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China's Desert Mystery

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:54:00 -0500

Ever since @habitualpixel posted this article from Gizmodo on these gigantic structures being built in the deserts of China, I’ve been intrigued on what the heck they could be. I did a bit more digging into Google Earth’s historic aerials and found some earlier shots of the whatevertheheckitis.

Here’s the site in 2003: pristine and desert-y:

Then boom, they’re building this thing in April 2005, which proves it’s actually a thing, and not some weird trick Google is playing on us:

And in less than a month, in May 2005, they’re finished. It should be noted that there wasn’t any other period where aerial images were a month apart. Someone clearly wanted this documented:

So what the heck is it? My theory, it was part of a test to see if they could dress up the desert like the Bird’s Nest Stadium in advance of the 2008 Olympics. Got a better theory?

Google Maps: See for yourself

Gizmodo: Why Is China Building These Gigantic Structures In the Middle of the Desert?

Photo

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:59:04 -0400

Someone made a good point: Waterfront Toronto does shiny...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:25:05 -0400

Someone made a good point: Waterfront Toronto does shiny renderings too! Well. There’s a difference - you can see the progression from concept to reality. It doesn’t fall apart because there’s profit to be made.

Today we saw a rendering of the Ford’s vision of the Port...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:23:36 -0400

Today we saw a rendering of the Ford’s vision of the Port Lands. Allow this to serve as a caution against focusing on bright shiny objects.

If former Metro Toronto Roads and Traffic Commissioner Sam Cass...

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:57:00 -0400

If former Metro Toronto Roads and Traffic Commissioner Sam Cass had his way, downtown Toronto may have looked like this. Damn you, Jane Jacobs, why didn’t you give it a chance? It would have contained the harm!

Map with labels of the Crosstown and Spadina Expressways which were added in the above aerial image

Union-Pearson Air Rail Link Station Renderings

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:34:00 -0400

Metrolinx tweeted this afternoon to invite the public to participate in a survey on the Union-Pearson Air Rail Link, which is due for completion in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games. Few details have been released, but the survey gives a glimpse of what they’re planning for service and amenities.

There’s also some renderings, which is the first time I’ve seen these, so thought I would share with those unwilling to slog through a fairly lengthy survey.

Pearson Airport (Terminal 1) Waiting Lounge

Platform/Boarding Area (I assume at Pearson)

Union Station Waiting Lounge

Why Toronto should bid for 2020 Olympics

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:37:10 -0400

Today, reports came out quoting Doug Ford, speaking on behalf of the Mayor’s Office, saying that they received a proposal from a group to initiate a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which was “quickly rejected”.

Disappointing is understating my reaction to the story.

There are plenty of arguments against hosting the Olympics. The main argument, and the one being made by the Fords, is that it costs too much money. Well it is true that massive amounts of money are spent to what may be a three-week party, most of that money is spent on infrastructure, like new sporting facilities and expanded public transit. These provide lasting benefits for the City, especially when planned right.

Toronto has bid twice for the Olympics - the first time for the 1996 games (which went to Atlanta) and then the ill-timed bid for the 2008 games (which went to Beijing). Toronto’s bid was considered technically superior and financially responsible for the 2008 games - quite simply, politics led to a Chinese win.

So why would Toronto be third time lucky? The 2020 Games offer an opportunity that is unprecedented that give Toronto a major edge if it bid. This includes:

The last summer games in North America occurred in 1996
That’s 24 long years. The IOC is itching, salivating even, to return to the lucrative North American market. And over the past 24 years, the summer games have done a world tour - Australia, Europe, Asia, Europe, South America - it’s North America’s “turn”, so to speak. PyeongChang will be hosting the winter games in 2018, so Asia’s likely out. But what about the United States?
The United States is “very unlikely” to be submitting a bid for the 2020 Games
After two consecutive failed bids - New York’s for 2012 and Chicago’s stinging loss of the 2016 games to Rio de Janeiro, the United States initially ruled out a bid for the 2020 games. However, recently the IOC is reportedly “begging” for the United States to initiate a bid, but given the September 1st deadline, its domestic competition process they have for a bid makes it unlikely an American bid could happen. No American bid substantially increases Toronto’s chances, given point #1.
And if Toronto doesn’t bid or win 2020? You can be sure the United States will bid, and win, 2024 - pushing the next chance for Toronto into the unforeseeable future.
What about South Africa?
South Africa is seen as the main contender for the 2020 Games. After successfully hosting the World Cup, they are well positioned to host the Olympics. However, would the IOC wade further into untested waters following the 2016 games in Rio? There are questions on how well the 2016 games will go - the IOC may prefer a more dependable venue for a breather before making the jump into Africa.
Stable ground
Toronto may represent the most attractive choice for the IOC, given the current global economic and political situation. A sound financial system, a government that claims to be making its way out of deficit by 2015, and relative political stability are all things the IOC will be comforted by.

If these reasons don’t persuade the Fords that the Olympic bid is in the City’s best interest, then how about this?

Olympics mean a big giant stadium: you know, of the kind that could be built to accommodate a NFL team. Yay Football! Worst case, you can turn it into a casino.
Olympics mean subways: we need them, right? Torontonians deserve nothing but. And imagine the potential naming rights revenues from the Coca-cola Olympic Subway Sandwiches Line. If you want the private sector to be involved in subway construction, this would be probably the only way to do it. We can probably do a monorail to the stadium too, yah?
A big giant graffiti removing machine: you can probably justify the purchase of one. We’d want the City to be spotless.

It annoys me to no end that this proposal was “quickly rejected” by the Fords, especially when I had previously thought an Olympic bid would be something they would jump on. It’s a ticket to get things built, a chance to actually create a legacy, and it’s something Chicago wanted to do but hasn’t been able to so we’d be able to be better than Chicago for once. The worst part was the excuse - we don’t have money for a bid.

