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Duncan Rae

@dunrae.bsky.social
497 followers 220 following 132 posts

Designing cities for people. | Spatial Design & Urbanism Consulting in Canada's Capital. Special Projects Advisor at Ottawa City Hall.

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Reposted by Duncan Rae
Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🌧️⚡ "We can't stop the storms, but we can be ready for them." Ever since the 2018 tornado—when my community association won United Way Community Builder of the Year—I’ve organized response efforts across 6+ natural disasters. Ottawa needs proactive weather resilience. 🧵 1/
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
😬 oof...
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andrew.ottawa 🇨🇦 @ottawandrew.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
For those at home keeping score, over the course of the past *three days*, a driver crashed into a bank, an impaired driver drove into a Beer Store, a driver hit a pedestrian, and a driver hit a cyclist and almost crashed into the canal.
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Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 @fairvote.ca · 14/08/2026
Why is Ford tearing up bike lanes? They're in safe opposition seats, making them easy targets to appease car-centric voters in key GTA swing ridings. Courts won't save us. We need proportional representation so policy reflects broad consensus, not the whims of one Premier. bit.ly/4woSyk7
bit.ly
Ford government wins appeal in Toronto bike lanes court battle
Ontario's top court has cleared the way for the province to remove bike lanes in Toronto, overturning a lower-court ruling.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I did a tour early this morning ing (1:30 am - 3:00 am) through parts of Ward 9 affected by last night’s thunderstorm/windstorm. Once again Fisher Heights and General Burns disproportionally impacted. Electrical poles down on Baseline plus multiple trees down throughout area. 1/
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Laine Johnson @lainejohnson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This morning, I met LRT Stage 2 staff to look at the July 1 flood damage at Moodie Station. What I saw, and what I heard, shocked me.
A group of workers examine train tracks
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Ladybugspicnic @ladybugspicnic.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Watch out: Sink hole on Holly Acres bypass, near Richmond and QCH. #ottbike
Picture of a bicycle near a sinkhole on the pathway.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
UPDATE: My team and I have received almost 200 emails from residents reporting flooding damage. We are preparing an info-package that we can send out. For now, if oyu've experienced flooding and haven't yet reported it to the City, please do so at this page: 311.ottawa.ca/en/3-1-1/ser...
311.ottawa.ca
Service  · City of Ottawa
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Packed room last night for our Baseline–Merivale / Algonquin Secondary Plan Open House, co-hosted with Councillors Laine Johnson and Riley Brockington. Residents came out in huge numbers—curious, informed, and ready to engage on the future of their neighbourhoods. 1/
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
For at least two years, I've been saying that the 2026 municipal elections will be decided on the issue of mobility: on the increasing challenges of how to move a growing number of residents through our city. Reliable, frequent, efficient public transit is the key. 1/ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Transit emerges as a top issue in early days of mayoral race | CBC News
Transit has leapt to the forefront of Ottawa’s municipal election campaign, as three challengers look to convince voters they can do a better job turning around OC Transpo than Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
It’s a good thing there’s no other bushes in Ottawa… Otherwise tearing these out might be a bit useless… I always find it crazy that cities in a country so defined by its vast nature seem to deeply hate it! This is my view right now… A vibrant mainstreet (Elgin) — still just a bunch of grey. 😒😒
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Hans on the Bike @hansonthebike.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Same intersection in 2014 and 2026. After years of humming and hawing, Brussels finally converted this ‘car is king, we can’t do without’ road into a #pedestrian and #cycling area. @strongtownsottawa.ca @lainejohnson.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social Result is fabulous.
A wide two lane arterial flanked by 5 story buildingsThe same road, converted into a pedestrian paradise
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"Waymo has told advocates that expecting it to respect bike lanes is 'too high a bar' because customers expect to be dropped off in them." To be crystal clear, it's illegal for a car to be in a bike lane. It doesn't matter what Waymo's customers expect; the company shouldn't be doing it.
nyc.streetsblog.org
Waymo Is Not In The 'Vision Zero' Toolbox: Data - Streetsblog New York City
At least two of the cities where Waymo operates have not experienced declines in traffic-related injuries and deaths.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Exactly!! Along with the above, you also get nice continuous street walls as seen here in Porto 😍
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
As if another reason to support Ottawa finally getting a bike share program was needed, but there you have it. Right @shawnmenard.bsky.social and @glengower.ca?
