tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62246052011-09-02T23:56:17.537-04:00A transportation planner with an eye on urban planning issues.Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1102055540245907532004-12-03T01:42:00.000-05:002004-12-03T01:32:20.246-05:00

It's been a month of long hours at work, and accordingly it's been a month of low e-mailing and minimal blogging. However, I've been prodded back into action by Marc Weisblott of BLC fame, with the challenge to come up with a few thoughts on the task force to investigate the future of Exhibition Place and Ontario Place. To be honest, though, I had a hard time deciding what to say on the matter.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1099547618978597452004-11-03T23:57:00.000-05:002004-11-04T00:53:38.980-05:00

A pattern is emerging. I have become an elections junkie, and similar to our provincial, federal and municipal elections over the past year or so, I followed the U.S. election a fair amount — for ours, it was the daily SES tracking polls; for the American election, I became addicted to the daily update from electoral-vote.com. (Check out how its traffic spiked as the election began to approach

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1098754741762002352004-10-25T21:31:00.000-04:002004-10-25T21:39:01.763-04:00

I've been meaning to post on the McGuinty government's gas tax announcement and what it means for Toronto. This past weekend saw a back-and-forth debate in the media between provincial and Toronto officials, with Toronto claiming that this deal is worse than no deal, and with the province saying that the city pols are ingrates and should be thanking them for "a promise kept, not a promise broken"

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1097644687275892292004-10-13T01:06:00.000-04:002004-10-13T01:25:09.906-04:00

Stumbled across an interesting website tonight that compares screen captures from the 1958 film Vertigo with contemporary photos taken from as close to the same vantage point as possible without setting up a tripod and leaving it there for 45 years! Aside from the skill of the photographer in painstakingly recreating the precise scenes, and seeing how little San Francisco has changed over the

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1097026585135224002004-10-05T21:06:00.000-04:002004-10-05T21:38:41.676-04:00

I was excited when the Argonauts announced their plans to move into a new facility on the grounds of the former University of Toronto Varsity Stadium at St. George subway station (if I were a TV reporter, I would have to say something about the "infamous 1950 'mud bowl'", but as I am not a TV reporter, I do not have to stoop to that level...). Although I, like much of the GTA, initially admired

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1097024771106996022004-10-05T20:50:00.000-04:002004-10-05T21:06:11.106-04:00

Back when I worked in North York and lived in Port Credit, every time I drove on the westbound express lanes of the 401 on the Hogg's Hollow bridge west of Yonge Street I would marvel at the shabby state of the pavement — ruts that feel as though they're redirecting your car as you drive over them — and decide that it was only a matter of time until someone loses control on them and causes an

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1095999810821992592004-09-23T23:53:00.000-04:002004-09-29T22:24:00.916-04:00

Friday was the deadline for comments on the province's Places to Grow discussion paper intended to limit sprawl across the GTA. And true to form, I got mine in just under the wire! On Saturday, the Star published an article outlining the response from the Neptis Foundation, and their response is actually somewhat similar to mine. The points I raised in my letter response: Urban thinkers,

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1095736415675665442004-09-20T22:31:00.000-04:002004-09-20T23:15:29.306-04:00

On a recent trip to Don Mills, I passed an intriguing sign at the Don Mills Centre, saying, "What if Don Mills Centre became more than a mall?" It then provided a web address, one that I am finding quite intriguing. Don Mills represented a turning point in Toronto development styles back in the 1950's. One of its distinguishing features was the ring road around the Don Mills / Lawrence

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1095222100084662312004-09-14T23:52:00.000-04:002004-09-15T01:22:15.033-04:00

I originally didn't think it would get much attention other than from sign designers or enthusiasts, but the redesign of the Toronto street sign has been getting plenty of attention lately in the Toronto blogosphere. Let's recap: Original article in the Star ("The signs are a-changin'"), July 11Andrew Spicer notes the transition and above article, August 5My first post on the issue, also August

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1094690194224838032004-09-08T20:09:00.000-04:002004-09-08T20:37:25.330-04:00

