pentastich.bsky.social
Urbanism, utility cycling, rowing, food, vintage cocktails, and city living. Victoria, BC, Canada. He/him.
Blog: https://www.boomin-in-victoria.ca
Mastodon (rarely) https://urbanists.social/@pentastich
Formerly @pentastich on Birdland
886 posts
620 followers
767 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
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Isn't that actually 34.8736941 kph? Precision… accuracy… reality… who cares. Never Let the truth get in the way of a good story!
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Sounds right, and Manitoba is in "Western Canada". Does this mean there's no middle ground to be found in Canada?
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This graph uses the same data, but shows how things look at smaller numbers of infractions.
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Exponential growth is a great equalizer :-) I only mentioned $10 and doubling as an example… the key is the exponential increase with repeat infractions.
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I assume that someone with a low income who accumulated many fines could go to court to negotiate something, at which point their income would be available.
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It's super complicated. One would really want to tie the fines to wealth, but many wealthy people have relatively low incomes (even legally). As far as I know, no government agency in Canada tracks or taxes wealth.
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I've always been suspicious that tying fines to income would be hard to administer and could open various cans of worms. I know some countries do it successfully, but, as much as I love Canada, I lack faith… Thus my "low tech" alternative :-)
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3/ Doing that would let the occasional lapse or mistake off easily, keeps the cost down for those without much money, but eventually raises fines to levels that should make anyone take notice. Again, the point is changing behaviour, not punishment, or making money.
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2/ In fact, I'd love too see us go to a graduated system where the first interaction gets a warning, the next a small fine, and then double the fine every subsequent interaction until, some BIG limit (and then install a speed limiter). Let the "count" decrease once a year, or something.
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1/ Me, too. Regarding the Vaughan cameras, I think what the city did was smart. They didn't turn the camera off, they just switched to sending warning messages. I'd be in favour of starting that way, here, too, before moving to fines. The point is to change individual behaviour and public norms.
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It's a really dangerous intersection, apparently with 58 crashes in 2024.
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There are excellent reasons why that tree needs to go. Among others, it's damaging infrastructure, it's planted in shallow soil over asphalt, and the problems are only going to get worse as it grows.
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They look like the standard Victoria bollards, which are plastic but a lot more solid than flex posts. They work extremely well to discourage people, but aren't physical protection like metal ones would be. I think they're a smart option.
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Not as funny as watching me try to change that tire would have been! My rescuer told me the last time he'd done this he'd been driving the BIG flatbread they use for heavy equipment. That would have been truly hysterical :-)
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I love my Tern GSD, but fixing a rear flat like my bike had would be a nightmare :-(
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I don't have a car either! There's a $48/year BCAA "Go!" membership, but it doesn't include towing (though you can upgrade on the spot if you ever need it). We have a $135/year regular "Plus" membership. If there's more than one of you, "associate" memberships are $100.
www.bcaa.com/membership/p...
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It rocks. They took my Tern straight to the bike shop. It was also funny as all get out to watch!
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I didn't read it that way. It was pretty specifically about Pandora Avenue, and nobody interviewed in the series was outside of the City of Victoria.
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I agree, write what you can, when you can. It might have been better for me to say "a letter that looks like you've put effort into it". I've heard from multiple people, in multiple countries, that AUTHENTIC letters get attention, while form letters get discounted.
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My understanding is that well written, respectful, individual letters, especially when coupled with a story that explains why the issue is important to you, are the most likely to be read.
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For anyone not familiar with Victoria, the city's population is around 100,000 people, a bit less than a quarter of the region. So 1,000 supportive housing units is one for every 100 people who live in the city. The rest of the region, with three times the population, has a few hundred IIRC.
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No. There's a great story they could have told about how local, provincial, and federal government has struggled to deal with an incredibly difficult problem. But instead, they invented conflict, when the real story is about how our different levels of government succeed, and fail, in cooperating.
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I know he does! That's one of the reasons I'm so annoyed at this series. It's such a serious problem, here and across the country, that it deserves quality reporting from one of the country's best newspapers.
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The City has certainly stated the need for other municipalities to do their share, but that's both correct and understandable. It's just wrong to force all the services to be located in @victoria.ca, and then point at the city and blame it for the region's problems.
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The idea that @victoria.ca had been anything but enthusiastic, at great political cost, about steps like supportive housing that stand a real chance of dealing with three problems we have is ridiculous.
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The close coordination started during the early COVID years when the city waived the normal approval process for several supportive housing projects.
news.gov.bc.ca/releases/202...
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news.gov.bc.ca/releases/202...
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For reference, here's the quote I'm referencing.
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This series is really sloppy. I've followed this issue for years and I have NEVER seen @victoria.ca turn down a supportive housing proposal. I really doubt that @ravikahlon.bsky.social said anything like that about this city. If you're going to make accusations, at least include a link!
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I agree that trikes are real vehicles! I just quoted it because the "bi" in "bicycle" literally means "two", as in "two wheels". It's unfortunate that a lot of bike & roll infrastructure assumes light weight, two wheel, bikes. It can be tough with my cargo bike, and would be miserable with a trike.
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Ouch.
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I think that's a good idea, though when I look around at people in general, driving, cycling, rolling, or walking, I'm not convinced about the "scofflaw" part. I think too many people don't consider how their actions affect others.
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Absolutely. It creates an impossible situation where it's legal to buy both street legal and street illegal ebikes, which can look identical. The rules invite abuse, and we all raise our arms and flutter our fingers in pretend outrage. It's nuts.
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… and many of the solutions I hear seem impractical. Policy needs to be based on what works.
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There are many users and everyone's needs should be considered. That's different from considering everyone's proposed solutions. I ride for transportation, not speed, and I also find rude, close passing, riders infuriating. At the same time, much of the outrage doesn't match what I see, and…
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5/ I am concerned that pushing more rules won't help, will make the angry people angrier, and will distract from addressing underlying problems like the lack of separated infrastructure.
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4/ I suspect this is a classic "what's the problem", "what's the cause", "whose responsibility is it" situation. Maybe take a look at this book… it's a fun read!
www.shino.de/2022/09/19/r...
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3/ We already have to many signs. They're already ignored, and the worst speed offenders won't read them anyway. Possibly signs that focus on community rather than rules would work better (and couldn't be worse).
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2/ In areas where we don't have separation yet, there are some people on wheels who won't slow down, and there are some of people on foot walking three or four abreast, we weaving, walking on the wrong side, walking with unleashed pets, etc. I never see any press about rude, dangerous, pedestrians!