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Damien Moule

@damienmoule.bsky.social
2K followers 127 following 5.3K posts

Toronto municipal policy wonk, engineer, urbanist, father. Consider donating to effective charities: www.givewell.org

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Irish elections have local parties and single transferable vote that still returns lots of independents but of course Torontonians simply can't be trusted with forming parties or making a top 5 list. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Du...
en.wikipedia.org
2024 Dublin City Council election - Wikipedia
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Please, if you can, volunteer, donate, talk to people in Scarborough North, whatever. #protectMyers
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Alright, can we stop messing about now?
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
There’s a general vibe that we have done the work of planning reform. Truth is, we’ve barely started.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've taken to calling this clause added to the Planning Act as part of Bill 98 "Chekhov's Regulation" and it's hanging over everything in Ontario land use planning.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Real monkey's paw unfurling for me here on having politicians pay more attention to Toronto's capital budget.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
New from me at TVO, on a new report from the Toronto Board of Trade arguing for why we need more provincial control over zoning (and what it has to do with prefab housing.) www.tvo.org/article/anal...
tvo.org
ANALYSIS: Should the province rip up Toronto’s zoning rules? | TVO Today
A new report argues that the city is getting in its own way — and wants Queen’s Park to step in.
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FastTrackTO @fast-track.to · 01/10/2026
Crews are currently replacing streetcar tracks on King West that have reached their end of life. During this work, we *should* be installing newer double-point switch designs and modern control systems.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I find it so funny that a basically unreconstructed 1970s urban new left party continues to exist in Vancouver and its name is COPE. It's perfect.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The not-that-surprising skeleton key for Toronto politics.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I can't tell if Karen Stintz is calling for a return of the old Board of Control or more like elections for individual deputy city managers. www.instagram.com/reel/Dd40KsS...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I keep hearing councillors go on Toronto the Politics the Show to tout the achievements of Toronto Builds rather than express concern that it and its precursors have yet to build a single unit of affordable housing after 7 years and this needs focused council attention. I am confused.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A key problem with TTC affordability for me is it's cheaper and faster to walk than take the streetcar.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm increasingly worried that not just the TTC capital budget, but the entire Toronto capital budget is succumbing to the problem of cost bloat in SOGR projects that @alonlevy.bsky.social identified in this article. pedestrianobservations.com/2025/04/29/a...
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Today in "committee of adjustment notices spotted while walking my dog": replacing a bungalow with a 2-storey home, needs six variances from Toronto's zoning by-law (incl height, lot coverage, and FSI.)
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Torn between voting at an advanced poll for the municipal election like I always do vs. voting election day to make maps of results slightly more accurate.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I don't really have a problem with Bradford's diagnosis. I agree that we probably collect too much in the water rate for capital (more precisely more than we can spend not a statement about sufficiency). But the solution proposed is a bad rate structure. www.thestar.com/news/gta/cit...
thestar.com
Brad Bradford is promising to cut Toronto water bills. Opponents call it a risky move
The mayoral candidate said he would make Toronto Water a public utility, like Toronto Hydro, cutting costs for ratepayers.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I see we're taking the Doug Ford approach to electricity and just trying to ruin the good incentives design of other utilities as well.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Me quoted in the Star today, reasserting what might be my least popular take: Toronto needs formal, organized political parties www.thestar.com/news/gta/cit...
thestar.com
Toronto tried — and failed — to put political parties on city election ballots decades ago. Why this time may be different
In 1969, Toronto tried a political party experiment. Now, powerful advocacy groups act as de facto parties behind the scenes.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The requirements for generators in low rise buildings in Ontario and recommendations on how to adjust it: neptis.cdn.prismic.io/neptis/L1DmK...
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Street parking passes are too cheap.
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Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) @ericlombardi.ca · 25/09/2026
It's time to end Ontario's era of "Tall and Sprawl". Our archaic building code rules have resulted in housing that is uglier, more expensive, and with fewer units that make sense for families. By changing the rules, we can build communities more beautifully and affordably.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I hope the reporters covering Willowdale are getting paid extra. The usual promises to fix everything while somehow changing nothing and for no money, but also sooooo much misinformation.
Zarezade is opposed to what he calls a “drug-injection homeless shelter” at Sheppard Avenue W. and Yonge Street. He is referring to the proposed shelter being built by the city at 68 Sheppard Ave. W. to serve Indigenous women and children; it is not a safe consumption site. ...the request was rejected and never came into force—however, in materials promoting Yusifov’s candidacy, the request is characterized as “official drug policy,” which Yusifov argues will “destroy minds and destroy families.” He links the policy to Councillor Lily Cheng, who spoke at a Board of Health meeting where the idea was considered in 2023. The website promoting Yusifov shows a screenshot of a CBC News article about the decriminalization request with its real headline, but the broadcaster’s photo has been replaced by a more salacious image that shows a person using drugs. Yusifov did not reply to The Local’s request for comment.He wants to push for a line-by-line financial oversight at the City, expand affordable housing options while maintaining single-family neighbourhoods, invest in well-lit public infrastructure, and repair damaged sidewalks.He is critical of people who are homeless or use drugs in public, calling them “drug-addled derelicts” who “deprive our residents of enjoying the parks and recreational facilities our city provides.” He is also critical of increases to property taxes.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oh look they're trying the age old tactic of changing their story and taking it to the press www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto needs more homes. These neighbours say they're paying the price | CBC News
An elderly downtown couple says they’re shocked and upset that the city has approved a duplex next door to their three-story Victorian home that they say will tower metres above their chimney and rend...
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I guess to keep on my land use bs, Mississauga should also just allow square one to grow towards Cooksville GO.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Same energy
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Putting some tools for viewing city density in one place in case I need to find it later: luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen/ www.tomforth.co.uk/circlepopula... www.citydensity.com (looks like it's not working properly for Toronto)
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A Milton GO line stub into Square One would be the move but of course we can't even run full day service let alone double track and electrify it before 2075. www.thestar.com/news/gta/may...
thestar.com
Mayoral candidate Bonnie Crombie wants the TTC subway extended to Mississauga’s city centre. But will Doug Ford buy in?
Mississauga mayoral candidate Bonnie Crombie is pitching a Line 2 subway extension. Can she convince Doug Ford to help fund the massive project?
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Toronto doesn't need a volcano. We have a heritage register where councillors bulk list hundreds of properties at a time with the stated aim of making the city into a "live museum" (actual councillor quote) instead of letting new people live here.
This report recommends that City Council include 258 properties identified in
Recommendations 1-7 of this report on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register.
The properties are located in the Midtown in Focus planning study area adjoining the
Yonge-Eglinton intersection, and comprise commercial "Main Street" properties located
on both sides of Bayview Avenue, Eglinton Avenue East and West, Mount Pleasant
Road and Yonge Street.