What with being the first week back to school and all, there's been no shortage of news coverage lately on issues for teachers, students, parents, and Ontario's education system in general. What I find most interesting is the coverage of not skyrocketing classroom sizes, but skyrocketing school sizes. Probably the best place to start is in an editorial published in the Star today that provides a

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1094688364073562852004-09-08T19:31:00.000-04:002004-09-08T20:51:26.413-04:00

An interesting article from the New York Times, reprinted in the Star (at least the online version, anyway). Turns out Britain has three levels of heritage structures for preservation, and is looking to add a fourth category, Grade X, to "be attributed to buildings that deserve to be torn down." Many of the Grade X designations were expected to go towards hastily-designed and -constructed

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1094165591536973022004-09-02T18:49:00.000-04:002004-09-02T18:54:00.483-04:00

A couple of posts back, I mentioned Hamilton's fiscal problems as relating to the Red Hill Creek Expressway and as evidenced by their falling-apart city hall. A timely article from the subscription-only Hamilton Spectator has been reproduced in the online Star. The "leasing space" the article mentions, refers to the third floor of the otherwise mostly vacant former Eaton Centre downtown shopping

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1093148593064111292004-08-21T23:45:00.000-04:002004-08-24T22:48:01.936-04:00

A couple of interesting articles pertaining to the recent Places to Grow draft report: Today in the Star, Thomas Walkom outlines some history behind the last major attempt at creating a Toronto greenbelt, as the province attempts to create another. (In a planning 101 course I took at college, I seem to recall it was more an attempt to create a wide swath of right-of-way to accommodate utilities

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1092626997366277562004-08-15T23:11:00.000-04:002004-08-15T23:49:09.506-04:00

Allow me to join James Bow and Andrew Spicer in welcoming Avenues to the blogosphere. The owner, known as Hans, caught my eye quickly with his excellent title banner graphics (notably the use of the TTC subway font, including what appears to be the correct letter spacing) and his post on Hamilton. In last year's mayoral election, the controversial Red Hill Creek Expressway was a major campaign

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1092282116556144992004-08-11T22:53:00.000-04:002004-08-11T23:41:56.556-04:00

Architecture and urbanism, and the idea that recently-built urban areas are lacking the charm and care in design of pre-war areas, has been getting a bit of a go round on the blog circuit lately. Andrew Spicer recounts a trip to the R.C. Harris Filtration Plant (located about a kilometre from my apartment, and incidentally the location of the Beach near-shootout a month or so ago), and bemoans

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1091759699172124542004-08-05T21:55:00.000-04:002004-08-05T22:34:59.173-04:00

I'll take this opportunity to respond to, or expand on, a couple of Andrew Spicer's recent postings. The first one deals with an issue that I have been meaning to discuss for a while, but put off: the desecration of the Toronto street sign. Toronto's street sign is a bit of a classic. Along with the curvy, characteristic street light fixtures (watch for them in movies and TV programs — to the

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1091073974604836222004-07-28T23:48:00.000-04:002004-07-30T09:19:02.326-04:00

One month and twenty days! Yes, that's how long it's been.  One month and twenty days ago, crazy days (and nights) at work, plus time to move Philippa and myself to a new apartment (still in the Beach, of course!).  Add that to a somewhat new blogger who hasn't quite formed the habit yet, and you've got one month and twenty days.  Oh yeah, and we had an election in there somewhere.  I find my

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1086732486814469952004-06-08T18:07:00.000-04:002004-06-08T18:11:11.553-04:00

From an editorial in today's Star: "A nation must be more than a string of shopping malls." Somehow it seems fitting to accompany this quote with a link to another article, in the Globe, about a church in York Region and its struggle against the march of so-called progress. Read paragraphs 3 and 4, which definitely wax a little too sentimental but still evoke some strong images of what life in

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1085520608786690352004-05-25T17:27:00.000-04:002004-05-25T17:30:08.786-04:00

Here's a neat story from today's Star, which runs the gamut from urban design and history, architecture, street lighting, civic pride, etc. (Probably not too many street lighting fans out there, mind you.)

