Thom McVeigh
@thomasmcveigh.com
He/Him. Ottawa based. Aging punk. Anarchist and weird. On the left in all things. Working on it. I drink and I know things about drinks.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
This is interesting — a recent study of mode share (the % share of transportation trips by car, transit, walking, biking etc) relative to city size and income levels in almost 800 cities in 61 countries. Interesting results. HT @davidzipper.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 15, 2025 at 8:43 PM
This is interesting — a recent study of mode share (the % share of transportation trips by car, transit, walking, biking etc) relative to city size and income levels in almost 800 cities in 61 countries. Interesting results. HT @davidzipper.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death
The capital city is Finnish’ed with car-related fatalities.
www.politico.eu
November 17, 2025 at 6:31 AM
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
The Mayor will release his draft budget today. We know there's money for Lansdowne, but how will the budget affect people who rely on more important city services?
www.youtube.com/live/C94IU-g...
www.youtube.com/live/C94IU-g...
November 12, 2025 at 11:43 AM
The Mayor will release his draft budget today. We know there's money for Lansdowne, but how will the budget affect people who rely on more important city services?
www.youtube.com/live/C94IU-g...
www.youtube.com/live/C94IU-g...
In Canada, just substitute CBC
important to remember that we we talk about the BBC’s right-wing bias we mean in the way they chose what to report on and how they frame those issues, and when the right talks about the BBC’s left-wing bias they mean that sometimes the person who reads out the news is black
November 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
In Canada, just substitute CBC
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
it is possible to be against both ICE and whatever the hell this is
Anti-ICE protesters held an 80’s-themed yoga class outside the Portland ICE facility.
November 12, 2025 at 2:16 AM
it is possible to be against both ICE and whatever the hell this is
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
The City recently added two stretches of #ottbike pathways in the east end of #Ottawa in Beacon Hill, inside the Greenbelt, with a total length of 4.5 km. Read our impressions and check out the photos.
hansonthebike.com/2025/11/09/u...
#cycling #bike @timtierney.ca
hansonthebike.com/2025/11/09/u...
#cycling #bike @timtierney.ca
Unboxing the new Beacon Hill multi use pathway in Ottawa - Hans on the Bike - Cycling in Ottawa and beyond
Today we take a closer look at the new pathway that runs along highway 174 in Ottawa. It's part of a large LRT project that passes Beacon Hill
hansonthebike.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The City recently added two stretches of #ottbike pathways in the east end of #Ottawa in Beacon Hill, inside the Greenbelt, with a total length of 4.5 km. Read our impressions and check out the photos.
hansonthebike.com/2025/11/09/u...
#cycling #bike @timtierney.ca
hansonthebike.com/2025/11/09/u...
#cycling #bike @timtierney.ca
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Ontario property assessments haven't been done since 2016 and it's getting ridiculous. Suburban homes are paying much lower property taxes than they should be.
Annual property taxes:
↙️ $8575 | $6360 ↘️
Annual property taxes:
↙️ $8575 | $6360 ↘️
November 9, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Ontario property assessments haven't been done since 2016 and it's getting ridiculous. Suburban homes are paying much lower property taxes than they should be.
Annual property taxes:
↙️ $8575 | $6360 ↘️
Annual property taxes:
↙️ $8575 | $6360 ↘️
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
As Bluesky's general functionality continues to improve, there are times you may find it difficult to search for the content you need. So as a public service announcement here's the video clip you are trying to find to post when discussing the death of Dick Cheney today apnews.com/article/dick...
November 4, 2025 at 12:56 PM
As Bluesky's general functionality continues to improve, there are times you may find it difficult to search for the content you need. So as a public service announcement here's the video clip you are trying to find to post when discussing the death of Dick Cheney today apnews.com/article/dick...
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Lansdowne 2.0 doesn’t give Ottawa what it needs. The plan is built around the limits of a public-private deal that leaves the city with hundreds of millions in new debt for a project that won’t serve residents well.
As women's hockey climbs to new heights, the City of Ottawa says think smaller | Opinion
PWHL executives Jayna Hefford and Amy Scheer write that it's not too late to change the story on Lansdowne 2.0.
ottawacitizen.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Lansdowne 2.0 doesn’t give Ottawa what it needs. The plan is built around the limits of a public-private deal that leaves the city with hundreds of millions in new debt for a project that won’t serve residents well.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Looking forward to learning all about how the right should move left to win elections tomorrow. They should maybe dye their hair pink, learn to love pronouns.
November 5, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Looking forward to learning all about how the right should move left to win elections tomorrow. They should maybe dye their hair pink, learn to love pronouns.
I hope that gets framed for a prominent spot in the mayors office. 🤣
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I hope that gets framed for a prominent spot in the mayors office. 🤣
It’s weird. The media makes sure to spell out Democratic Socialist every time they talk about Mamdani, even though he’s the nominee of the Democratic Party, but they never say Fascist Republican to describe any of the politicians that would accurately describe.
