Val Dodge

Have you ever wondered what happens to the familiar streets of Toronto when they leave the city behind? Road Trip brings you along for a ride to the very end of the street, exploring the sights along the way and finding what makes each road unique.... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo of the Leaside Rail Trail by Val Dodge/Torontoist. On-road bike lanes have been in the news quite a bit recently: the battle over Jarvis Street, the ongoing crawl toward lanes along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue, and a patchwork of lanes approved earlier this month all have cyclists... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo across the river from a hydro generating station in Niagara Falls by wjklos. The opportunities for cyclists to get out of the city with their bikes—and without their cars—are multiplying. The Bike Train will be kicking off its third season on Friday June 26 with trains running from... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo of the Hearn Generating Station by Ride My Pony from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Doors Open is the most rare of Toronto events: widely anticipated, universally loved, well attended, and free. Every year, tens of thousands of locals and tourists (and more than a few Torontoist Flickr Poolers)... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo of Hamilton Beach by Waite Air Photos. Last year, Donald Wiedman wanted cyclists to take the GO train. This year, he also wants them to take the bus, subway, intercity coach, and ferry, all in the name of safe and fun cycling adventures. The GO-by-Bike pilot project last... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by chewie2008~ from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. After lots of anticipation, City Hall has taken another baby step on the path to realizing a large-scale bike-sharing program. More than two years after the Community Bicycle Network–run BikeShare stopped operating and eight months after Councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by Val Dodge/Torontoist. Obama Cybernet is no more, in name at least. Owner Amveson Fitsumbrahn made good on his promise to change the name of his Internet café on the Danforth to avoid confusion with the Obama Café just a few steps away. The "O" and one stroke... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by Val Dodge/Torontoist. Christopher Sheedy, owner of the used bookstore Re: Reading, opening tomorrow on the Danforth, describes the excitement exhibited by many locals as he's been bringing his spacious shop together during the last six weeks. "The other night I was standing outside taking a break, a... continue reading on Torontoist

Map from TRCA's flood monitoring web site. Although March has been remarkably snow-free, Toronto and Region Conservation has still issued flood advisories as heavy rains swelled rivers throughout the city and wreaked havoc in the city's low-lying valleys. What floody surprises will April hold? There's no need to wait... continue reading on Torontoist

Map from the Star's Map of the Week. What to make of a map of cycling accidents that shows that the most dangerous street for cyclists also happens to have a bike lane? The Star's Map of the Week blog presented that dilemma to cyclists in yesterday's map of... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo courtesy of TRCA. Creme eggs aren't the only things releasing the goo at this time of year: when the days get longer and the snow starts melting, maple sap starts flowing and fans of pure Canadian sugar rushes head straight for the nearest sugar bush. We're hard-pressed to... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by Val Dodge/Torontoist. When was the last time you opened the Yellow Pages? In a world of Google and Canada411, it's probably been a while since you've consulted any kind of phone book. When was the last time you saw someone take a phone book off that giant... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by bensonkua from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. So you think you know the history of Toronto's water? Taddle Creek used to flow down Philosopher's Walk, Garrison Creek used to flow through Trinity Bellwoods Park, all of the land below Front Street used to be in the lake, and... continue reading on Torontoist

Photo by Dr. Ilia from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. The future of the historic David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill could be decided in a hearing that wraps up today. The University of Toronto sold the 190-acre property to a developer last summer, who told a Conservation Review Board... continue reading on Torontoist

We can only hope that these sanctions succeed where the concerted efforts of the United Nations have so often failed. Still, we wonder what this poor baby grand piano did to deserve such harsh treatment. Shoppers in the Bay's Yonge & Bloor store seem to be respecting the sanctions—sternly... continue reading on Torontoist

A CP24 anchor introduced a weather report this morning by saying "They're calling it 'snow-mageddon,'" before gleefully launching into the standard predictions of panic and mayhem that accompany virtually every cloud blowing within 100 km of Toronto. At the time, we thought, "Who's 'they'? Don't you mean 'you'"? But,... continue reading on Torontoist

If you're familiar with Passmore Avenue in Scarborough at all, it's probably as an unremarkable industrial street that runs in two discontinuous sections between Kennedy Road and Markham Road. But along with the rest of the concession roads in Scarborough, it long predates suburbia: it was laid out and cleared... continue reading on Torontoist

We spotted Shamu's tricked-out ride on Merton Street this morning, visiting from SeaWorld in Florida. You'd think that an orca flopping down the street in midtown would be easy to find, but Shamu herself was nowhere to be seen. Our wild and completely unfounded speculation puts her in Ethan... continue reading on Torontoist

The strange thing about heritage in Toronto is that we don't really appreciate what we've got until it's neglected, threatened, or already gone. By the time we get around to caring, it's frequently too late to preserve anything. Yet somehow, perhaps despite ourselves, Toronto is blessed with a sizable complement... continue reading on Torontoist

So Bob Kinnear successfully negotiates a contract for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113. The transit-using public breathes a sigh of relief, believing the threat of a transit strike to be past. A few days later, the union membership rejects the contract and surprises everyone by striking later that night. Sound... continue reading on Torontoist