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“Claims that wildfires can be prevented by [forest management] are not only inaccurate, but they’re also part of a broader pattern of disinformation in response to climate-fueled extreme weather… deflecting from what experts say is the biggest driver of worsening fires: the rapidly warming climate.”

So was the GRANVILLE PEDESTRIAN STREET EXTENSION a “mistake?” Hell no. The mistake would have been to fail to seize the unique momentum AGAIN. To ignore the huge costs of INACTION, and fail to see the ROI. To underestimate our city again. Come support Granville Street. It needs ALL of us. 9/

I enjoy that one of the people interviewed is a cattle rancher (!) who is pretty clear that this is about not wanting to look at a wind turbine: "You didn't do so good on oil and gas, and this is way more visual."

“10 reasons your anti-cycling ranting just sounds daft, even if some people are nodding along.” A definitely Irish way of making some reasonable points, via @irishcycle.com. Think it’s too aggressive? Try reading some of the rants that the article is clapping back on.

🗣️"We're seeing a worrying pattern of Canada not only increasing fossil fuel subsidies across a number of fronts, but creating new subsidies to transfer public dollars to the fossil fuel sector," says IISD's Nichole Dusyk. Read more from @davidthurton.bsky.social 👇 www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

“Claims that wildfires can be prevented by [forest management] are not only inaccurate, but they’re also part of a broader pattern of disinformation in response to climate-fueled extreme weather… deflecting from what experts say is the biggest driver of worsening fires: the rapidly warming climate.”

A distressed street like Granville Street is not only a missed opportunity for much more civic life AND public revenue — it’s an ongoing economic negative that suppresses the public value of the larger downtown. To be blunt, the costs of continued inaction & failure on the street are staggering. 7/

The big economic opportunity, and the BIG COST of the status quo, needs to be better understood. This isn’t simply a civic space opportunity, altho we shouldn’t underestimate the value of that. The downtown is the primary economic engine of the city and province from a public funds perspective. 6/

I know Vancouver well and think making Granville Street car free would be a great idea! Brisbane did it in the 1980s and it has made its main street Queen Street into one of the worlds great pedestrian areas.

The day may come when the US acknowledges the suicide of state capacity it has committed but unfortunately that will not remedy that suicide Oh well. Whoops

bsky.app/profile/bren...

“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.” Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life. Common sense. Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.

Making a location inviting enough to double the amount of time people spend there also has the effect of making more people interested in going to that location.

This is equally true for city planners and our plans and city-building ideas. You have to persuasively SELL those ideas to the public — a public that’s inundated with disinformation. And even once you get an idea or plan passed, you have to KEEP selling it, to “election proof” it.

The science behind this is here: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... doi.org/10.1016/j.gl... And yes it doesn't include the negative effects and climate delay of 'mobesity' = the rise of the large electric SUV www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Vision Zero Volunteers loving the Granville St pedestrianization! What a great hang out spot after our monthly meeting.

Creating a successful pedestrian street takes a lot of hard work & creativity, and Granville is a challenging street to begin with. The high degree of difficulty is made harder when we undermine our own success with negativity, despite the significant public and business enthusiasm for the idea. 3/

This Granville Street pedestrian zone won’t be an automatic success (“build it & they will come”) nor an automatic failure (“it can’t succeed because [fill in the blank]”). Its success requires real commitment and support from ALL of us. The COLLECTIVE “WE.” Do we WANT it to succeed, or not? 2/

A question I hope will be answered on this thread: How can this important three month pilot be leveraged for the permanent restoration of public life? An observation: There should be an advocacy & evaluation strategy attached to this pilot. Following.

If you’re interested in the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone* that’s been extended until the end of summer after the World Cup, or if you’re interested in making the case for any challenging pedestrian street, follow and share this thread below, which I’ll keep adding to. * not a fan of that word