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1085091166268551752004-05-20T17:33:00.000-04:002004-05-20T18:19:52.550-04:00

By now, the upcoming election is the worst-kept secret in the country -- we may only have a little over a month for the official campaigning, but it seems as though pre-election campaigning has been going on for months now. One of the many signs: decreased levels of rational thought on gas prices. Yeah, the price of gas doesn't really tend to stimulate a lot of thoughtful discussion at the best

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1085088692592695042004-05-20T17:28:00.000-04:002004-05-20T17:31:32.593-04:00

Wow! Guess it shows how busy I've been at work lately that I've only come up for blogging air once in the past month. Lots has been going on since then, of course, but there hasn't been time to comment. Hopefully things will be getting back to a more reasonable level around here, and I'll be able to get back to posting. If that fails, I see Andrew Spicer has taken to posting quick hits. I

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1083260080835344982004-04-29T13:34:00.000-04:002004-04-29T13:38:57.796-04:00

My apologies for the slow blogging of late. It's been a combination of a number of factors, most notably a busy workload at work, and planning for my engagement. Yes, that's right — Philippa and I are now engaged. (Yes, she said "yes".) I thought that, now that my part of the "main event" is over, I would be off the hook. Turns out the "fun" is only beginning... what, you mean there has to

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1081898139182668222004-04-13T19:15:00.000-04:002004-04-13T19:19:34.733-04:00

Although rebuilding the world seems like a tall order, in this article from Wired Magazine architect/author Christopher Alexander summarizes the 15 design principles to be followed if that should ever happen (as outlined in his recently-published four-volume book, The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe). Link courtesy of M1-City Planning (an academic

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1081896344119891812004-04-13T18:45:00.000-04:002004-04-13T18:49:39.280-04:00

Amidst the commentary on last night's 2-0 Leafs victory over the Senators, comes this quote from Damien Cox: Maybe one of the lesser known Murphy's laws is that you are destined to always fail when it matters in an arena built so far from the downtown core that your most loyal fans are trapped in endless traffic jams, even on holiday Mondays. Sure, his tongue is firmly in his cheek, but it adds

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1081379661029049902004-04-07T19:14:00.000-04:002004-04-07T19:18:08.436-04:00

A brief article in the Globe and Mail today alerted me to some new developments in Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray's quest for a New Deal for Winnipeg. Murray is another progressive urban mayor à la Miller, and lately has received a fair amount of press across the country for his efforts in changing the way Winnipeg collects revenue from its citizens. Although I haven't studied it as closely as

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1081204369155660532004-04-05T18:32:00.000-04:002004-04-06T11:47:09.450-04:00

Back on Friday, David Lewis Stein wrote a column in the Star that contained what appeared to be a rather detailed analysis of how much property tax homeowners in the GTA pay. He noted that, for a house valued at $260,000, a Toronto homeowner would pay $2,500 in property taxes, and then proceeded to show how that Toronto homeowner is actually getting a bargain (the headline, "Stop whining:

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1081202083800981662004-04-05T17:54:00.000-04:002004-04-05T17:58:27.763-04:00

Back on November 12, I commented to James Bow that it'd only be a matter of time before we started hearing about the 3M's. Well, it took longer than I had expected, but the phrase is starting to take off (particularly after the three of them were together for the "big announcement" last week). Royson James' column today in the Star uses the term and contrasts it/them with the Chretien/Harris/

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1080870454766236902004-04-01T20:47:00.000-05:002004-04-01T20:51:13.530-05:00

So the City of Brampton has decided to take steps to rejuvenate its downtown. It sounds as though the City and its mayor, Susan Fennell, have caught the smart growth bug, and are hoping to direct development to downtown to revitalize the area, create a major centre within the city, and reduce development pressures in greenfields on the outskirt. (A month or so ago, the Star ran an article

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1080848295401450442004-04-01T14:38:00.000-05:002004-04-01T14:41:53.936-05:00

Let's hope this isn't an omen...

