Tessera
Folgen

Mike Layton

@mikelayton.bsky.social

Working for positive change. Former city councillors The Star called Toronto”s “environmentalist-in-chief”. Inaugural YorkU Chief Sustainability Officer. Opinions are my own. Uke, gardening, cycling, decarbonization, parenting.

20 Posts1056 Follower103 Folgt
Mike Layton@mikelayton.bsky.social · last yr.

Happy Earth Day! There are many critical issues we’re facing, and lots to distract us from climate change - let’s not forget the importance of planet earth and let’s not continue to neglect it. From small to large acts - we need all of them. We decarbonized our home www.thestar.com/news/gta/gas...

Gas stoves, water heaters and furnaces will all be tossed in the city’s drive to get carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. But who pays?

Toronto has a massively ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. One city councillor has already done just that.

thestar.com

Morgan Tingley@mwtingley.bsky.social · 2y ago

The insanity of being a fire ecologist in the epicenter of a major fire event, bags packed and ready to evacuate, watching active fire from my window, while taking media requests and explaining to the public, for the 100,000th time how climate change is largely responsible for this

Mike Layton@mikelayton.bsky.social · 2y ago

Before making the Bloor lanes permanent, we studied the point of sale data in the pilot area, outside and in a similar area on the danforth - data was clear - spending went up, travel times for cars only modestly impacted while safety improved for ALL road users.

up.travel

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2y ago

“Bike lanes are good for business…Since the Bloor bike lane was installed in 2016, both the number of customers & their spending went up. The bike-lanes have become an “integral part of our complete Main Street.” “We’re not a freeway, but a village.” #Toronto #BikeLanesMeanBusiness

Mike Layton@mikelayton.bsky.social · 2y ago

If you haven't played around with @inaturalist.bsky.social, give it a try. Identify plants and animals in your neighbourhood, on hikes, etc. You can make a game out of it with friends and colleagues by initatiing a bioblitz. We did it at @yorkuniversity.bsky.social www.yorku.ca/yfile/2024/1...

Bioblitz event helps advance York University's sustainability goals - YFile

Last month, the Office of Sustainability invited the community to explore the diverse species of plants, animals, and other organisms on the Keele and Glendon campuses, and record their findings using...

yorku.ca

Mike Layton@mikelayton.bsky.social · 2y ago

An admission of the significant financial and safety costs. The city regularly looks at alternative routes and puts lanes on side streets. Shaw (instead of Ossington), Palmerston (Bathurst), Brunswick (Spadina). Yonge, University and Bloor don't have equivalent options.

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is blatant life endangerment thru dangerous public policy I wouldn’t have thought possible until recently. In Ontario the Doug Ford Govt plans to BAN LAWSUITS against the Province WHEN people on bikes are hurt or killed after they rip out safe bike-lanes. “Stay off streets for your own safety.”

Screenshot of Toronto Star article title and subheading
Mike Layton@mikelayton.bsky.social · 2y ago

There is still time to correct this mistake. At a huge cost to Ontario taxpayers, Ford wants to make streets more dangerous for all users, make traffic worse in the short term for marginal long term improvements for a small proportion of road users.

Matt Elliott@graphicmatt.com · 2y ago

In summary, Ford's bike lane removals will, according to a new City Hall report: - Cost $75 million in direct costs and sunk costs. - Make traffic much, much worse for at least nine months during construction to remove lanes - Have minimal long-term impact on car travel times.

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2y ago

Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users. ALL ROAD USERS. And painted bike-lanes? No safety improvement at all. For sharrows, it’s safer to NOT have them. @StreetsblogUSA.bsky.social usa.streetsblog.org/2019/05/29/p...

Separated Bike Lanes Means Safer Streets, Study Says — Streetsblog USA

Cities that build protected lanes for cyclists end up with safer roads for people on bikes and people in cars and on foot, a new study of 12 large metropolises revealed Wednesday.

usa.streetsblog.org