This report represents Phase 1 of a project to
"batch list" all of the properties in the study
area that have been identified for inclusion on
the City's Heritage Register.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Remember when Toronto agreed to accept $471 million in exchange for sixplexes and more reforms and councillors voted for the money but, when it came time to vote for the housing, they acted like they had never seen the agreement before in their lives? Fun times. www.moreneighbours.ca/news/reports...
moreneighbours.ca
Tracking Toronto's Housing Accelerator Fund Progress - 2025 Update
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Oliver Moore @oliver-moore.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Two thoughts.. 1/ Cities are *always* turning over. That's normal. If there's not a bunch of churn it's probably a lame city 2/ Take with a big grain of salt people who say they'll leave a place cause of traffic www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
thestar.com
Torontonians agree the city is a good place to raise a family — but more than a third expect to leave in the next 5 years
An Ipsos poll of 1,006 Toronto residents found 37 per cent say they are very or somewhat likely to leave the city in the next five years.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sadly coming towards our last month in the year of municipal policy. It uh.. also wasn't a year that focused on municipal policy.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If we're going to call out progressives for supporting regressive zoning, let's call out fiscal conservatives who raise taxes on basic needs. (The post-2023 changes came in after Chow got into office but were approved in a vote under Tory and the previous Council and were being phased in after).
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What on earth?
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A number of good ideas but I want councillors to admit that the Official Plan plays a big role here. Too many councillors are content to pretend our development patterns are a law of nature. No. They are a result of not being able to build apartments in half the city. Let's redo the plan.
Educate renters and ensure compliance to Rental Renovation License Bylaw.
Secure fair compensation for rental replacement.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The Toronto Builds framework from this past term was an attempt to increase the affordability requirement on city lead projects with a stubborn incuriosity about whether any units got built (they did not). I'm going to treat proposals for "real affordability" as continuing this storied tradition.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Neighbour on the left (an architect who has spoken in opposition at neighbourhood development applications) tried to stop these 1 storey houses getting redeveloped into 4 storey multiplexes (which are allowed in zoning) through a novel attempt to oppose the demolition permit. I'm glad they failed.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My uninteresting contribution to public school in cities discourse is that Liberty Village and West Queen West developments almost certainly saved 2 public schools in neighbourhoods that have long been losing population and that's been good for me personally despite not living there.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The drop this week feels bonkers to me. It's the best time of year to bike. Nice cool temperature to offset the physical activity. You can go faster without sweating.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"I'm sure there's waste in the budget somewhere in the city budget, no I couldn't be bothered to find it during my 8 years as a councillor or while I was preparing to run for mayor".
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It's weird that City Council allowed so much speaking time from a person who doesn't exist.
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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ken Sim & ABC released their platform...and they say NOTHING at all about housing. It's a great example of how local government has squandered this opportunity to take action on our housing shortage. This sort of inaction is just setting the stage for next jump in prices & rent.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The theoretical finding is backed up by the empirical literature as well (see www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professional...). I complain that DCs are both unfair and *extremely inefficient* since the value capture you achieve comes at the cost of raising all housing prices, which seems really bad.
cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Development Charges: Who Bears the Cost?
CMHC’s research into development charges shows important trade-offs and affordability implications.
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Michael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This explains why dev taxes can raise home prices. If building costs are $350k per home, then developers build two homes, and the price is $400k. Now impose a tax of $75k, so costs increase to $425k. The 2nd home is now unprofitable; they instead build one home, and the price rises to $500k. 5/5
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I don't know why anyone pretends time limited turn restrictions do anything. I'm standing at King and Strachan at 9:30 watching 3 cars all try and turn left onto Strachan with a streetcar behind them.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
There's always more random Lampy stuff.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Seeing someone on here post about how technology hasn't actually liberated anyone from drudgery and man, I don't think people realize how much of their lives rely on stuff that was once done by hand and now isn't.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I think Toronto has improved significantly in this century. That said I have a specific malaise around traffic calming, streetcars, and parks where there are dozens of cities around the world, some of which I have visited, that are just so much better than us and it's not on the agenda here.
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Kevin Rupasinghe @kevinrupasinghe.ca · 19/09/2026
The infamous intersection at Warden-Clonmore-Hollis has gotten some basic maintenance, but we deserve safer streets that are re-engineered, not just repaved. Learn more about my safe streets advocacy work, and add your name: KevinR.ca/SafeStreets #Ward20 #TOPoli
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