A different type of mayor ten Toronto mayor - replayed from grist.org

Mayor of Vilnius takes out Mercedes parked in bike lane—with a tank [VIDEO]
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Biking

Mayor of Vilnius takes out Mercedes parked in bike lane—with a tank [VIDEO]


by Sarah Goodyear

2 Aug 2011 9:22 AM

I have a personal hero of the day, and his name is Artūras Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Zuokas, who is described in news reports as an “avid cyclist” and who is bringing a bike-share program to Lithuania’s capital, staged a fairly awesome stunt (and it is clearly a stunt) the other day: He ran over a Mercedes parked in a bike lane. With an armored personnel carrier.

The whole thing is pretty obviously staged. (You have to love the “owner” of the vehicle who emerges from a store in “shock” — a hangdog middle-aged man wearing a white suit, black T-shirt, and fat gold chain.)

Cheesy though the video may be, the mayor is making a real point about privileged drivers hogging the tiny sliver of real estate reserved for bikes. It’s a problem that bike riders in New York, for instance, are all too familiar with — although here, some of the major offenders are police vehicles.

Mayor Bloomberg, any chance you might consider crushing an improperly parked NYPD cruiser in the name of bike safety? I’m sure that Mayor Zuokas would be happy to give you some tank-driving lessons. Think of it as a cultural exchange.

Improving Toronto’s Parks great report and Scaling Up Urban Agriculture in Toronto

[caption id="attachment_8382" align="aligncenter" width="453" caption="click image to download report"][/caption]

 

link to above  full report at George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation

 

[caption id="attachment_8383" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="click on image to download report"][/caption]

 

link to above  full report at George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation

Top Searches on the blog yesterday

 

Farm Fest which was the top search for the days before its occurrence last Saturday is still the top search.

Top Searches

 junction farm fest,  toronto history rockcliffe blvd rebuild,  aikenshaw vineyard junction,  handyman shop 3077 dundas st west toronto

Elsewhere

 



 

 

three articles, by local Junction writer David Wencer,all connected by the presence of bears.

two articles tied together by the wandering line of Davenport Road by Annie Vielleux, an archaeologist  and Jamie Bradburn, co-author of Torontoists' Historicist series

Major building changes to your Junction Area house?

[caption id="attachment_8361" align="aligncenter" width="475" caption="Soil engineer checking soil conditions at a Junction area house"][/caption]

 

Increasingly many house owners in the Junction area are deciding to enlarge their house, by heightening the basement by lowing the level of the basement floor or converting the attic to usable space or adding an addition.

Any of these projects involves the use of a building permit. In addition to the architectural or designers drawings, an engineers report as to the suitability of the building foundation to support the changes will be required.

Having the knowledge about the need for the engineers report is what this post is about as in new parts of this ward the construction includes footings, but they are not common on 1st lot construction homes in the Junction. Thus the necessarily need for this professional action to performed before a permit is issued by the city.

Often the house owner finds out about this need and its  costs for the report and many times remedial foundation work to strength the foundation is required.

Most Junction houses do not have a footing, but a foundation sitting  on soil, often this has to provided to add an addition or do other major renos. This remedial work can outstrip the cost of the design services.

 

Dekalb Market Brooklyn great use of vacant lot

[caption id="attachment_8357" align="aligncenter" width="298" caption="Click on image to go to the market web site"][/caption]

 

Reposted from http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5544

Low-price, low-rise, low-impact, the new DeKalb Market in Brooklyn is far from low-key. The modular market opened on July 23 and sits on the site of the planned second phase of the CityPoint development in Downtown Brooklyn. The market is made up of a lego-like fortress of shipping containers re-appropriated by 22 local companies as cafes, restaurants, retail outlets, and even an internet radio station. The repurposing of both the site and rectangular storage units is the brainchild of UK-based Urban Space developed with Young Woo & Associates. Urban Space has been championing container constructions for 30 years and is behind successful public spaces and temporary markets including the famous Camden Lock in North London and Union Square Holiday Market in Manhattan, as well as retail, leisure and residential developments. “This is the first of its kind in the US,” said Urban Space's Jessica Tolliver. “We really focus on going into areas that are not being used to full potential and putting something there for the community to enjoy.”



On the former site of the Albee Square shopping center between Willoughby and Fulton Streets, the containers are stacked two-high to form a gateway, and they drop to one story along the perimeter of the one-acre lot, which also accommodates a temporary weekend fair. The container vendors include a diverse mix of established and start-up companies, like Robicelli's cupcakes and Cuzin's Duzin doughnuts. The vendors each leased their new hubs for one year and could individualize the container interiors. Due to delayed permits, they spent the past two weeks frantically painting, cladding, and soundproofing their cabins to meet the grand opening deadline. Anticipating a warm reception, the partners of Urban Space aim to extend and expand the container community. “This is the big intro,” said Tolliver, and, she hopes, the beginning of a rectangular revolution.

ELSEWARE ...winners of high speed rail comp

ELSEWARE is going to be a part of the blog  posting links to articles with similar happenings in the Junction.

This one is about a completion to discuss and provide ideas about high speed rail as as the  West Toronto Diamond project.

 

Click on the image to go to the site.

[caption id="attachment_8364" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="click on the image to go to the site, this author really enjoyed the HOU(S)TATION configures a new suburban morphology founded on the logics of high-speed rail. article and the The Effect of High-Speed Rail on Six Lives proposes an ad campaign aimed at the high-speed rail public. By demonstrating the diverse set of people who could benefit from HSR, the project reminds us how personal transportation really is article."][/caption]

Pie shop yea!

Been told a pie shop is going into Pete's sunnybar wonderful.

High Park Zoo its possible loss not causing any uproar?

 

A quick Google search results in a multitude of save Riverdale farm efforts, while a save High Park Zoo results in a Inside Toronto article and a Facebook page (great effort with around 1400 friends).

It is surprising with the new baby boom in the area over the past few years, more parents in the area would not be protesting the potential closing of the zoo.  Typically, on the weekend it is a "zoo" there with all of the families and tourists visiting the resident animals.  Is the community just unaware of the threatened closure or are people ready to see the High Park Zoo go?

a few images from the park zoo today...

[gallery]