Ben R
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THE PAIKIN PODCAST: Does Canada need the NDP anymore?
28The Liberal party is about as far left as my right hand...
47- Ben R
McIsaac relinquishes hiring, firing authority, holds onto other strong mayor powers
OrilliaMatters 39Crazy out of touch. No one's worried that you might do it AGAIN. We're upset that you already did...
4- Ben R
New cannabis store set to plant itself at busy Coldwater Road plaza
OrilliaMatters 20So is the LCBO, what's your point?
7- Ben R
'Calculated decision': City plugging in 8 new EV charging stations
OrilliaMatters 17"I never see anybody using the ones that are here on the city property" - I guess I wasn't aware that Councillor Smith was omnipresent. She gave the same argument against bike lanes too...perhaps she just needs to get out more.
9- Ben R
Bike lanes, turn lane included in next phase of Laclie St. reconstruction
OrilliaMatters 17Glad they're putting in bike lanes. Deciding whether to put in bike lanes by observing how many cyclists travel on a dangerous stretch of road is like evaluating whether to build a bridge over a river based on how many people are swimming across it.
6- Ben R
McIsaac relinquishes hiring, firing authority, holds onto other strong mayor powers
OrilliaMatters 23I don't even get the impression he's asking for forgiveness here. He seems largely unapologetic about the entire debacle.
- Ben R
Paid waterfront parking, businesses in public facilities on horizon?
OrilliaMatters 20A cafe in the library would be excellent, it's clear the building was designed with that in mind. They'd no doubt be paying rent like any business downtown; Ralph needs to calm down.
2- Ben R
Tories blast Trudeau for ‘lavish’ retreat at Sudbury Holiday Inn
OrilliaMatters 14There are lots of words I would use to describe a stay at a Holiday Inn before I reached "lavish", much less in Sudbury...really reaching on this one.
7- Ben R
'Unreasonable' parking restrictions hamper Orillia food bank patrons
OrilliaMatters 16This city is designed such that not having a car is functionally impossible. A car is not a luxury item in Orillia (and much of North America, for that matter). It's absurd, but it's also reality.
3- Ben R
BREAKING: Justin Trudeau announces he will resign after Liberal leadership race
15Exceptionally credible analysis coming from Donald Trump 75
4- Ben R
Council to consider allowing alcohol consumption in city parks
OrilliaMatters 11It's not the job of the government to be your parents. Not allowing drinking in parks isn't stopping the people who would break the law from doing so, it's only stopping law abiding citizens. It's the same pearl clutching as beer in corner stores - the world didn't end then, it won't end by making it legal to consume in parks either. It was already a successful experiment in Toronto, why wouldn't it also work here?
8- Ben R
'Slap in the face': Council asks province to rescind strong mayor powers for Orillia mayor
OrilliaMatters 16Didn't even need to look to know who the dissenting votes would be...
- Ben R
It's official: City 'has lost its voice' at OSMH board table
OrilliaMatters 15Ironic for McIsaac to moan about any decision lacking transparency...how's it feel, Don?
1- Ben R
'Money grab': Petition challenges fairness of Orillia speed cameras
OrilliaMatters 11People shouldn't speed, that's a given. I'm not entirely convinced that speed cameras do anything to prevent speeding, however. As the person in the article mentions, they're punitive, not preventative (to be clear, so are speed traps). By the time someone gets a ticket (or several) it's already too late, they were already speeding. That they managed to not injure someone is a matter of coincidence, not because the cameras are there...small comfort to the family of an injured person that the driver will have to pay a $200 fine to city.At a certain point you can't blame drivers for driving a speed that feels safe. The roads these cameras are on are huge and wide with excellent sightlines. These are roads designed to be driven safely at 60, not 40. If safety for pedestrians was truly the priority here and not just getting money from drivers not paying attention (or visitors), the city would take steps to make the roads narrow with bollards, or install raised crosswalks.
5- Ben R
Province moving to restrict bike lanes, increase speed limits
OrilliaMatters 12Couldn't possibly be because they don't connect to anything and are poorly implemented/unsafe. Your Coldwater Road example is perfect, they're so narrow the painted bicycle symbol doesn't even fit in the lane...you don't see anyone using it because it was an afterthought that you'd be risking your life to use.
3- Ben R
'Path forward': City seeks ownership of Champlain Monument land
OrilliaMatters 5Considering the plaque said it's "commemorating the advent into Ontario of the white race, under Champlain’sleadership", it's not a great look.
10- Ben R
Child under 5 dies after being hospitalized for measles: agency
OrilliaMatters 13What an absolutely horrendous and tragic way to have to relearn what our parents and grandparents already knew. It probably won't, but I hope this serves as a wake up call for anyone else considering not vaccinating their children against diseases we had almost won the battle against.
- Ben R
Penetang mayor blasts residents for 'ignorant, belligerent' behaviour
OrilliaMatters 9Get over yourself. These people you belittle likely also pay taxes. They're just doing their jobs and if you can't treat them with respect, then expect that to be reciprocated.
4- Ben R
COLUMN: Design of buffer will make or break Laclie Street bike lanes
OrilliaMatters 10The point is to make the bikes lanes effective enough so that more people use them. Every cyclist in a bike lane is one fewer car making the same trip. The only solution to congestion on our roads is fewer cars, so we should be exploring every potential step to that end.
2- Ben R
Bike lanes, turn lane included in next phase of Laclie St. reconstruction
OrilliaMatters 11That is by far the largest issue with bike lanes in Orillia...they don't really GO anywhere. The question council (particularly councilor Smith) should be asking when it looks like people aren't using bike lanes shouldn't be "why are we building bike lanes?" but rather "why aren't they being used?". It's a pretty clear picture for those of us who try to, they're a patchwork mess that don't connect anything useful to anything useful. They're like a collection of dead-end streets that are bookended by cliffs.Take Coldwater Road near downtown for example, nevermind that the lanes are so narrow that the painted bicycles don't even fit in the lines, but even if you manage to brave it headed West, you get to the top of the hill and it just ends... You get dumped into a busy, now 5 lane road, with nowhere else to go. It doesn't even make it to Zehrs...what access is that bike lane supposed to be serving, exactly?
- Ben R
