[PHOTO] 9:05 pm Friday, looking west, Bartlett Avenue

[PHOTO] Canadian Pacific crossing, Lansdowne north of Dupont

[PHOTO] Five photos of Exhibition GO station, taken just before midnight

This weekend just past, I was wandering through Exhibition Place down by the waterfront just before midnight when I came upon the Exhibition GO Station. I thought it a handsome station, all poured-concrete and cinematic lighting, but was also struck by its disconnect from the rest of the city grid. The 29 Dufferin bus runs in this area relatively rarely, for instance, and only in 2027 will it be plugged into the Ontario Line as a terminal station when that subway line is built. (If it is built. Let us hope.)

[PHOTO] Six photos from a weekend evening walk in midtown Toronto

[NEWS] Fourteen links

• By at least one metric, New Brunswick now lags economically behind a more dynamic Prince Edward Island. CBC reports.
• NOW Toronto looks at toxic fandoms. (“Stanning” sounds really creepy to me.)
• This CityLab article looks at how the particular characteristics of Japan, including its high population density, helps keep alive there retail chains that have failed in the US.
• MacLean’s looks at Kent Monkman, enjoying a new level of success with his diptych Mistikôsiwak at the Met in NYC.
• Can there be something that can be said for the idea of an Internet more strongly pillarized? Wired argues.
• I reject utterly the idea of meaningful similarities between Drake and Leonard Cohen. CBC did it.
• Toronto Life looks at the life of a Hamilton woman hurt badly by the cancellation of the basic income pilot, here.
• Inspired by the death of Gord Downie, Ontario now has the office of poet-laureate. CBC reports.
• Is Canada at risk, like Ireland, of experiencing two-tier health care? CBC considers.
• A French immigrant couple has brought the art of artisanal vinegar to ile d’Orléans. CBC reports.
• Shore erosion is complicating the lives of people along Lake Erie. CBC reports.
• MacLean’s notes how Via Rail making it difficult for people without credit cards to buy anything on their trains, hurting many.
• Michelle Legro notes at Gen that the 2010s is the decade where conspiracy culture became mainstream.
• This essay by Robert Greene at his blog talking about what history, and historians, can do in our era is thought-provoking.

[BLOG] Fifteen Toronto links

• blogTO reports that Toronto has been testing Eglinton Crosstown trains, here.
• What TTC routes might be changed by the Eglinton Crosstown? A map illustrates, over at blogTO.
• The new tower proposed for 888 Dupont, at Ossington, will even include a vertical farm. blogTO reports.
• Venerable Agincourt Mall is going to be a new condo development. blogTO reports.
• Is co-ownership actually the only way most people in Toronto will end up owning a home? blogTO considers.
• Residential tenants in a Leslieville building who complained about their landlord may end up getting evicted from a building never zoned for residents. CBC reports.
• The City of Toronto has taken over the deserted shopping arcade at Queen Street West and John. CBC reports.
• Katrina Onstad at Toronto Life tells the story of Katharine Mulherin, the Queen Street West gallery owner who changed her neighbourhood but was broken by gentrification.
• The bar Tequila Bookworm is closing, displaced by rising rents. NOW Toronto reports.
• NOW Toronto interviews night mayor Michael Thompson, here.
• Steve Munro considers the TTC’s express bus services, here.
• Terra Lumina, the nighttime cultural event at the Toronto Zoo, looks fantastic in these photos over at Toronto Life.
• Oh, what the map of Toronto subways could have been if only we planned! blogTO shares one.
• Steve Munro examines the TTC’s plan for 2020-2024, here.
• The TTC may not act to decrease overcrowding on some routes. blogTO reports on why.

[URBAN NOTE] Fifteen Niagara Falls, Ontario links (#niagarafalls, #niagarafallscanada)

• A new storyboard in Niagara Falls displays the importance of railways to the city. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• Niagara Falls city council is considering the idea of linking casinos by aerial car. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• Global News reports on a drug bust that saw two people arrested in Niagara Falls.
• The Niagara Falls Review reports the number of reported homicides in Niagara Region tripled in 2019, to six.
• The immersive live nativity hosted by a Niagara Falls church sounds interesting. More is here.
• A recent discussion at Niagara Falls city council was dominated by discussion of housing issues and of homelessness. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• Most revenues from the casinos of Niagara Falls have been directed to the infrastructure of the city. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• City council in Niagara Falls has approved the construction of a 72-storey hotel. Construct Connect reports.
• In November, the mayor announced the old city hall and courthouse in the downtown of Niagara Falls was scheduled to be demolished. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• The Bath House Hotel once was intended to be a centrepiece of local tourism. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• Carrie Bosco writes about the experience of a customer service associate working at the Niagara Falls Public Library, over at the Niagara Falls Review.
• The Niagara Falls Public Library in winter is a happening place for locals. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• A Chinese developer hopes that a proposed $C 1.5 billion dollar project in south Niagara Falls will still go forward. The Niagara Falls Review reports.
• Niagara Falls is going to have a hard time replacing city historian Sherman Zavitz. The Niagaa Falls Review reports.
• Niagara News reports on the Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls.

[PHOTO] Five photos taken on an early morning trip to Gate 20, Union Station

[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links

• A beautiful Toronto would be nice, but this goal will take planning. The Toronto Star reports.
• Sean Marshall writes about the sad ironies of suburban neighbourhoods in Toronto unsafe for pedestrians.
• Jamie Bradburn takes a look at Davenport Road in the past, here.
• Transit Toronto notes the arrival tomorrow in the GTA of the Holiday Trains of the CPR, part of a fundraising campaign for food banks.
• Spacing shares an essay considering the idea of a map of Toronto according to runnability.
• Sidekick West, a new comic shop in the Junction Triangle, has unfortunately closed down. blogTO reports.
• Toronto Life breaks down the references in the massive 10-story mural painted by BirdO at Yonge and St. Clair.

[PHOTO] Model railroad, Mint Dentistry, 3084 Dundas Street West

The outpost of Mint Dentistry on 3084 Dundas Street West in The Junction had–has still, I hope–a lovely model railroad on display in its front window.