Jay Fitzsimmons

@joylachica.bsky.social @alexbierk.bsky.social @mattcrowley.bsky.social Thank you all for your perseverance over the past term. I'm sure you'll miss some of the outgoing councillors as friends, but the incoming team looks solid. The setting is right for good things to happen. Congrats on your wins!

This thread has good ideas on improving Toronto for the new municipal government. It's mostly applicable to other Ontario cities too.

Happy with the election results in Peterborough. Happy with the results in Toronto (I used to live there and still love it). Ottawa, sorry. Overall, this is friggin great!!

Peterborough election results. A lot of change! New mayor, several new councilors. And they seem good! Like, there are some legitimately impressive people here. Sorry that Gavin Muir didn't win Northcrest. But glad for Charmaine Magumbe - seems great. Gonna be a new vibe on Council!

The anti-bike-lane rhetoric gets lots of profile, but it doesn't reflect most people.

It's voting day, Ontario! And I'm feeling ... hopeful?? There are some really good candidates running for mayor and councillors in Peterborough. Fingers crossed for Gavin Muir in Northcrest Ward!

This is the part we don’t talk about enough. The reversal of good placemaking—from literally ripping up bike lanes to reducing library hours to scraping public transit projects—creates cynicism. Someone should calculate both the social and economic cost of this issue.

Goes to show we can just build fast and do whatever the fuck we want if we really wanted to without years of environmental assessment, studies, and consultation. Imagine if we put the same energy into housing, high speed rail, renewable energy, etc,

Now do lifted trucks

First Past the Post distorts the will of the people. Everyone can see that clear as day with the Quebec election results. #ElectoralReform

I'm at Peterborough Pride Parade with my daughter's school. Happy to see Gavin Muir here! Vote for him as Northcrest Councillor, he'll be great!

New Zealand will require drivers to give way to buses leaving bus stops. One of those rules that makes you realize how weird the status quo is.

This is very true.

Remember all the coverage about the trucker convoy in Ottawa? There are WAAAAAY more people in this Toronto bike protest. And their reason for protest is core: they might die because of provincial decisions. This isn't going away. Photo by Richard Seck: www.richardseck.com/criticalmass...

I know nothing about this Ontario Liberal leadership candidate. But he now has my attention!

A pet theory of mine is that one reason the Netherlands are so good at so many sports relative to their population because the kids are able to independently go to practices growing up and don’t rely on parents driving them places, and the population density allows for more niche activities

One more lane, bro. Just one more lane and traffic will be fixed forever.

PSA: your avocado is trans. What an absolutely wonderfully fantastical world we live in!

It's refreshing to read some serious issues about Alto high speed rail, not just for vs opposed. This article looks at the Kingston station site being considered. It's distance from the via station could be a problem for Alto and Via. www.transportaction.ca/regions/onta...

This is where the current debate about transportation in Peterborough is so outdated. Car-focused. If we are to grow (and we will whether you like it or not), we must expand non-car options. It allows faster travel and leaves more space for stores, parks, etc.

I have now played this game as Nixon and as the newspapers. I've lost in both roles. The game must be imbalanced against me personally.

It's exhausting to constantly fight for good things against the combination of money and status quo. The victories deserve celebration! Congrats to all those involved in opposing the Toronto Island airport expansion!

I bet more people would visit Peterborough's downtown cafes and restaurants if their patios weren't right next to traffic. Vibes matter (such as the vibe of not wanting a truck to hit your table). Well-planned pedestrianization benefits business and people.

Played the 2-player board game Watergate for the first time. One player is Nixon's office, the other is the newspaper linking him to key evidence. Really fun, and learned about the famous scandal too. Highly recommend! My son President Nixon won.

This is a politician who understands that this is not an indulgence, it's an investment. Every public space where you can have fun and not spend any money is probably more of a crimebuster than 100 cops.

Apparently there's a show called Hot Ones where celebrities have potent hot sauce. My friend just had a Hot Ones party. It was friggin excruciating. Such pain with the hottest sauces! Loved it. #BadDecisionsAreFunSometimes

Pedestrian and transit improvements in World Cup cities (Toronto, Vancouver) has been measurable and widely loved. But corporate media gonna corporate media. We can have nice things if the politicians allow it.

Those dang kids left even MORE messages of joy today. Kids these days.

Joyful chalk art by local kids on the footpath in Peterborough's north end. Happy summer!

I'm proud of #CanMNT. It would have been depressing if they'd lost by playing poorly. But they lost despite playing well. It's a shame the final score was 3-0, as that does not reflect the gameplay. The players are surely sad now, but soon I hope they will feel proud of their historic journey.

Started watching Stand By Me with the family this evening. This movie is nostalgic for me. My girls are Not into it. "Why do they swear so much?" "They're smoking but they're only twelve!" "That vomit scene was disgusting!" sigh.

With #ElectoralReform, you don't get as much of these awful policies. You need multiple parties' support.

It’s surreal seeing it come full circle. The people stuck in the crowded Church Street sidewalk are now free to roam the streets! (At least during the 2 month pedestrianization pilot) Streets are for the people!

Once in a while the algorithm is not evil.

It's gut-check time at the printer. Optimism vs preparedness. I'll be reffing a soccer tournament this weekend. Exactly how many yellow and red card discipline sheets should I print? "Anti racism incident form" thankfully I've never needed that. Better print 2 just in case. ⚽🟨🟥 #RefsNeedLoveToo

I couldn't watch yesterday's #CanMNT World Cup game because ... I was coaching my son's soccer game. Honestly it was a great game. Lots of fun, a 1-1 draw (with an olympico goal from one of my guys). Still got to watch the beauty highlights of Canada's game afterwards. 10/10 - no regrets.

Culture isn't about art galleries. It's the everyday vibe of people. If people just drive from x to y and don't interact, that's minimal culture. A bustling pedestrianized street like Montreal has (and Toronto's Church Street this summer thanks to @chanface.bsky.social), that's great culture.

Granville is this right now with every 50 meters a different scene - all organized by the shops. Like the barber shop that put in giant screens to watch the game, or the shawarma place / street disco. The city's doing a good job, but the best thing they're doing is getting out of people's way.