Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 424

https://twitter.com/CommuteDeParis/status/1622659658644168712?s=20&t=ZZj4eXDkZmKdP4YZhh8aBQ

We have spoken many times over the years about Paris' investments in cycling infrastructure and about its plans to become a 100% cycling city . And my twitter feed (see above/ here ) seems to suggest that it's working really well.

Between 2015 and 2020, the city saw a doubling of its bike lanes. And from September 2018 to September 2019 alone, the city saw a 54% increase in cycling usage , with its street meters recording about 840,000 daily bike trips in the center of the city.

Of course, if you're a cycling skeptic, you're probably thinking at least two things right now. One, Paris is Paris. Not all cities have the benefit of such a compact urban form. And two, Paris doesn't get real winters. So sure, it's easy to cycle there. Where's the snow?

While it is true that density is a key ingredient for walkability and active transport, the real catalyst for Paris was its cycling network. A lot more people are cycling in Paris today because it is now safer and more convenient to do so.

It is also true that Paris generally doesn't get as cold as, say, Toronto.

However, Helsinki does. It has the same humid continental climate (and a lower average annual temperature). And if you look at the Copenhagenize (Cycling) Index , you'll see that, in 2019, Paris had a bicycle modal share of under 5%, whereas Helsinki had a modal share of 11% (plus a near equal gender split).

Maybe it's the over 1,300 km of bicycle infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/donnelly_b/status/1623021899805560855?s=20&t=keEvA33Ww4-K_iuvp8pDTA

This compare-and-contrast tweet between Toronto's High Park and New York's Central Park was not meant to suggest that New York is a perfect comparable to appropriate (Toronto is not New York), or that foliage isn't important in our urban environments. Instead, it was meant to highlight that:

• The towers north of High Park (and north of Bloor Street) could almost certainly never be built in today's planning environment. The recently built point towers exist because the slab towers were already there.

• This condition of height/density tucked and setback off of main streets is something that you will find across Toronto, as well as in a number of other cities.

• Sometimes it can be rightly argued that this is being done in order to preserve a fine-grained and pedestrian-scaled public realm, which is important. But in other cases, like the one above, it feels like a clear reluctance to accept big-city status and any sort of urban grandeur . Are we still trying to be a Victorian city?

• Equally important in the design of public spaces are the edges and "walls" that frame it. And High Park's edges need work . Why is there almost nowhere to go and hang out on the main edge of Toronto's principal urban park? You have to go up to the Junction for that.

• In general, the land around many of our higher-order transit stations is grossly underutilized. And this is a perfect example of that. What should happen here are some large-scale upzonings.

Amazon Fresh has just announced that, effective February 28, it will be raising the threshold for free grocery delivery. Orders under $50 will be charged a $9.95 fee. Orders between $50 and $100 will be charged a $6.95 fee. And orders between $100 and $150 will be charged a $3.95 fee. Orders above $150 will be free. Previously, the threshold for free delivery was $35.

This is likely an indication of two things. It speaks to our current tech headwinds (see " The Four Horsemen of the Tech Recession ") and it speaks to the fact that grocery is unique. It requires a whole separate logistics chain, compared to all of the other things that Amazon will deliver to you. Food goes bad. It bruises. And it may require refrigeration.

This makes online grocery delivery more challenging and more costly.