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1080691560611303062004-03-30T19:06:00.000-05:002004-03-30T19:09:37.090-05:00

No, I didn't make it down to the Ceremonial Anniversary Train Ride. I had been considering it, and was ready to go down wearing my ceremonial fedora (gotta keep with the nostalgia after all), which, according to Andrew Spicer's report, would have gone well with the historic advertising (damn! missed it). In the end, I decided I couldn't justify missing that much work. I did, however, play

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1080607261759604462004-03-29T19:41:00.000-05:002004-03-29T19:44:36.436-05:00

The 50th anniversary of the opening of the Yonge Street subway being tomorrow, the local print media have been reflecting on what the subway, and the TTC, have meant to Toronto over the past half-century. The Toronto Star devoted their Greater Toronto section on Saturday to subway coverage, for example. Eye features a discussion between Mayor Miller and local transit advocates Gord Perks and

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1079927955585601992004-03-21T22:59:00.000-05:002004-03-21T23:02:39.216-05:00

I didn't really have a preferred candidate either way in the recently-completed Conservative leadership race; I didn't feel I identified with any of the candidates at all. (I suppose it doesn't matter, since I'm not terribly likely to vote for the party in the upcoming election.) However, I did tune in to the candidates' final speeches at the leadership convention on Friday night (which is more

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1079737008113301612004-03-19T17:56:00.000-05:002004-03-19T18:03:44.920-05:00

If you've seen the movie Men in Black, you'll probably remember the scene where Tommy Lee Jones leads Will Smith into a lab where MIB have consolidated a number of various technologies from alien planets. Jones picks up a small item, tells Smith that it'll one day replace CD's, and adds the punch line, "Guess I'll have to buy the White Album again." As a Beatles fan, I got a kick out of that

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1079659576791550222004-03-18T20:26:00.000-05:002004-03-18T20:42:19.793-05:00

(Slow blogging of late, as work has picked up a couple notches again.) So the provincial government has partially repealed a law, introduced under the Tories, that prohibited some municipal governments (including Toronto's) from raising commercial property taxes, meaning that any tax increases had to be borne by residential property taxpayers only. Now, commercial tax hikes can be implemented,

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1078421451135499372004-03-04T12:30:00.000-05:002004-03-04T12:37:57.610-05:00

Leafing through a few things at work, I came across a copy of the Sustainable Transportation Monitor, a small periodical published by the Centre for Sustainable Transportation. (The issue in question, No. 1, March 1998, is available here as a PDF.) In a section on how Canada can reach its Kyoto targets, the Centre suggests that vehicle usage reduction can be stimulated by increasing fuel taxes

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1078184751748165882004-03-01T18:45:00.000-05:002004-03-01T18:48:48.076-05:00

Added a few. More to come in the future, but this is a start.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1078113978555571372004-02-29T23:06:00.000-05:002004-03-01T18:25:55.436-05:00

So Toronto Liberal MP Dennis Mills has released his plan for Toronto's waterfront. There's a website devoted to the proposal, although it seems rather light on details to me, even on projects like the Union Station renovations that are already underway (though you'd never know it from the writeup), which doesn't even reference the actual study's website, which is here, by the way. The Toronto

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1077838346357310132004-02-26T18:32:00.000-05:002004-02-26T18:36:50.013-05:00

Lots going on in the urban front this week, but here's something which in particular caught my eye. The Town of Oakville hosted an open house on Tuesday night, showing the preferred development scheme for the Oakville North development area (the controversial proposal to open up the area between Dundas Street and the 407 to development). I'll ignore the question of whether the area should in

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1077402522155843632004-02-21T17:28:00.000-05:002004-03-01T18:26:48.653-05:00

In a previous entry, I wondered how much revenue a coffee tax would generate, and how much damage the litter from coffee cups and other fast food containers causes. In an article from today's Globe and Mail, Katherine Harding fills me in on at least the latter: "Councillor Jane Pitfield, chair of the city's works committee, said she is happy the mayor is trying to tackle this ongoing problem,

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1077059945377342502004-02-17T18:19:00.000-05:002004-02-17T18:21:44.030-05:00

Saw part of the end of the East Coast Music Awards on the CBC Sunday night. Although I enjoyed many of the live performances I heard (and the memories of my four years out in New Brunswick), there was something else that struck me in particular this year. What a marketing coup! This year's show introduced me to a couple of bands/artists that I'd be interested in at least hearing more of: Crush

