Matt Stickland
@landofsticks.bsky.social
Founding editor of GrandParade.news a Halifax newspaper, host of Grand Parade and co-host of Wanderer Grounds. Previously: Writer for The Coast, Founding editor of Committee Trawler, an NDP Candidate, Submariner, and Theater tech. DMs open, he/him.
If you liked the @grandparade.bsky.social podcast with @parismarx.com, you should probably check out season two of the Gloves Off podcast.
Stephen Marche@stephenmarche.bsky.social · 4h agoCanada is a digital colony, and the biggest lesson we learned doing Season Two of Gloves Off is that digital sovereignty IS sovereignty. Episode 6 of Season Two. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApt...
Our driver has started honking at slow drivers on the highway.
Matt Stickland@landofsticks.bsky.social · 55m agoI'm 5 minutes into a Maritime Bus ride to PEI and it's already so much better than if I drove myself.
I'm 5 minutes into a Maritime Bus ride to PEI and it's already so much better than if I drove myself.
Of all the things to admit on the internet, “I don’t know how bananas work” is one of the funniest
Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco.com · 13h agoSpoken like a man who has never had to shop for himself.
I think I timed my trip perfectly so that Hell Let Loose: Vietnam will be out when I come back.
We are looking for some feedback on some new ideas, can you spare a minute for a survey?
Grand Parade listener/reader feedback
Just a quick feedback survey about things we are considering.
forms.gle
Meanwhile, in Halifax
The Savage austerity trap: Halifax’s decade of decline
Why doesn’t council value Haligonians?
grandparade.news
Jacob Loo Dawang@jacobdawang.com · yesterday🧵 NEW POST: Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend Matching permits to assessment data shows that small-scale infill from just 2024-26 will grow the tax base by $1.8B, and revenues by $15M. That's equivalent to a 0.7% property tax rate increase! #yegcc www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/pr...
All the data points to the evergreen sign:
Jacob Loo Dawang@jacobdawang.com · yesterday🧵 NEW POST: Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend Matching permits to assessment data shows that small-scale infill from just 2024-26 will grow the tax base by $1.8B, and revenues by $15M. That's equivalent to a 0.7% property tax rate increase! #yegcc www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/pr...
Edmonton’s broad upzoning has (so far) added $15 million to the city’s yearly property tax revenue.
Jacob Loo Dawang@jacobdawang.com · yesterday🧵 NEW POST: Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend Matching permits to assessment data shows that small-scale infill from just 2024-26 will grow the tax base by $1.8B, and revenues by $15M. That's equivalent to a 0.7% property tax rate increase! #yegcc www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/pr...
We probably need to ban cars until we figure out why this keeps happening.
The winds tonight are crazy. Downhill heading into Halifax? -20kph. Going uphill out of Halifax? +10kph.
Got a new paper out today... "Urban areas with lower commute mode share by car and, to a lesser extent, lower VMT are most strongly associated with lower per capita transportation fatality rates." (and it's open access if you are the type of person who wants to read a research paper)
What drives urban transportation safety? Exploring the role of modal composition and travel exposure
Purpose. Past urban transportation safety efforts have largely focused on controlling road user behavior through tactics such as speed management and separating users in space and time. This research ...
doi.org
Going to PEI for a few days with no book about amalgamation or mayor investigation to write about. Please send thoughts and prayers.
The real question for me is when is Doug Ford gonna remove the cameras at self-checkouts? I don't speed because I don't want to kill someone, but I do want to get in on the 'do small crimes without personal consequences' bandwagon and it seems unfair that only drivers get a free pass #equity.
David Zipper@davidzipper.bsky.social · yesterdayA story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
Want another reason to ride your bike for transportation? No ads.
852dude@852dude.bsky.social · yesterdayThis sucks ass. When I start my car I want to be able to put my foot on the pedal and drive off. I dont want to watch an ad. A distracting ad. Right in the middle of my console. Again. This sucks ass.
Halifax has a new residents survey about solar farms ☀️ engagehalifax.ca/regional-pla...
Solar farms | Regional Plan Review
engagehalifax.ca
A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off
In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.
bloomberg.com
I need to do like three things today and I won't want to do any of them.
Want to be a Micromobility MVP? Give your citizens safe places to ride e-bikes and e-scooters so that drivers can't kill them.
Halifax Regional Municipality@hfxgov.bsky.social · yesterdayWant to be a Micromobility MVP? Ride e-bikes and e-scooters where you’re supposed to (never on a sidewalk), wear a helmet and park responsibly. Learn more at: halifax.ca/SharedMicromobility
I know I'm way late to the party on this one but Disco Elysium is really good
today in "headlines you'd see on a background TV in a disaster movie" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Rhine Falls to Lowest Since 1880, Disrupting European Trade
The Rhine River’s water levels dropped to the lowest in nearly 150 years as hot, dry weather grips Europe, threatening to disrupt a crucial route for transporting coal, fuel and industrial commodities...
bloomberg.com
In this week's podcast host @landofsticks.bsky.social sat down with @parismarx.com to talk about tech/digital sovereignty to ask him about what cities could learn from the current tech/geopolitical moment. Listen where ever you get your podcasts.
Tech and transportation sovereignty with Paris Marx - The Grand Parade
This week, Matt sits down with Paris Marx to talk about the parallels between tech and transportation and how big tech companies are ruining transportation. Here is that survey I mentioned in the int...
pod.co
When you look globally, there are many more countries that consistently abandoned street-running railways in the postwar years than ones that retained them. The simpler answer is that technology, decaying infras and the zeitgeist killed streetcars everywhere but in a bunch of countries.
Christof Spieler@christofspieler.bsky.social · 2d agoI think the conspiracy is comforting to people -- "a few bad guys did this." The reality -- "electeds, planners, and most of the public believed that the car was the future and rail transit was outdated" is actually more unsettling since it raises the question of what we're getting wrong now.
Currants are so annoying. The most annoying part is how delicious they are as jam.
'The thing that's producing the bad outcomes people hate is also the thing that people really like!' is, unfortunately, the most common problem type we face. There's no value in pretending otherwise.
Why it's important that historically-accurate people argue back against the silly "a GM conspiracy killed all the streetcars, just like in that movie" story.
Christof Spieler@christofspieler.bsky.social · 2d agoI think the conspiracy is comforting to people -- "a few bad guys did this." The reality -- "electeds, planners, and most of the public believed that the car was the future and rail transit was outdated" is actually more unsettling since it raises the question of what we're getting wrong now.
