Winter 2013-2014: Mother Nature Fury

So as we finally get on with the 2014 growing season, we look back at what was probably the most brutal winter this generation has ever experienced in Toronto. Stretching from Manitoba all the way to Newfoundland, and south into Florida, we became familiar with meteorological terms such as the "polar vortex". And a vortex it was. The weather pattern was surprisingly consistent throughout the season, with days that were above freezing can be counted with one hand. And consistent it was, with day after day of temperatures reaching -25C at night, and -15C during the day. It wasn't necessarily the snow that was bad (just by observation alone, there was probably less snow that fell) but it was the persistent cold that prevented the snow from melting. 

The first storm of the season was earlier than normal. A storm hit December 14, when more than a foot of snow blanketed the area. Anywhere west of the Credit River basically saw 30+ cm, and east of that saw much less. Areas to the south saw a mix of precipitation.

The climax was, of course, the December ice storm, that crippled the entire region in about 2.5 cm (no not mm, but cm) of ice accretion. Likely one of the worst ice storms to have ever hit the city in generations (see a pattern here?), it literally caused damage and destruction to hundreds of thousands of trees in Southern Ontario. Thousands of people lost power in a large swath of area, with some unable to get their power back for weeks. For many, it was a very depressing Christmas Day. For others, we were blessed that we had power, and unspoiled Christmas dinners. 

The photos below show the power of ice (other photos were also posted the day of the ice storm as well). Such a simple beauty to view, but the dangers of it is real. We had so much ice that you could literally slide on the sidewalk. The trees were covered in so much ice, that when the wind gently blows, there is a odd silence in the air, but the creaking and breaking of ice on the trees are the only things you here. It took me an hour to break off all the ice on the car windows, and another hour scraping the ice off the driveway. And there was no choice. If you didn't do it that day, the ice will stick for the rest of the season, and many were punished for being lazy. 

First day of Winter and we get...

Today is the first day of winter, my favourite season. However, the introduction was more of a icy mess when 24 mm of ice fell beginning saturday noon and persisted well into sunday morning. The ice was so thick that it coated everything visible. Sidewalks, snow, trees, and cars. Not even the poor garden gnomes were spared. Below are some pics taken right after the last of the freezing rain fell.

Myth of Pedestianism in Hong Kong

There is the belief that here in Hong Kong, or Asian cities in general, pedestrians reign supreme, and that the personal vehicle takes a back seat. Besides, it's Asia, where the average population density is higher than most downtown core in Europe and North America. So why is it that traversing in Hong Kong by foot is more than just a walk in the park? The picture below says it all. It is the pedestrians that have to look out for cars, not the other way around. This mentality would be a North American or European driver's paradise. 

After being here for several days and casually observing the behaviour of motor vehicle drivers, delivery cyclists, and pedestrians, I have been able to draw a few observations and some food for thought. This entry will also attempt to explain why things are the way they are, and conclude with some final analysis. This is in no way a planning research paper, however, it would be a great topic of discussion amongst urbanists, architects, social advocates, transportation planners, and land use planners alike. 

Hong Kong is a city in constant flux. It never sleeps. It never takes a break. Under the hustle and bustle of the concrete canyon below is a transportation network that functions, albeit in the most un-Asian-like way. I have always come to known as Hong Kong as a pedestrian unfriendly city despite its wide sidewalks (although old parts of town may have sidewalks about 0.5 metres in width, newer standards are probably up to three metres) and attractive surface materials with visual impairment aids. So lets take a walking tour in town that I did while on my trip. The map below shows the numerous windy roads of various inportance, and grey lines to which appears to be pedestrian linkages. 

A bit of context. Connaught Road (the main road in yellow) is a six-lane limited access highway that runs right in the middle of Central and links with Wan Chai and beyond. North of Connaught Road is an area of transition. Years of land reclamation and the redevelopment of government land have resulted in new infrastructure being built. If you compared this from as recently as 2010, you would have noticed a stark contrast. This is how fast Hong Kong moves. 

My goal is to walk from Statue Square, to City Gallery. From the map it would appear that I would have to walk from the square and cross the Chater Road north of the square, and across Connaught Road, and finally to the memorial garden. Not so apparently. I had to walk back into the subway station and through one of the numerous pedestrian tunnels that gets me to the AIA Central office tower. 

After five minutes of walking, I finally found my exit, identified as J3 on the map near the Hong Kong Club Building. From then on I walked on the north side of Chater Road and passed the AIA Central building and into an intersection, Murray Road and Chater Road (right side of the map). After making it across after a waiting for 2-3 mins for the light to change, I reach a pedestrian footbridge (most footbridges do not have elevators) that takes you over Connaught Road. Crossing that gives you a spectacular view of both Wan Chai and Central. 

