Cost of housing in Canada

[Good2Golf]

Oh my god! I can’t believe they’re doing that! Lazy-ass students were jaywalking in that spot 25-30 years ago when I was going there!

Don’t fool yourself. The students will still be jaywalking after the overpass is built.

 

[RangerRay]

Don’t fool yourself. The students will still be jaywalking after the overpass is built.

View attachment 79056

I was one of the “nerds” that walked the extra 50 meters to the controlled intersection because I didn’t feel like playing Frogger IRL.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Meanwhile the city - like all cities, and all levels of government - whines about its fiscal inability to deal with people living rough or in other difficult circumstances.

 

[Eaglelord17]

Meanwhile the city - like all cities, and all levels of government - whines about its fiscal inability to deal with people living rough or in other difficult circumstances.

Anyone living rough in Canada does so by choice. There is more than enough homeless shelters around. Those shelters have rules though, and if you aren’t willing to follow those rules (generally no assaulting or being aggressive, and don’t do drugs) you choose your bed.

 

[Furniture]

The whole "15 minute city" thing has been so distorted by both sides that it's toxic to most normal people.

It isn't about taking away people's cars, or forcing people to live in megacities like in Judge Dredd.... It's about urban planning, and zoning for more low rise apartments/condos with commercial space. It's about giving people the option to walk rather than drive.

Nobody is coming for your truck, or car, and they aren't coming for your yard.

Edit: I also fond it kinda hilarious that the people making a fuss about the "15 minute city" tend to be people who don't live in cities anyway. It's like city people complaining that rural people having yards that are too big...

 

[Good2Golf]

It's like city people complaining that rural people having yards that are too big...

…or like people happy with a smaller house complaining about people who want/can afford a larger house.

 

[Furniture]

…or like people happy with a smaller house complaining about people who want/can afford a larger house.

I agree, but it doesn't change the equation on 15 minute cities.

They aren't looking to make Manotick a hellscape of 5 story apartment buildings, but re-zoning areas like Vanier to make it more 15 minute friendly makes sense. I'm not saying their can't be valid criticisms of urban planning, but it seems most of them come from people who have already elected to not live within cities at all.

I grew-up a mile outside of a hamlet of 300 people, our nearest grocery store was a 20 minute drive away, our province didnt have a Sears until after 2000... I get country living, and I love it. I currently live in Vanier, and walk to downtown Ottawa daily. I get city living, and I love it. They are different experiences, and require different expectations.

 

[mariomike]

The whole "15 minute city" thing has been so distorted by both sides that it's toxic to most normal people.

Had to look it up.

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It's about giving people the option to walk rather than drive.

Other than short local hops, I prefer to use GO Transit, as much as possible.

I love rail. ( The above ground type looking out the window. )
And GO buses are double-decker highway coaches, rather than city transit type.

The other day I visited a retired buddy in Peterborough.

Taped on and off with my Presto card: $10.22

Not to suggest that mode of travel is for everyone.

But, it saves me the aggravation of traffic and parking etc.

We don't have a sidewalk.
That's to remove the "urban feel" that comes with pedestrians.
Plus local homeowners do not want to give up their front yard space for a sidewalk.

 

[Furniture]

Had to look it up.

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Other than short local hops, I prefer to use GO Transit, as much as possible.

I love rail. ( The above ground type looking out the window. )
And GO buses are double-decker highway coaches, rather than city transit type.

The other day I visited a retired buddy in Peterborough.

Taped on and off with my Presto card: $10.22

Not to suggest that mode of travel is for everyone.

But, it saves me the aggravation of traffic and parking etc. Let a professional handle it.

We don't have a sidewalk.
That's to remove the "urban feel" that comes with pedestrians.
Plus local homeowners do not want to give up their front yard space for a sidewalk.

I have come to appreciate the convenience of transit, even between cities. A train from my place to downtown Montreal or Toronto is far more convenient than driving. I also like having a car, for when I go to places like Calabogie, or Sharbot Lake.

It doesn't need to be an either/or with transit and cars, but people on both sides argue like that's the choice. The idiot bike/transit/walk crowd is just as silly as the "rolling coal" crowd.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The whole "15 minute city" thing has been so distorted by both sides that it's toxic to most normal people.

It isn't about taking away people's cars, or forcing people to live in megacities like in Judge Dredd.... It's about urban planning, and zoning for more low rise apartments/condos with commercial space. It's about giving people the option to walk rather than drive.

Nobody is coming for your truck, or car, and they aren't coming for your yard.

Edit: I also fond it kinda hilarious that the people making a fuss about the "15 minute city" tend to be people who don't live in cities anyway. It's like city people complaining that rural people having yards that are too big...

It's also about the fact that most people who live in cities tend to vote 'Left Wing'.

If a Liberal/Democrat ruling party can make it easier for more people to live there, city based ridings will continue to deliver them to power.

 

[Furniture]

It's also about the fact that most people who live in cities tend to vote 'Left Wing'.

If a Liberal/Democrat ruling party can make it easier for more people to live there, city based ridings will continue to deliver them to power.

Maybe, or maybe more Tories like me will move in and upset some apple carts...

 

[IKnowNothing]

I agree, but it doesn't change the equation on 15 minute cities.

They aren't looking to make Manotick a hellscape of 5 story apartment buildings, but re-zoning areas like Vanier to make it more 15 minute friendly makes sense. I'm not saying their can't be valid criticisms of urban planning, but it seems most of them come from people who have already elected to not live within cities at all.

