Phil Parker
philprkr.bsky.social
Phil Parker
@philprkr.bsky.social
Urban Planner in Toronto. Mostly city stuff.
Reposted by Phil Parker
#FactOfTheDay: As the threat of #tariffs contribute to global economic uncertainty, the #TorontoEmploymentSurvey analyzes how tariffs may be affecting our city. In 2025, tariff-exposed sectors experienced a 2.8% decrease in employment, with 208,110 jobs now exposed.

https://ow.ly/kAA650XASrw
December 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
This is a great explainer for why protecting employment areas is so important.
youtu.be/lHpifQ-A6HU?...
December 1, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
The 2025 #TorontoEmploymentSurvey results are in! That’s 43 years of tracking jobs and businesses in #Toronto.
November 28, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
Today, the Province of Ontario approved, with modifications, 120 Major Transit Station Areas and Protected Major Transit Station Areas in #Toronto. The decision increases building heights and densities near transit and supports more housing options for these areas.

Learn more: toronto.ca/OurPlan
August 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
Easy to lose this in the noise of the day, but the prime minister of Canada just said the US president, leader of the global hegemon, wants to soften us up economically so he can annex us.

That is one of the most remarkable statements, and realities, in our history.
March 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
How the Toronto Region Board of Trade got lost in traffic. My Toronto Star column on their terrible congestion task force report & how they’ve lost their way of late. $billions on a 401 tunnel? Where’s the rational business people now?

www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...
Shawn Micallef: How the Toronto Region Board of Trade got lost in traffic
The only thing that will make getting around Toronto better is fewer cars and more people taking public transit, cycling or walking. There is no other way.
www.thestar.com
March 1, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
Think about how the internet is so vast that even the weirdest sub-group can find each other. A dense city is similar in concept. Get enough people in close proximity and there will be some within them to support the oddball stores and fringe cuisines and all the other stuff that makes a city a city
If we want better fashion culture in the US, we have to lower the cost of housing and commercial real estate, support independent craftspeople, build denser neighborhoods, improve walkability, and get rid of overly restrictive zoning laws. Let kook culture thrive.
November 30, 2024 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
Toronto's best hope is that they give the removal work to Metrolinx. It will take 12 years to plan and design, and the cost will grow to $200 million per km and might never be finished.
A sad day for cyclists in Toronto, Ottawa, and across Ontario. Third Reading of Doug Ford's anti bike lane Bill 212 passed 66 to 27. We must keep fighting including organizing to #VoteFordOut when the election comes! #shame #BikeTO #ottbike #TOpoli #ONpoli #VisionZero
November 26, 2024 at 5:48 AM
Reposted by Phil Parker
$48 Million to tear out bike lanes…which efficiently connect people to commerce, work and public service is foolish for a province trying to boost the productivity of its largest city. Ontario is a joke.
November 23, 2024 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Phil Parker
This is proof they know what they're doing will kill or injure people. This is a malevolent gov't. Treating it as rational is a pantomime of some fantasy benign and good faith politics of yesterlore that doesn't exist. www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Ford government to ban lawsuits against province if cyclists are hurt or killed on streets where bike lanes were removed
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria tells cyclists: for your own safety, stay off Bloor, Yonge and University when bike lanes are removed.
www.thestar.com
November 22, 2024 at 3:40 AM