{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "John Kyle", "icon": "https://micro.blog/JohnKyle/avatar.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/", "feed_url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2021/01/17/letter-to-halifaxs.html", "title": "Letter to Halifax's Transportation Standing Committee about Pedestrian Beg Buttons", "content_html": "\n\n
Pedestrian push buttons (AKA beg buttons) are back (again) on the municipal agenda in Halifax this week.
\n\n
Pedestrians, know your place.
You may remember that back in 2018, after years of trying to make progress internally, Councillors Mason and Cleary requested a staff report “regarding the elimination of the requirement to press a pedestrian push button to trigger a walk signal at intersections for pedestrians throughout HRM.” Staff took almost two years to come back and say (I’m paraphrasing here) “Nah, we’re good.”
\n\nThat prompted Mason and Cleary to request another staff report in September 2020 on how beg buttons could be “used to activate audible pedestrian beacons only.” This report had a deadline of 120 days, with the work to be completed by September 2021. It also restricted the scope to the regional centre and the transit suburbs.
\n\nStaff have come back with a proposal to eliminate beg buttons on some street crossings at certain times of day. Certainly not what the Transportation Standing Committee has been asking for, for YEARS.
\n\nI’ve written a letter to members of the TSC expressing how this affects people on bikes, but include more details about people walking, too. Feel free to adapt it to share your points of view. You can find the list of TSC members here. If you just want their email addresses, they are:\n> becky.kent@halifax.ca\ntony.mancini@halifax.ca\nwaye.mason@halifax.ca\niona.stoddard@halifax.ca\npaul.russell@halifax.ca\ntim.outhit@halifax.ca
\n\nJust make sure to get your feedback to them before the meeting starts on Thursday January 21 at 1pm.
\n\nDear Councillor,
\n\nI’m writing about the Pedestrian Push Buttons item at Thursday’s Transportation Standing Committee Meeting. I urge you to direct staff to remove the requirement for pedestrians to use push buttons to cross the street, but ignore the staff recommendation to limit this to mostly crossing side streets, and only during certain hours. Instead, direct staff to allow pedestrians to cross main streets without needing to press a button, at all times of day.
\n\nAs a member of the board of directors for the Halifax Cycling Coalition, I’m writing today about the effect of push buttons on cyclists, but these changes have a greater effect on pedestrians, so I’ve included pedestrian-focused reasons at the end.
\n\nCyclists should be able to cross at all intersections, at all times of day, not just when a car happens to be travelling in the same direction. The stoplights that don’t change automatically for people walking don’t change at all for people on bikes, requiring them to run the red light. Forcing cyclists to dismount is an accessibility barrier for those who have trouble walking—many disabled people use bicycles as their mobility aid and can’t press those buttons. Cyclists transporting children or heavy goods are also unable to use those buttons. If these streets are busy enough to require help for drivers to cross the street, they should be fixed so that everyone can cross the street.
\n\nPlease tell staff to remove these barriers and have all intersections always display a walk sign automatically without requiring someone to press a button.
\n\nSincerely,
\n\nJohn Kyle
\n\nThe staff recommendation to limit barrier-free pedestrian crossings by requiring the use of beg buttons is flawed for the following reasons.
\n\n
Let the people cross the street.
I’m not sure it’s appropriate to describe a battery-operated pressure washer as cordless.
\n", "date_published": "2020-07-09T08:24:41-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/07/09/im-not-sure.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/06/27/outoftouch-styleguideobsessed-me.html", "content_html": "Out-of-touch, style-guide-obsessed me had to look up if Gaga is hypenated or not.
\n", "date_published": "2020-06-27T13:54:33-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/06/27/outoftouch-styleguideobsessed-me.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/06/27/my-yearold-who.html", "content_html": "My 7-year-old: Who is more popular, Lady GaGa or Lady GoGo?\nMe: I only know of the former, so I would guess her?\n7yo: What if you’re the only one who hasn’t heard of Lady GoGo?\nMe: I could be wrong. Maybe Lady GoGo is more popular.\n7yo: I’ve only heard of Lady GoGo.
