Fourth Wall is coming down: Saturday tours

The  ‘Fourth Wall’ exhibit, is closing down on January 31st.

The exhibit, which has been up at the UrbanSpace Gallery for three months, proposes 36 simple recommendations for democratic renewal, exploring ways to make local politics more inclusive, accessible and participatory.

For those who would like a guided “walk-thru” of the exhibit, I’ll be hosting three tours on Saturday January 28th at noon, 2pm, and 4pm.

The exhibit is at 401 Richmond Street (at Spadina) on the main floor, beside SWIPE bookstore.

Transforming City Hall, with Paul.

13 recommendations going to City Hall this week

It’s been three months since I launched the ‘Fourth Wall’ exhibit, exploring ways to make local politics more inclusive, accessible and participatory.

The response has been overwhelming, with hundreds of people attending the gallery including student groups, City staff, City Councillors, journalists, the mayor of Calgary, and my mom.

‘Art Trains’ coming to Toronto

This is my last blog post of 2011, and I’m going to finish off the year with an inspiring Good News story.  I just heard about the ‘Art Train’ project last week, and I think it’s such an amazing example of what is possible in Toronto when creative minds come together.

Remember the Art Bike project last summer?  A couple of artists from OCAD painted an abandoned bicycle hot pink, and then stirred up a storm of controversy when the City asked them to remove the bike.

Two weeks later, City Council voted in favour of supporting the artists and allowing them to install seventy neon ‘art bikes’ all across Toronto.

Now, inspired by the success of the Art Bike project, the TTC has announced the Art Train project.  The idea is simple: abandoned LRT trains  will be placed across the City, painted in bright neon colours. The sites will be located along the cancelled routes of  Transit City.

Art Train at Jane & Finch

City Councillors standing up for fair & friendly elections!

Last year, just before the municipal election, I launched the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (RaBIT) with a group of colleagues and friends.  Now, a year later, we’ve got great momentum, and the support of City Councillors from across the political spectrum.

Today we just announced our first ten official endorsements from City Council, and there will surely be more to come in the New Year!

“Is there a map?” • Recommendation #34

(The Fourth Wall exhibit has 36 recommendations.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll highlight a few of them….)

Recommendation # 34:  “Better signage and outreach/education materials should be created in our City Hall lobby.”

If a citizen walked into City Hall today looking for some information about our local democracy, they could be excused for thinking they were in the wrong place.  The main floor of 100 Queen Street West is currently configured primarily as a kiosk for developers and an information centre for tourists.

Let’s get City Hall online • Recommendation # 35

(The Fourth Wall exhibit has 36 recommendations.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll highlight a few of them….)

Recommendation # 35: Free and open Wi-fi should be immediately installed at City Hall and all Civic Centres.

Location, location, location!! Strategic Placement of LED Bilboards

I’ve written a couple of of blog posts recently that are critical of the Monster LED Billboards that have been proposed for Toronto’s highways and residential neighbourhoods.

I don’t like to always be negative, so I’m going to write something positive today:

Five Weeks at Fourth Wall • Adapting to the life of a tour guide (photo gallery)

It’s been just over a month since the Fourth Wall exhibit launched at the Urban Space Gallery, and I can’t tell you how inspired and amazed I am by the public response.  I knew that a handful of municipal geeks would be into it, and some long-time urban activists… but I didn’t expect a non-stop flow of students, civil servants, politicians, journalists, etc.

I’ve been leading tours through the exhibit, almost daily.  And each group brings with them a different point of view and different suggestions/questions.  And no matter what their age, or background, or career, they all seem genuinely interested in the subject matter – even the students who are forced to be there!

Monster LED Boards • Public Consultation December 14 at City Hall

Two months ago I wrote the following:

When Dundas Square was proposed, and public concern was raised about the proliferation of annoying LED billboards in the city we were told not to worry.  “This is ONLY for Dundas Square”, we were told.  “We won’t allow huge electronic billboards in other areas of the city”.

Well, guess what?  Once again, the incremental intrusion of the Outdoor Advertising industry is about to take a huge leap forward – and it’s NOT in Dundas Square.

A report is going to the Planning and Growth Management Committee at City Hall tomorrow, proposing SEVENTEEN new LED screens in Toronto, at ten locations.  These locations include many residential areas – including the neighbourhood I grew up in – York Mills and Leslie.

The next day, a small group of citizens went to City Hall and spoke to the Planning and Growth Management Committee, asking for the opportunity for proper community consultation.  The Committee agreed, and a public meeting has been set-up.  This is your chance to speak out against the growing commercialization of our public spaces.  Please write this in your calendar:

Monster LED Boards – Public Consultation
Wednesday December 14th, at Toronto City Hall
6:30 to 9:30pm

Additional information: Sign Bylaw Unit
416-392-8000   signbylawunit@toronto.ca

Re:Cycling • This is how bike lanes save lives

Two weeks ago, I found myself standing on Sterling Road looking at Jenna Morrison’s twisted bicycle.  Just a couple of hours earlier, she had been crushed under the wheels of a large cargo truck, at a tight intersection with no markings for cyclists.

Yesterday, I went back to the site with my buddy James Schwartz (local advocate and blogger).  We wanted to measure the street and see if there was enough room at the intersection for a proper bike lane.  The answer is YES.  There is actually ample room for proper bike lanes – in both directions (9.6 metres is required).

But we went a step further.  We also wanted to see how traffic would behave, with a bike lane.  So we picked up pieces of trash that were lying around and created our own bike lane (also taking advantage of the bike symbols that have been painted by community members since Jenna’s death).