Edinburgh Place has wider sidewalks but has no street furniture and street trees to shelter pedestrians from the elements. After doing several detours because of construction where afterwards I find the sidewalks were closed due to construction. There were no detour signs to say where to go. After turning back I headed back I made it to Lung Wo Street and Edinburgh Place. 

Overall the experience was a negative one. As this was my first time taking this route, I was lost right from the beginning. With little street furniture and street trees, the sidewalk is uninviting especially in the heat of summer. Major roads literally cuts community in half. Pedestrian bridges do not improve connectivity between destinations. Sidewalks are wide, but many go nowhere. Many intersections are difficult to cross due to the high vehicular speed and numerous traffic lights with different frequencies. So the whole journey took almost 15 mins, where it could easily take five. 

So what can we learn from my example? Several items comes to mind. 

1. Pedestrians must yield to vehicles: This was a surprising observation, given that there are so many pedestrians in Hong Kong, and there is rarely a sidewalk without at least a few pedestrians. As there are many more pedestrians than motor vehicles on any given intersection, you would think that pedestrians would have the right of way just due to the sheer number of people inconvenienced to allow cars through. But in such a high density city like Hong Kong, I found out that this behaviour is not only a learned behaviour as a culture, but also a necessity. If drivers were to yield to every single pedestrian, cars would never be able to go anywhere, and there would be perpetual gridlock. In western cities, this would never occur since there just isn't enough pedestrians to cause a mobility impediment to cars, and so in that case, pedestrians could have the right of way.

2. Pedestrian Tunnels aid in pedestrian control: Most, if not all MTR stations have at least some form of pedestrian tunnel or bridge linking either a housing estate, mall, or office tower. This is certainly nothing new of course (ie PATH system in Toronto). Jane Jacobs was never a fan of these tunnels as they did not contribute to the vibrancy of the pedestrian environment. Most Asian cities are a different beast however. These tunnels are a necessity in order to move people about as most sidewalks in Hong Kong have reached past over capacity. Take Causeway Bay, home to the world's highest commercial rent and some of the most crowded intersections in the city. Home to several large-scale shopping malls, it is pedestrianism gone extreme. Each mall and large office block are connected by a dozen tunnels that just spiral out of the station. And even then, sidewalks are unbearably crowded.

3. Newer development does not contribute to public realm: with private developers building these lavish new housing estates that takes up several blocks, the original road network becomes disentangled. The streets are no longer inviting because these mega structures look inward and not outwards. The pedestrian environment becomes stark and sterile. There are no places to go to other than malls within the podiums of these housing estates. Public transportation, or even driving, becomes necessary because gone are the days of walking to the corner market for groceries. Planning in Hong Kong has become westernized, and in a very detrimental way.

The future of Hong Kong does not seem as bright as one would think. True, more people are being crammed into these housing estates with dozens of 50+ storey residential towers, but at what cost? 

The Joys of Flying

I have tried to explain to friends and coworkers that flying to Asia should be done at least once in their lifetime. It's a different perspective in culture, society, etiquette, and urbanity compared to our usual western culture of consumerism. People often ask as a follow up, "how long is the flight?" I tell them it is typically a 15.5 hour flight. The response varies but the general consensus is a resounding "yikes". The flight can be tedious. Ok I can't under estimate it. It IS tedious. It is the kind of tedious that can make you cry for your mom. It can make you scream (or sleep) in agony. Your butt becomes sore then becomes painless due to the numbness.

So the next question is, what do you do when you are on the plane for 15 hours? So here is what I did pretty much by the hour on my flight from Toronto to Hong Kong. It is so riveting that I highly recommend everyone to do the same.

Hour 1: Refreshments, Read, and Nap

Hour 2: Lunch and more refreshments, and Read

Hour 3: Read and Nap

Hour 4: Read and Nap

Hour 5: Walk, Read and Nap

Hour 6: Walk and Read

Hour 7: Nap

Hour 8: Mr. Noodles as snack, more refreshments, and watching two boring episodes of Portlandia.

Hour 9: Read and Nap

Hour 10: Read and Nap

Hour 11: Walk and Read

Hour 12: Walk and Nap and new found appreciation for Franco white rap artists Ale Dee

Hour 13: Read

Hour 14: Breakfast!

Hour 15: Cabin pressure causes my ear to almost explode.