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
If I were to guess there’s two main ways: 1. It’s 3 storeys and under 2. They went through the “Alternative Solutions” framework. Looking at streetview, I’m going to say it’s technically 3 storeys and under.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Found this great website that shows prototypes & pilots for point-access blocks in BC. Would love to see these made here in #Ottawa! Lower o'all per-unit costs, well-designed & fam-friendly 3&4-bed units, less land-consolidation, 3-6 storeys, encourages missing-middle & mixed-use. singlestair.ca
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 29/01/2026
Density without displacement. Accessibility as a standard feature. No land assembly required. Efficient and (more) affordable. Light, Air and a Social Stair.
2.0 FSR small single lot apartment building on a 50x122 lot amid single family homes. Viewed from above.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
This is an interesting idea. Pick a commercial area in Ottawa that could use more foot traffic, identify a vacant store, City retrofits it for bike parking. It's likely cheaper than building new infrastructure. Even as - dare I say - a pilot project. @sjamieit.bsky.social thoughts?
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
In political communications, "message discipline" is seen as an asset. But when the same message keeps being repeated despite the fact that it's not resonating, then it becomes a liability. With Mayor Sutcliffe's oft-repeated boast about Ottawa's low taxes, I think we're at that point. 1/
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Unbelievable. Or sadly, all too believable. We haven’t even got the root cause analysis of the first cartridge bearing assembly issue, and now we expect to get a root cause analysis of another problem with the same component? www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
ctvnews.ca
‘Some customers may have to wait for a second train’: OC Transpo reducing O-Train Line 1 service after identifying new issue with trains
OC Transpo will be temporarily reducing the number of train cars running on the O-Train Line 1 after an issue was identified with the vehicles.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Excited to see more discussion on single-egress stair (SES) housing. I started advocating for this with City of Ottawa staff in 2023 and recently started again. SES opens the door to more infill development and diversifies the range of units being built. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... 1/
theglobeandmail.com
How ‘single exit stairway’ buildings could make cities better and safer
Several Canadian jurisdictions are re-examining their rules to allow ‘single egress’ buildings
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
You know that bike lanes work when even the anti-bike lane party decides to ramp up investment.
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Florian BONET @florianbonet.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Le #CEREMA vient de publier un dossier spécial "Carrefours cyclables en milieu urbain : les règles de conception". On y trouve les clés pour réussir un aménagement qui a toutes les chances de bien fonctionner. N'hésitez pas à l'utiliser. Avec un exemple à Clermont Ferrand ;) @cerema.bsky.social
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Open-source PAB infill templates are awesome, thank you!! Would love to make these work in Ottawa / Ontario as well 🤩
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 09/12/2025
Working to come up with a reasonably simple rule set for single-stair infill buildings.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Transitways should require: Fast & comfortable vehicles that are dedicated to the line Level platform boarding Full right-of-way separation Full Signal Priority Appropriate stop spacing (0.5-1km apart) High frequencies (Every ~5-10mins) ...standard. That's how you make transit truly work well. 🔥
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
So... back to the Finch West LRT. Here's the thing: They... installed it! It's there. But its turned OFF. And now this $3.5B project is being held back when it should be allowed to excel. It's ridiculous (a bit pathetic honestly) but that's their decision. #Ottawa, let's ensure we don't repeat it.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
If we want transit in Canada we need to adapt to our context. Subways work really well in high density areas (and we should still build them where possible!) but much of our cities need transit in lower-density areas too. This is where Priority Transitways come in, and we need to design them right.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Making transit in Canada is theoretically easy, but hard politically. Why? Money! 💸 That's why this is so important: This makes the Transitway work like it was almost an underground subway -- except it isn't, and as such is much, much less costly to build. We're talking 5-10X LESS $/km here!
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Now, after just a few seconds, the transit vehicle passes through with (in Finch's case) up to 300 people through without stopping! This dramatically speeds up the whole transit line, making it a much more convenient solution for the average person to get around. Now that's efficiency. 💯
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
It's awesome, powerful, and should be requisite -- here's how it works: As a transit vehicle approaches an intersection, the vehicle talks with the lights to let it know it's coming. Instead of sitting & waiting through the light for a few vehicles to pass, we can flip the light direction.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Pushing the "make it worse" button on a $3.5B project sounds insane, right? While I'm always excited for more transit in Canada, the Finch West LRT is showing #Ottawa something NOT to do for our future rapid lines like the Baseline Transitway. Let's talk about two crucial words: Signal Priority.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
While we need better design standards for our crossings, adopting the use of permeable pavement would really help in cases like these.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
The more #transit, the better! Can't wait to ride the REM extension this Monday.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Ford:
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It's Jamie @sjamieit.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
There are two speed cameras on Walkley Rd between Bank and St Laurent that were installed in 2024. In 2022 that stretch of Walkley had 34 collisions with injuries. In 2024, after the cameras were turned on, there were just 4 collisions with injuries. Speed cameras work.