\n", "date_published": "2020-06-27T13:53:35-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/06/27/my-yearold-who.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/06/19/who-needs-a.html", "content_html": "Who needs a cargo bike when you have a big, red, cargo wagon?
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-06-19T08:29:00-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/06/19/who-needs-a.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/06/08/im-white-and.html", "title": "I’m White and I’m Scared of the Police", "content_html": "\n \nThis is a copy of the letter I sent to Halifax council, the mayor, and the police board of commissioners asking them to defund the police. Please do the same. This was a hard letter to write, so use my words if it makes it easier.
\n\nDear Halifax Regional Council and the Police Board of Commissioners,
\n\nI’m writing to ask you to defund the police in Halifax. What we have doesn’t work. Our police department is a racist institution because it was founded by a racist society with racist ideals. We’ve had report after report showing that, and any attempts to fix the department have failed. Stop trying to fix it and start trying to replace it. Take their budget and put it into that which will help the community. Education. Mental health resources. Social workers. Addiction treatment. Equitable transportation. Affordable housing. The list is longer than that, and it’s all better than weapons, courts, and jails.
\n\nI don’t know how we get there, but start finding options now. Ask for staff reports. Look at existing reports from places that have done it. Look at research on harm reduction. Look at research on decriminalization. This isn’t a new concept—the answers are there, they’re just waiting to be implemented.
\n\nThis doesn’t mean an anarchic society without rules, or no way to protect us from those who can’t be rehabilitated. It means using our resources for caring and prevention wherever possible instead of punishment.
\n\nI’m white and I’m scared of the police. I’m middle-aged, a home owner, the type of person the police protect. I make enough money that I assume I could afford a lawyer to defend myself (but am privileged enough to not have any idea how much lawyers cost).
\n\nWhen I see cops breaking the law, I’m afraid to confront or report them because I know how much power they wield. How they can use selective enforcement to harass those they don’t like. How they can ruin someone’s day arbitrarily, or their entire life. I see how our police department is unable to hold accountable the members who abuse their power. Increasing accountability isn’t enough. No one should have that power, because no one is capable of wielding it responsibly.
\n\nI’m white and I’m scared of the police. I can’t imagine how scary the police are to Black and Indigenous people who have never had the privilege I do. Who are the victims of the systemic racism that prevents them from gaining privilege. We need to stop using the police to protect my privilege, and start protecting those without. We need to defund the police.
\n\nSincerely,
\n\nJohn Kyle
\n", "date_published": "2020-06-08T20:58:00-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/06/08/im-white-and.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/28/in-a-rare.html", "content_html": "In a rare example of construction sidewalk closures improving life for pedestrians, look at Quinpool and Windsor where the confusing mix of 3 streets has been normalized to 2. A shorter, clearer crossing, and no more worry of getting hit from behind. Hope it’ll be made permanent!
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-28T18:22:55-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/28/in-a-rare.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/27/130304.html", "content_html": "This looks like A+ work to maintain pedestrian access around a construction site: concrete barriers, raised pavement to prevent drainage problems, hi-viz bollards and paint at corners and driveways.
\n\nI’m able-bodied, though, so would love to hear from others what I’m not noticing
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-27T13:03:04-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/27/130304.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/25/i-can-accept.html", "content_html": "I can accept running out of toilet paper, but I might riot if the grocery store runs out of chocolate chips. It’s getting close to dire…
\n", "date_published": "2020-05-25T08:58:12-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/25/i-can-accept.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/24/changes-are-coming.html", "content_html": "Changes are coming to the NW corner of the Halifax Common. The park is being extended into the intersection, and Cunard is narrowed from 5 lanes to 3. The 5m-wide sliplane is being retained, but at least the radius has been adjusted to slow cars slightly.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-24T10:47:36-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/24/changes-are-coming.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/22/halifax-staff-are.html", "content_html": "Halifax staff are recommending some interesting new ferry routes as part of the “Rapid Transit Strategy” coming to council on Tuesday.
\n\n“Weekday service at 15-minute headways during peak periods and 30- to 60-minute headways off-peak” that “could increase over time.”