We do. It’s just in the wrong place - studying the impossible financial feasibility of the Sheppard Subway extension.

Which do you think has better odds at succeeding?

she was disarming: An open letter to my fellow cyclists

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:06:26 -0400

she was disarming: An open letter to my fellow cyclists:

sodisarmingdarling:

[Note: Most people who read this will already be aware of these things. I’ll probably be preaching to the choir. But I had to get it out anyway. And I don’t care if it sounds like a lecture. You know how it is.]

This morning was like any other. I sat stopped at a red light while cyclist after…

Toronto skyline at dusk with the near completed Don River Park...

Mon, 30 May 2011 21:41:13 -0400

Toronto skyline at dusk with the near completed Don River Park Pavilion. Taken from the Lower Don Trail.

New Rocket stop announcement: ‘interchange station’...

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:57:52 -0400

New Rocket stop announcement: ‘interchange station’ Bloor-Yonge

New Toronto Rocket stop announcement: Summerhill Station

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:57:23 -0400

New Toronto Rocket stop announcement: Summerhill Station

A trip on the Toronto Rocket from Davisville to St. Clair...

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:56:32 -0400

A trip on the Toronto Rocket from Davisville to St. Clair Station

I keep ending up with these early drafts of the Toronto Sun...

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:23:00 -0400

I keep ending up with these early drafts of the Toronto Sun cover! Here’s the one for today, April 20, 2011… the final version ended up like this.

The first tangible sign of Ford-era Service Cuts

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:44:36 -0400

The first tangible sign of Ford-era Service Cuts

The rejected Toronto Sun cover for April 13, 2011. Click on the...

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:11:00 -0400

The rejected Toronto Sun cover for April 13, 2011. Click on the image to see proof of the Sith-channeling.

The “Founding Principles” of the Conservative Party is all about...

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:43:00 -0400

The “Founding Principles” of the Conservative Party is all about coalition.
LINK: http://www.conservative.ca/EN/4679/

News Release: The New Spadina Subexpressway

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:40:00 -0400

Today, Mayor Rob Ford, with his new Chief Roads and Cars Advisor, Laurence Lui, announced the first project in an ambitious plan to expand the road network in the City of Toronto. The Spadina Subexpressway will replace the Spadina Subway between Eglinton Avenue and Queen Street with a free-flowing roadway to help ease congestion for suburban commuters heading downtown.

“People have always pointed out that the Spadina Subway is underutilized,” Lui explained. “It’s about time we righted a wrong, and finish the plan that should have been completed, instead of a white elephant of a subway line that provides the most direct access for cars from the northwest part of the city.”

During the mayoral campaign, Rocco Rossi announced his plans to extend Allen Road from its current terminus to the Gardiner Expressway to the ire of local residents, who feared that the roadway would create negative impacts on surrounding communities.

“Rossi’s plan was flawed in that it was to build a new tunnel. Working with Laurence, we realized that there was a perfectly good tunnel that was already there that was seldom used. Can you imagine how I responded when I found out we had a tunnel that was not moving a single person between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.? It’s ridiculous. Pure gravy,” said Ford. To compensate Rossi for his visionary genius, Ford is considering naming the roadway the “Rocco Rossi Expressway”.

The key to the new Spadina Subexpressway plan is that there will be no interchanges between Eglinton Avenue and downtown.

“That was the big fear, that the highway would mean off-ramps and interchanges onto local roads,” Lui said. “This new plan would terminate the subexpressway in the basement of the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts, which will be converted into a 20-storey parking garage, which all cars using the roadway will be expected to use. A parking fee will be charged to recoup the cost, which will be $2.50, or a TTC token.”

Map of the new Spadina Subexpressway (in orange). The Four Seasons Parking Garage is shown at its southern terminus.

Each subway tunnel will be converted into one lane of roadway, with both tunnels carrying southbound traffic in the morning rush hour, and northbound in the evening. Overnight, there will be one lane in each direction. This was the only way to accommodate anticipated demand, Lui explained.

The cost of the project will be minimal, as the bulk of the cost, tunneling, is already complete. The bulk of the work will involve ripping out existing subway tracks and laying down asphalt and building the Four Seasons Parking Garage. The subexpressway will be sold to the 407 Consortium, the proceeds from which will fund the Sheppard Subway Extension. A 5% take from the tolls with further feed city coffers.

“I said I would find a way to fund the Sheppard Subway, and I’ve delivered. We’re eliminating the gravy that is the Spadina Expressway to build a much more needed subway on Sheppard. That’s what Torontonians voted me in for,” said Ford.

“The few subway riders on the Spadina Subway can still take the subway to Eglinton,” explained Lui. “They can transfer to the Eglinton Underground Streetcar at Eglinton West and transfer to the Yonge Subway to get downtown.”

“People hoping to catch a ride can wait on the existing subway station platforms, and drivers can charge potential ride-sharing passengers for a ride downtown.”

As for cyclists?

“Each lane in the tunnel is wide enough for a sharrow. We’re doing our best to accommodate cyclists wherever possible,” Lui said.

Photo

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:58:21 -0400

Evan Solomon, in an technical glitch during Power and Politics...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:30:57 -0400

Evan Solomon, in an technical glitch during Power and Politics today. Kind of wondering what the “glad it hasn’t come up in the campaign trail yet” referred to:

“…this will probably shape our health care system more than anything, I’m glad it hasn’t come up in the campaign trail yet , only something that could fundamentally reshape the country, but that’s cool. I’m glad we’re having it.”

It’s going to be an interesting election if we laid out a...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:57:55 -0400

It’s going to be an interesting election if we laid out a case like this to Canadians. There are plenty more than these cases against The Harper Government™… add yours below.