Hour 16: Arrived in Hong Kong

So as a seasoned traveler who has done the Trans-Pacific flight more times than I want to admit, here are a few tips:

1. You ain't going anywhere once you board the plane. Just quit screaming like a baby and deal with it.

2. Buy snacks like timbits and cookies. Depending on the airline, they will feed you well, but the odd snack will assure you that you are not in prison. What I also did in Hong Kong coming home, was to buy fried rice as a take out. That way, you can eat whenever you want on the plane, and you can make other passengers grossly jealous.

3. Buying bottles of water is a must. Depending on the airline they will provide cups or even entire bottles. I buy a bottle or two to keep myself hydrated, and in the situation that the air crew does not offer water. A five hour flight may be short to not be an issue, but a 12+ hour flight will be excessively long. Dry nostrils and throat is very common. Buy after going through security.

4. Walk around the plane (when not in turbulence of course) to loosen your joints and improve posture. Also makes you sane.

5. Wear comfortable clothes. You aren't going to win an award as the best dressed passenger so save your designer polo shirt and denim at your destination. During this trip I actually wore house slippers. Its so comfortable to not constrain your feet into shoes.

6. Entertain yourself. Remember those poor dogs who are thrown into dog kennels along with a toy and is forced to entertain themselves for hours while the master goes to work or shopping? Well that's you on the plane! Now you know what that Chester, or Spot, or Gertrude the lab feels like!

Well thats it. Now you are prepared to go to Hong Kong and/or Tokyo. Now Go!

Tax Levy on Excess Paved Surfaces in Mississauga?

As I sit and write this blog I am sitting on the second floor of my parent's house overlooking a bland and sanitized typical suburban community in Toronto. Its nice, its quiet, its a nice balance of built form and lollipop trees. But what looms just a across the street is an extension of an existing double-car driveway into a monstrosity. With these neo-traditional suburbs that were once the flavour of the month to what is the norm today, front yards are shallower than the typical suburbs built back in the 1980s and 1990s. Any increase in paving to add that extra parking space can really alter the look of the property. Over time, as everyone decides to pave what little paradise is left on their abode, it becomes a great deal of concern. It not only has to do with how the neighborhood presents itself, but its also an issue come stormwater management.

Typically, the saving grace of low-density residential suburban landscapes is the abundant landscaping surrounding each dwelling, which aids in stormwater management. Lawns typically are able to absorb as much water you give to it, even in times of heavy rain (exception was the July 8, 2013 when 126 mm fell). As a result, there is less load on the city's stormwater sewer servicing than say, a typical location in downtown Toronto where most of the land is paved. 

With the change in lifestyle and family sizes in locations such as Brampton, Mississauga, and York Region, residents often pave a portion, or even in its entirety, their front yards, for a driveway. In some instances, the entire front yard of a 41 foot lot would be paved. This can pose significant issues surrounding the increase in stormwater load, where cumulatively, it could affect the water treatment system downstream.

The City of Mississauga is doing something about it, which in my mind is a great idea. Firstly, it makes residents think twice about paving paradise to put up a parking lot. The fact that there are environmental issues such as increased heat island effect and a loss of landscaping is something residents are unaware (or don't care) about, and this educates residents that stormwater has to go somewhere, and often its down the storm drain. Secondly, there are financial repercussions by taxpayers who sees their city stormwater management unable to handle increase in stormwater loads, and it is the taxpayers who has to foot the bill. That is unfair, because I inherently must pay for their selfish acts for their own private interests. Subdivisions have been built with in a way that designs for forecasted stormwater load based on their proposed paved surfaces. They are unable to foresee future increases in paving of private lots.

It will interesting to see how this levy is charged and at what percentage. Do smaller lots get charged greater because their lot coverage is less? Will larger estate lots get a discount? Because Mississauga is practically built up, this new levy should not result in excessively large lots being created to reduce the lot coverage, or would occur at a minimal rate. We shall see if this comes to fruition, and in terms of an election platform, any measure to reduce the tax burden on those unaffected would be great. Even if this does not stop driveway additions, the city will hopefully be prepared to handle future flooding.

City of Mississauga Stormwater Financing Study

Experiences of Regional Transit to Work

I have to confess that I am a long distance commuter. Have been since my first full time job eons ago. I am not proud of it. For someone who doesn't practice what he preaches, as an urban planner I contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. I take up valuable space on a busy highway, and emit enough suspended particulates to an ever polluted, soupy, and smoggy summer day. Not many of my friends understand the impacts long distance have on my energy levels as the work day wears on, nor do they understand that to drive into Toronto from Hamilton can take as much time as traveling from Toronto to Winnipeg by plane.