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-22T14:05:57-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/22/halifax-staff-are.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/22/sackville-street-in.html", "content_html": "Sackville Street in Halifax is finally getting a crossing at Dresden Row, so pedestrians will no longer have to stare at drivers who refuse to yield the right of way.
\n\nMore importantly, it means curb cuts are being installed so EVERYONE can cross, not just the able-bodied.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-22T08:10:12-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/22/sackville-street-in.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/17/now-that-curbside.html", "content_html": "Now that curbside gardens are legal in Halifax, here’s some inspiration from John Street on what to plant. 🌸🌿🌞
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-17T15:29:16-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/17/now-that-curbside.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/15/what-debbie-harry.html", "content_html": "What‽ Debbie Harry was in a FMV CD-ROM video game in 1993 with Thomas Dolby doing the music! How am I only hearing about this now? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Switch_(video_game)
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-15T15:33:04-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/15/what-debbie-harry.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/05/13/lots-of-rolled.html", "content_html": "Lots of rolled eyes at a former downtown councillor saying we should combine bike lanes and sidewalks so we can have wider roads. 🙄
\n", "date_published": "2020-05-13T16:36:18-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/05/13/lots-of-rolled.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/29/made-a-bee.html", "content_html": "Made a bee out of bread
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-29T19:36:19-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/29/made-a-bee.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/24/do-not-make.html", "content_html": "Do not make and then consume a lot of garlic sauce before wearing a facemask. That has been my life lesson for today.
\n", "date_published": "2020-04-24T09:40:30-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/24/do-not-make.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/23/life-pro-tip.html", "content_html": "Life Pro Tip: during a power out, if you can turn on the basement lights while checking on the WiFi battery backup, it’s likely just the breaker. You don’t need to wait another hour for the power company to arrive and tell you it’s the breaker.
\n\nDon’t ask me how I know this.
\n", "date_published": "2020-04-23T10:40:21-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/23/life-pro-tip.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/22/all-those-years.html", "content_html": "All those years of learning to take the lane on a bike when it’s unsafe to pass are paying off on my grocery store trips.
\n", "date_published": "2020-04-22T11:59:17-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/22/all-those-years.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/08/i-followed-ragmaskedbandits.html", "content_html": "I followed @ragmaskedbandit’s tips to make some simple cloth masks out of old clothes, a vacuum bag, and wire. Anything to help flatten the curve. Instructions at ragmask.com
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-08T22:30:18-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/08/i-followed-ragmaskedbandits.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/07/i-love-having.html", "content_html": "I love having to force-quit the Microsoft Error Reporting tool.
\n", "date_published": "2020-04-07T14:06:22-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/07/i-love-having.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/04/06/trafficcalming-bumpouts-are.html", "content_html": "Traffic-calming bumpouts are coming to Oxford St. at Berlin. This is right next to Ardmore Park, where it’s hard to get drivers to stop.\nIt’s part of the Berlin St. repaving. Wish @hfxplanning would do all the intersections on Berlin (esp. Connolly), but I’ll take what I can get.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-06T07:51:15-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/04/06/trafficcalming-bumpouts-are.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/03/31/im-attending-a.html", "content_html": "I’m attending a virtual conference today and the cyberspace presentation is wild.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-31T08:22:27-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/03/31/im-attending-a.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/03/27/my-parenting-win.html", "content_html": "My parenting win of the day was convincing the kids to do their fighting outdoors instead of in the house.
\n", "date_published": "2020-03-27T17:10:31-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/03/27/my-parenting-win.html" }, { "id": "http://JohnKyle.micro.blog/2020/03/26/its-come-to.html", "content_html": "It’s come to my attention that I’ve been conflating the “I love you” emoji (🤟) with the “sign of the horns” emoji (🤘).
\n\nI apologize to both the lovers and heavy metal fans in my life who’ve been affected by this mistake.
\n", "date_published": "2020-03-26T17:26:51-03:00", "url": "https://blog.johnkyle.ca/2020/03/26/its-come-to.html" } ] }