Newsstand: January 5, 2012

Once in awhile a Thursday comes along that demands hash browns. Give in to it. In the news: talk of licensing cyclists, charging 905ers more for parking, getting beat at our our own urban game, a new slogan for Toronto, and hydro facing some tough decisions.

By Sarah-Joyce Battersby • Illustration by Brian McLachlan

Councillor David Shiner (Ward 24, Willowdale) is proposing a licensing system for the city’s cyclists. Ok, sure. People say that sometimes. But perhaps the most egregiously offensive thing about this little National Post write-up on the matter—that is, if you’re not egregiously offended enough, you avid cyclist/hater of cycling licenses/realizer that City staff already studied a similar proposal and found it “cost prohibitive”—is the photo the paper chose to accompany the story. Who is that man in the sandals, sunglasses, and stripey tank-tank top, and what has he done with summer?

Speaking of speaking in hypotheticals, how about a two-tier parking system that charges non-Torontonians more? Some people, including good old David Shiner (ward 24, Willowdale)—he of the aforementioned cycling license/he who was available for comment on this sort of thing due to his appearance at the public works and infrastructure committee meeting on Wednesday—think it’s a great idea to charge the freeloaders that drive all over town and don’t pay any taxes here more for parking. Some say people won’t pay more, they’ll just stop coming downtown. The is the kind of excitement and tension you usually only get from reading The Hunger Games.

Plus, why would 905ers bother to come downtown when their own homes are getting better and better at being downtown-like? The Grid says cities and towns surrounding Toronto are getting good at urbanism, especially the kind Toronto has been bad at lately, like cycling infrastructure, green energy initiatives, and public recreation facilities.

But all is not yet lost for the Big Smoke. The planning and growth management committee is set to meet today, and on this day they will debate the Bolder and Brighter report commissioned by Peter Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore). The report, a feeder for the City’s official Official Plan review, covers long-term planning concerns like building design and designating pedestrian-only streets. The report also calls for a “bold new city slogan,” to which Milczyn suggested “the best big city to raise a family.” Yes. Edgy.

The Ontario Energy Board will decide today if they’re going to increase fees or just settle with rolling brown outs for awhile because their infrastructure is so out-of-date. Or they might find a solution somewhere between charging more and letting the city break down into a dimly lit, Running Man-type scenario.

And Roderick “Rod” G. Robbie, the architect who designed the SkyDome, died yesterday at 83. Thanks for everything, Rod.