Heatmap of 2022 collisions with injuries. Speed camera locations indicated with squares.Heatmap of 2024 collisions with injuries. Speed camera locations indicated with squares.
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Today marks the end of the Automated Speed Enforcement camera program across Ontario. For anyone concerned about the impact of speeding on the safety of vulnerable road users, and who believes in data-based decision-making, this day is filled with frustration, disappointment, and deep concern. 1/
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De Filmende Fietser @filmendefietser.eurosky.social · 09/11/2025
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Yeah, energy usage is important to consider. That's why I think limiting it to only hard-to-plow areas makes sense. It's easy to plow the straight sections, but a lot of snow can build up in say the intersections -- the area with the most conflict points where you want it to be as clear as possible!
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
I'm excited to see how it works this year, both for heavy snow loads, as well as how it prevents ice formation on the surface.
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
With the first snowfall arriving in #Ottawa, I really wish we'd make it standard that for areas w/ complex/hard-to-plow surfaces (stairs/bus stops/bike racks/etc) we'd install heating (w/ permeable pavement) to melt snow and keep things clear & safe. FYI, the new bridge at Kiweki Point is heated!🔥
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
It's stupid that we even have to fight things like this. The benefit of bike infrastructure in cities is clear. Ensuring there's a lane for everything (cars, transit, bikes, & walking) gives people choice, and when those choices are more space-efficient, that frees up room and eases congestion.
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Bike Ottawa @bikeottawa.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Bill 60’s provision on banning bike lanes is undemocratic an assault on municipal autonomy a threat to people’s safety fiscally reckless Voice your opposition. Send an email to the Premier, Minister Sarkaria, your local MPP all in one shot. See bottom of our post. bikeottawa.ca/2025/10/30/o...
bikeottawa.ca
Ontario Bill 60: A Veto on a Safer, More Bikeable Ottawa
A provision buried deep in Ontario’s new omnibus legislation, Bill 60 (the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025), is a direct, immediate threat to road safety in Ottawa. It undermines years o…
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Cassey Lottman @casseylottman.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Hey Ontario! You've heard of the disastrous Ford bill to destroy tenant rights, but did you know that Omnibus Bill 60 would entirely wipe out the ability of cities to right-size their roads by reducing lanes _at all_, not even just for bike lanes? #onpoli #OttBike #ontario #ottawa
a screenshot of a proposed bill headed Part XII.1, ROADWAY CAPACITY, repealing Section 195.3 of the Act and substituting a complete prohibition on reducing lanes available for travel by motor vehicles for any of the following purposes: a bicycle lane, or "any other prescribed purpose"
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
It was also mentioned that paying for good design/"excellence" upfront can vastly reduce the number of change orders down the line, which ends up *saving* both time & money!
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Duncan Rae @dunrae.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Always love it when elected officials put their money where their mouth is. Only by experiencing driving/transit/cycling/walking in Ottawa first hand can we truly start to make it better! 🔥🔥🔥
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Emmett Proulx @emmettproulx.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
When the City of Ottawa developed our protected intersection guide and cycle track standards, we looked to the City of Nanaimo for inspiration. Nanaimo was (and is) a North American leader for active transportation design standards and it is starting to pay off in a big way! youtu.be/pN5muvQ0-tM?...
youtu.be
The city that went Dutch...
YouTube video by Nic Laporte
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Glad to see this come to fruition, and to have played a part in making it happen. Last October I started meeting with representatives from Communauto and Gatineau's Regional Council on the Environment & Sustainable Development, with the aim of launching a Communauto FLEX pilot project in Ottawa. 1/
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Sean Devine @seandevine9.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
It doesn’t matter to Doug Ford that doctors supprt them, or that police chiefs support them, ot that 3/4 of those surveyed support them. It doesn’t matter that all available evidence supports them. Doug doesn’t like them. And so they go. That’s Doug Ford’s Ontario. www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
thestar.com
Doug Ford will outlaw municipal speed cameras this fall: Sources
Sources say Ford's Progressive Conservatives will table legislation later this fall to outlaw the "automated speed enforcement" devices.
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