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1076909131192466622004-02-16T00:25:00.000-05:002004-02-16T00:28:07.356-05:00

Upon stumbling across my blog, Jeff of Spookyhorse gave me the advice, "Don't become a slave to the blog!" Apparently I have been following that advice a little too closely lately... Well, tonight Global News ran a CNN piece about a new form of taxation that has been discussed in the States, and more recently up here in Toronto. Seems a while back, Seattle tried implementing a ten-cent

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1075244511867783692004-01-27T18:01:00.000-05:002004-01-27T18:04:01.793-05:00

For the past couple of years, there has been a growing list of individuals and organizations campaigning for a "new deal for cities" from the federal and provincial governments. It started (to the best of my knowledge, anyways) in Toronto, spearheaded in part by the Toronto Star and adopted urban guru (I believe that is now her official title, on all her stationery) Jane Jacobs. Since then, the

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1074576731662882222004-01-20T00:32:00.000-05:002004-01-20T00:34:10.560-05:00

Darnit. The Armchair Garbageman reminds me that I missed Episode 2 of Rick Mercer's Monday Report on CBC tonight. I guess CBC needs to increase the advertising budget for their New Monday Night Prime-Time Blowout Special Lineup to remind me to watch. Of course, any more advertising for it than there already is, would probably have to entail them sending a guy over to my apartment to hit me

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1074275664334886202004-01-16T12:54:00.000-05:002004-01-16T12:57:40.373-05:00

Yeah, I know, I haven't updated in a week and a half. Now with no net access at home, I thought I would type blogs in offline and simply upload them when I had net access. It hasn't quite worked out that way! Course, I'm sure my burgeoning readership will be upset. Well, I see at least a couple of links, courtesy James Bow and Andrew Spicer, whose blogs I have been enjoying for a while now.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1073327067782807012004-01-05T13:24:00.000-05:002004-01-05T13:25:08.450-05:00

While flipping through the television yesterday over lunch, I stumbled across a show on CTV called Real Estate Television. Someone in the development industry was being interviewed, and said that he had been asked by a friend, why couldn’t communities being planned today be of the same calibre as some of Toronto’s more popular old neighbourhoods, like Forest Hill or Etobicoke (he didn’t specify,

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1073026625401955412004-01-02T01:57:00.000-05:002004-01-02T01:57:23.063-05:00

...spent in the back of a U-Haul. From about 11 in the morning December 31, when we picked it up in Hamilton, to about 11 at night, when we returned it in the east end of Toronto. For the most part, it went off without a hitch (pun partially intended). I managed to drive the truck through the narrow streets of the Beach without hitting anything or anyone, and even accomplished the nifty trick

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1072147667891131292003-12-22T21:47:00.000-05:002003-12-22T21:50:32.970-05:00

As this past weekend was the last for shopping before Christmas, I joined hundreds of thousands of other GTA'ers in stampeding to the malls. In past years, I have avoided key retail areas and their parking chaos — particularly Square One, the mall around which Mississauga built its city centre. (I recall a particularly bad last weekend before Christmas, five or six years ago, in which my

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1071805689176841682003-12-18T22:48:00.000-05:002003-12-18T22:48:23.286-05:00

So, a little about me. I've just graduated from Mohawk College in Hamilton, and am entering a career as a transportation planner for a consulting firm in Toronto. On the side, I'm a bass player (see, that music degree came in handy after all!) in a li'l band called Spookyhorse. (Some of the members are playing on the 23rd at a club called The 360, on the north side of Queen Street east of

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224605.post-1071803566747574022003-12-18T22:12:00.000-05:002003-12-18T22:54:00.250-05:00

All right ... after having mulled it over for several months, I have jumped on the bandwagon and started a blog — inspired by a recent post by long-time blogger James Bow. Interestingly, James is a trained planner who, having obtained a university degree in the subject, has fallen back on his other interest, his artistic side (writing). I'm a trained artist (musician — clarinet and bass) who

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01687629282687939369noreply@blogger.com0