So to change the way I commute (which in hopes will change my lifestyle) I decided to take the plunge and take transit. I know, any attempt to take a suburb-to-suburb journey by transit spells disaster. The thought of three-hour trips involving countless transfers from bus, to rail, to bus again, makes anyone discouraged. The only reason I even contemplated was by a dear  coworker who lives in the same city as I do, who recommended a new, more direct regional bus route directly to downtown Hamilton from the 407/Trafalgar carpool lot. I was not convinced at first, until this past week where commuting on the 403 was a disaster. No longer does leaving ten mins early compared to three years ago, come close to sufficing.

Since it was a friday and I was pretty flexible, I decided to take the bus. After racing on the 403 I made it to the carpool lot only to find I was early.  It was a cool and cloudy morning and a bunch of people were already waiting. I know remember why I hated taking transit. When you miss the bus, you have to wait for the next one. For someone who has to go to work by a certain time, it seemed more stressful than driving yourself to work. But once you realize you are early, a sense of relieve sets in.

As the bus waits for its passengers, I put my money in. Having a Presto card certainly makes things faster, and cheaper. For someone who have used the microchip technology as a form of payment in Hong Kong, this is nothing new. In fact, Torontonians are behind the times. There is enough seating that no one has to sit side by side. Its a great feeling to finally go to work and someone is driving for me.

I have to say that this is a new found freedom for me. The fact that I don't need to drive to work seems foreign to me. Because its been so long, I still get stressed when the bus is sitting in traffic, or if it comes to an abrupt stop. I frazzle when the bus is honking the horn. Its all psychological, and will take time to recover. 

Will I take the bus again? For sure. The fact that I can come home without stress or grumbling because there is an accident causing heavy backup, is refreshing.

Toronto Through the Lens of New Old Friends

Whoever makes friends online would either be anti-social or are just acquaintances where there is a high percentage you will never meet. Not me. I go out of my way to meet these same friends in person that I have known for years virtually, not knowing if they are who they are. Case in point is Jamie from London (UK not Canada). We have known each other from the Second Life days when the Fire Island community was still around. We met online as  happenstance, and became good friends online. As we all parted ways, there was an ever slimming chance that I would ever get the opportunity to meet these people, let alone hear their voices ever again.

And in comes Jamie, the ever quiet computer geek from the UK who loves trance, house, and any track greater than 80 bpm. I had the honour and opportunity to meet him and his good friend Will, on a quick yet epic journey around Toronto (actually mostly just downtown). Their journey started in Halifax where they toured some of Canada's oldest history such as the Citadel, and some of the coffee shops. Soon after that they took the overnight trip on VIA Rail to Montreal where they stayed for several days and toured the Bio-dome and Old Montreal. After a quick stint in "La Belle Province", they took the train to Toronto. 

Both arrived Wednesday evening and met both of them Thursday afternoon. Meeting someone that you know online for the first time is always an awkward moment. As I ran up the stairs to the grand foyer of the station, I looked around quickly only to see him in front of me. With the glare of the sun in the background, I saw his familiar face, and smiled. We both recognized each other, and I quickly walked over to him. After calling his name we both hugged tightly as if we were long lost friends. There is that split second where there is some hesitation but that is gone when the other person has the same feeling. Will, Jamie's travel partner and good friend, was just as personable and delightful. 

This trip was Jamie's second time in Toronto, and Will's first. What became an interesting observation is that both, as tourists, love the city. They find the people so polite and well-behaved, the city skyline dynamic and unique from any European city, and the wilderness so close to the city core. Despite the tiring nature of the summer construction season, they were more intrigued and curious to know why the city has ripped up Queen's Quay to nothing more than an asphalt mess.

What I learned from them was that as a resident, you only see the day-to-day issues and problems that you face in the city you live in. However, tourists see what is more superficial and on the surface. They see the as it is, from the lens of a tourist. A passerby. They have a particular role to play because they are the ones who put everything under the microscope, from the city's vibrancy, to its cleanliness, to its "wow" factor, and to its stimulation of the five senses. They are the victim of the city's vices and the ability of the city to keep them safe. They are the marketing tools the city relies on, the ambassadors to tell their friends how awesome Toronto is back home. They breathe the same air and eat the same food as us for only a brief period of time. They are Torontonians for only a few days before they depart on their next adventure. 

As much as us Torontonians complain about anything but the kitchen sink, we are in fact fortunate to have such a mecca of kitschy tourist traps. Both Jamie and Will love the people  in this city, the vibrancy of downtown, the urban versus wilderness (Toronto Islands), the water versus land, the ethnic food versus North American food. Let's be reflective, recognize, and remember, that we have a truly world city that Londoners prefer to call home.