November 5, 2025 at 2:11 AM
It’s weird. The media makes sure to spell out Democratic Socialist every time they talk about Mamdani, even though he’s the nominee of the Democratic Party, but they never say Fascist Republican to describe any of the politicians that would accurately describe.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
What We Lost When Condé Nast Unceremoniously Shuttered Teen Vogue
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM
if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Days ahead of a final vote, it's gobsmacking that Mark Monahan - probably one of the most prolific creators of awesome in the history of this city - has been given so little insight on how L2.0 would affect his festival.
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
Ottawa's CityFolk festival could lose its site under Lansdowne 2.0
Ottawa's CityFolk music festival may be pushed off Great Lawn, its home for a decade, under Lansdowne 2.0.
ottawacitizen.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Days ahead of a final vote, it's gobsmacking that Mark Monahan - probably one of the most prolific creators of awesome in the history of this city - has been given so little insight on how L2.0 would affect his festival.
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
As we covered in @thenarwhal.ca this week, it's worth looking at the credentials of the people who claim Indigenous rights are a threat to your own — it turns out a lot of them are representing corporate interests, not yours! thenarwhal.ca/newsletter-b...
October 31, 2025 at 10:56 PM
As we covered in @thenarwhal.ca this week, it's worth looking at the credentials of the people who claim Indigenous rights are a threat to your own — it turns out a lot of them are representing corporate interests, not yours! thenarwhal.ca/newsletter-b...
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
What we are going to have to do in the coming years is build out a whole lot of parallel institutions that can do the work previously assigned to the state, most especially civic education.
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
November 2, 2025 at 2:49 PM
What we are going to have to do in the coming years is build out a whole lot of parallel institutions that can do the work previously assigned to the state, most especially civic education.
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
Eventually I will find my way to excitement for that project but right now the prospect exhausts me
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
The contempt the city has shown for this expensive and genuinely impressive piece of art it bought and proudly installed is just perfectly symbolic of how it treats both the public realm and its own investments.
ottawacitizen.com/news/artist-...
ottawacitizen.com/news/artist-...
Artist fears Lansdowne installation may become '$2 million of scrap metal'
The final Lansdowne 2.0 report recommends decommissioning the art installation Moving Surfaces because there's no budget to restore it.
ottawacitizen.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:36 PM
The contempt the city has shown for this expensive and genuinely impressive piece of art it bought and proudly installed is just perfectly symbolic of how it treats both the public realm and its own investments.
ottawacitizen.com/news/artist-...
ottawacitizen.com/news/artist-...
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker.
And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, and endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows.
No more.
And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, and endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows.
No more.
My Message to Muslim New Yorkers — and Everyone Who Calls This City Home.
YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC
www.youtube.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:27 AM
The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker.
And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, and endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows.
No more.
And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, and endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows.
No more.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Just a thought: How about we stop shaming the poor for buying things that may not be essential, and start shaming the rich for making a profit off things that are essential?
October 23, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Just a thought: How about we stop shaming the poor for buying things that may not be essential, and start shaming the rich for making a profit off things that are essential?
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Doug Ford’s Ontario Govt plan to ban bike lanes “is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list…Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists.”
It’ll make Ontario’s cities weaker, less competitive, more polluted, & more dangerous for everyone. AND the traffic worse.
It’ll make Ontario’s cities weaker, less competitive, more polluted, & more dangerous for everyone. AND the traffic worse.
Ontario’s plan to ban bike lanes is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list ⋆ The Breach
Buried in a new omnibus bill, the latest salvo in Doug Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists
breachmedia.ca
October 24, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Doug Ford’s Ontario Govt plan to ban bike lanes “is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list…Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists.”
It’ll make Ontario’s cities weaker, less competitive, more polluted, & more dangerous for everyone. AND the traffic worse.
It’ll make Ontario’s cities weaker, less competitive, more polluted, & more dangerous for everyone. AND the traffic worse.
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Imagine if we held a Christmas market in… the ByWard Market and made it a vibrant #PlaceForPeople, saw attendance and retail sales bloom and built on this success to create a #BetterByWard
Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY.
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
Closing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis
City of Madrid significantly boosted the takings of its shops and restaurants last Christmas by banning cars from the CBD, finds an analysis by Spain's second largest bank.
www.forbes.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Imagine if we held a Christmas market in… the ByWard Market and made it a vibrant #PlaceForPeople, saw attendance and retail sales bloom and built on this success to create a #BetterByWard
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
Nothing says “meh” like a green PVC roof as “nod to the parliament buildings”
Talk about grasping for straws. (Flips desk)
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
Talk about grasping for straws. (Flips desk)
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
October 22, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Nothing says “meh” like a green PVC roof as “nod to the parliament buildings”
Talk about grasping for straws. (Flips desk)
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
Talk about grasping for straws. (Flips desk)
@alexbozikovic.bsky.social
Reposted by Thom McVeigh
