggestions that charity events like the Ride for Heart be prohibited from using city roads.

It's a topic that comes up often in Toronto. I've been reading The Revenge of the Methodist Bicycle Company: Sunday Streetcars and Municipal Reform in Toronto, 1888 - 1897, which takes a look at our city's early municipal battles over Sunday streetcars (It's hard to believe, but early in our civic history, the city's strong Protestant background meant that many interests were vehemently opposed to running streetcars on Sunday. Rigorously keeping the sabbath was an institutional means of controlling certain elements -- Catholics, foreigners and so forth).

The Toronto Bicycle Club was incorporated as early as 1890. The Mail and Empire observed:

The various bicycle clubs are doing their best to impress upon the members the necessity for moderation in this respect, and the average club cyclist is only a 'scorcher' under conditions which preclude collisions with unwary pedestrians.

In 1895 there were so many bicycle accidents that there was strong pressure to regulate cycling. Further, cycling was actually seen as a threat to the economic viability of the transit system.

Charles Porteous, the general factotum for the Toronto Railway Company complained:

Sunday running is not nearly as profitable as we had expected it to be, and the Bicycle is seriously affecting our earnings.

So this discussion isn't entirely new. In the fall of 1895 there was a traffic census that counted 395 cyclists passing the corner of King and Yonge between 6 and 6:30 pm. There were 90 stores selling cycles in Toronto. Fascinatingly, the backers behind the Canada Cycle and Motor Company (CCM) were the same people who opposed Sunday streetcars.

From Toronto World, May 10, 1896.
(reprinted in The Revenge of the Methodist Bicycle Company: Sunday Streetcars and Municipal Reform in Toronto, 1888 - 1897)

As for myself, I fall in the pragmatic, 'use some common sense and courtesy' camp. I don't favour additional regulation governing cyclists.

As a skateboarder whose regular travels around the city are technically illegal (a topic I've explored elsewhere at length), I (perhaps selfishly) just don't think there's a problem when people pay attention to traffic around them -- and don't impede the flow. I'm going to skate anyway; it doesn't matter if there's some law saying where and when I can skate.

Trouble is easy to avoid if you use your head and don't do anything stupid. Cyclists should take note.

Who Pays for the Mayor's Phone? & Pignapping

Recently city council was thrown into a mild state of scandal due to the unexplained disappearance of Councillor Mike Del Grande's piggy bank. Councillor Del Grande is the City Budget chief. The brazen theft prompted this exchange at City Hall:



Councillor Adam Vaughan suggested this little piggy went to market.

I've been doing research for a soon-to-be-published-here history of Front and Bathurst, and have been scouring the archives of the Globe and the Star. It turns out there's a long history of our municipal leaders having trivial antics:

From the Dec 14, 1900 edition of the Daily Star

Fudge.

How many cattle do YOU think are in a herd of cattle?

And some things never change -- isn't it fascinating that 111 years later, who pays for the mayor's phone is still a raging topic of debate?