I grew-up a mile outside of a hamlet of 300 people, our nearest grocery store was a 20 minute drive away, our province didnt have a Sears until after 2000... I get country living, and I love it. I currently live in Vanier, and walk to downtown Ottawa daily. I get city living, and I love it. They are different experiences, and require different expectations.

The way I see it rolling out is as an expansion of personal choice, not a removal of it.
I live and prefer to live rurally. Two SUV (different sizes) family, live in the country, walk/bike is not feasible.
I have lived in two cities as an adult, for the better part of 4 years. No personal vehicle.

That was a deliberate choice, but making it required careful housing selection to maintain walking distance to grocery, close proximity to reliable 1 bus transit to work etc. There are swathes of current Ontario cities that already exist in the 15 minute realm- all the design philosophy will do is try to broaden them and make them more reliable by both enabling non-private auto mobility and putting stuff closer to people.

 

[Halifax Tar]

The way I see it rolling out is as an expansion of personal choice, not a removal of it.
I live and prefer to live rurally. Two SUV (different sizes) family, live in the country, walk/bike is not feasible.
I have lived in two cities as an adult, for the better part of 4 years. No personal vehicle.

That was a deliberate choice, but making it required careful housing selection to maintain walking distance to grocery, close proximity to reliable 1 bus transit to work etc. There are swathes of current Ontario cities that already exist in the 15 minute realm- all the design philosophy will do is try to broaden them and make them more reliable by both enabling non-private auto mobility and putting stuff closer to people.

I think it should be the decision of the citizenry to pursue a "15min City" and then enacted through the elected government.

It shouldn't just be the way the city council decides and then impose it, as is Halifax; specifically the peninsula. The city belongs to the people, not the city council or the province or the feds.

 

[IKnowNothing]

I think it should be the decision of the citizenry to pursue a "15min City" and then enacted through the elected government.

It shouldn't just be the way the city council decides and then impose it, as is Halifax; specifically the peninsula. The city belongs to the people, not the city council or the province or the feds.

The council is the elected representation of the people. If they don't like the representation, change it next year.

Why is the citizenry of Halifax against it?
(It being what Furniture and I are describing, the actual premise)

 

[Halifax Tar]

The council is the elected representation of the people. If they don't like the representation, change it next year.

Why is the citizenry of Halifax against it?
(It being what Furniture and I are describing, the actual premise)

I would agree with you if it was a platform that was run on in a campaign. But it wasn't.

Halifax struggles to embrace change. And it's really undergoing a culture war as it transitions from a sleepy maritime town to a bustling dynamic city.

Like you I really don't have a dog on the fight, I'm just an observer, so far. The idea makes sense to me, but I don't want to live in it, so I won't.

 

[Good2Golf]

So choice isn’t personal now, it’s imposed by the electorate? Charter of Rights disagrees with you.

 

[Eaglelord17]

So choice isn’t personal now, it’s imposed by the electorate? Charter of Rights disagrees with you.

Whose forcing you to live in a 15 min city? Like most things in the country it gets decided by the government and you have options but they are likely limited options.

15 minute cities make sense, its basically how Europe is. They were just fortunate enough to develop their cities before cars were around.

Much of our housing issues are caused by a refusal to densify and a failure to strategically plan for many decades. We treated the larger cities like small municipalities/towns for so long. Now we have the issues which come with that. Low density areas. Low level infrastructure. Poorly designed roadways.

 

[Good2Golf]

Whose forcing you to live in a 15 min city? Like most things in the country it gets decided by the government and you have options but they are likely limited options.

15 minute cities make sense, its basically how Europe is. They were just fortunate enough to develop their cities before cars were around.

Much of our housing issues are caused by a refusal to densify and a failure to strategically plan for many decades. We treated the larger cities like small municipalities/towns for so long. Now we have the issues which come with that. Low density areas. Low level infrastructure. Poorly designed roadways.

Was in response to this quote - I should have included the quotation…

The council is the elected representation of the people. If they don't like the representation, change it next year.

The implication being that if someone resides in a municipality, that their decision space is constrained by how the plurality of people’s elected politicians choose to guide their lives (until the next vote).

That said, it never ceases to amaze me how Europe keeps being trotted out as an example of why we should be okay with municipally (and higher) applying forcing functions/pressures to bias life towards 15-minute cities.

 

[IKnowNothing]

So choice isn’t personal now, it’s imposed by the electorate? Charter of Rights disagrees with you.

This makes no sense, and you've completely lost perspective on this issue.

Are you serious trying to imply that a change in municipal land use and infrastructure planning philosophy rises to the level of a charter breach?

 

[IKnowNothing]

Whose forcing you to live in a 15 min city? Like most things in the country it gets decided by the government and you have options but they are likely limited options.

15 minute cities make sense, its basically how Europe is. They were just fortunate enough to develop their cities before cars were around.

Much of our housing issues are caused by a refusal to densify and a failure to strategically plan for many decades. We treated the larger cities like small municipalities/towns for so long. Now we have the issues which come with that. Low density areas. Low level infrastructure. Poorly designed roadways.

You don't have to look as far afield as Europe. A good chunk of Ottawa (West of the Rideau/ North of Meadowlands) is flirting with 15 minute city. Most of Waterloo (proper, not KW), large swathes of Montreal.