iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 2h

#BikeTO Making noise with 600+ healthcare workers behind us ❤️📢✊🏾 h/t @safestreetsto.bsky.social @ffsafestreets.bsky.social

Crowd of healthcare workers with two people holding a giant letter

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 2h

Born and raised in ‘Sauga. (City Centre/Cooksville/Erin Mills) It is a city of promise but compromised when it comes to transportation beyond a car. Long live the bloody 403 Blaming Hazel (RIP) h/t @plannersean.bsky.social

Map and direction from Toronto to Mississauga by public transit

Map and direction from Mississauga to UTM by public transit

Map and direction from Mississauga to Square One shopping centre by public transit

Map and direction from Mississauga to YYZ by public transit

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 4h

“Doctors, nurses and other front-line workers gathered for a news conference at University Ave and Gerrard St to explain the risks of a lack of proper road infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers — and to tell stories of those impacted by road violence.” -CBC www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.ca

Ontario health-care coalition denounces province's plan to remove bike lanes across Toronto | CBC News

A coalition of Ontario health-care workers gathered in downtown Toronto on Tuesday to denounce the provincial government’s plan to remove bike lanes on three major roadways across the city.

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Reposted by Lanrick Bennett

Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 10h

[The judge] “said in court on Tuesday that the pair ‘selflessly’ put themselves to the side for the cause. ‘Mr. Kalicum and Ms. Nyx have borne the burden of bringing a successful constitutional challenge, thereby doing the public interest a service at considerable personal cost’

cbc.ca

Judge tosses drug trafficking convictions for B.C. compassion club founders after constitutional challenge | CBC News

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ruled in favour of two harm-reduction activists convicted of drug trafficking who argued they were doing it to reduce the harms caused by toxic drugs.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 9h

#IdeasAtWork 'Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Canada, but cities often struggle to build and maintain outdoor facilities...We investigate the political and systemic forces that shape our recreational spaces' via @uytaelee.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwvO...

youtube.com

Why Cities Don't Build Basketball Courts

YouTube video by About Here

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Reposted by Lanrick Bennett

Oliver Moore @oliver-moore.bsky.social · 13h

All those Toronto drivers who shouted about bike lanes' [non-existent] effect on emergency vehicles will no doubt throw their support behind congestion pricing. Right?

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 13h

RE: Bike lanes save lives and promote health. Removing bike lanes will lead to injury and death. #signed by 600 healthcare workers and counting via #doctorsforsafecycling h/t @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social @ffsafestreets.bsky.social @cycletoronto.bsky.social @safestreetsto.bsky.social #BikeTO

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 15h

I’m going to ask the stupid ask: is there any type of requirement for disclosure or use of AI tools or software for any level elected government (Municipal, Provincial or Federal) or are just dragging or heels on this?

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 18h

#IdeasAtWork When has car parking ever helped to reduce or eliminate congestion on roads? Wonderful explainer of maximum road capacity, with fancy colours overlaid on of most recent Critical Mass ride for context by Brian Tao h/t @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social @ffsafestreets.bsky.social #BikeTO

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“Doctors for Safe Cycling is BACK! We will be launching a letter to Premier Ford tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29th, 2026 at 10 am - Gerrard & University in Toronto. Sincerely, Doctors for Safe Cycling” Cc: @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social @cycletoronto.bsky.social #BikeTO

doctorsforsafecycling Doctors for Safe Cycling is
BACK!
We will be launching a letter to Premier Ford tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29th, 2026 at 10 am
- Gerrard & University in Toronto. Please join us in your health professional garb (scrubs, stethoscopes, white coats) if you can. Feel free to bring signs. All health workers are welcome.
Sincerely,
Doctors for Safe Cycling

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Listening to @lesleynope.bsky.social chatting bout the @bluejays.com on Metro Morning Good-bye #Mad Max & Springer #Dinger #BlueJays50

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This is #TorontoDanforth “Today is World River Day and we're celebrating the power of rivers to shape our cities, communities, and ecosystems.“ - @tosoarch.bsky.social @waterfrontoronto.bsky.social h/t @juliedabrusin.bsky.social #TransformTO torontosocietyofarchitects.ca/events/#filt...

Explore Toronto's new waterfront destinations

Image of Biidaasige Park

Biidaasige Park Tour
mi Thursday, October 1 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Led by park designers Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc, participants will get a behind the scenes look into the design of this 60 acre park and the transformed Don River.

Ookwemin Minising Tour
• Wednesday, October 14 • 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Led by Waterfront Toronto project team members, participants will explore Toronto's future island community, Ookwemin Minising, and hear about the planning and design shaping the future neighbourhood.

Waterfront Toronto O
•.. X
5h
Today is World River Day and we're celebrating the power of rivers to shape our cities, communities, and ecosystems. One of the most visible examples is right here on Toronto's waterfront, where the transformation of the Don River has helped create new parkland, restore habitat, and unlock the future community of Ookwemin Minising.
Next month, join us for a behind-the-scenes look at this transformation through two upcoming Toronto Society of Architects tours.
On October 1, explore Biidaasige Park alongside, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., the designers who helped bring it to life. Then, on October 14, learn about the vision for Ookwemin Minising, Toronto's future island neighbourhood, on a tour with Waterfront Toronto project leads Shannon Baker and Jed Kilbourne.
For tickets and further details, visit the link in bio.
https://bit.ly/46CYBr3
#Thankstoariver

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#IdeasAtWork Equity of benefits from e-bike adoption incentivized through income-tiered purchase rebates ‘Enjoyment and wellbeing were frequently mentioned benefits besides mode shift and utility.’ Cc: @mbonsma.bsky.social @modacitylife.com @urbantruth.bsky.social @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social

ScienceDirect®
Q
Journal of Urban Mobility
Date: December 2026
Show more
Research article • Open access
Under a Creative Commons license »
Get rights and content »
Equity of benefits from e-bike adoption incentivized through income-tiered purchase rebates
Alexander Bigazzi a & W, Polina Polikakhina ", Kyla Yu°, Amir Hassanpour a,
, Meghan Winters' Show more

new research from British Columbia, Canada, looked at the impact of e-bikes incentives across 1,004 recipients in an income-tiered e-bike rebate programme.
The results show how the impact e-bikes can have for active mobility, especially across specific demographic groups:
12% lower weekly travel costs after one year of e-bike ownership (while participants were actually travelling more)
14% more physical activity during travel; e-bikes can support active mobility even with electric assistance!
More mobility: participants gained an average of 5.6 km per week in trips they reported they would not otherwise have made.
The benefits were particularly strong for some groups, including seniors, people with physical limitations, people with limited incomes and rural residents.
The interesting study also highlights some barriers to making a greater use of their e-bikes: theft, inadequate infrastructure, lack of secure parking spots.
This is a reminder of how e-bike incentives can help make active mobility more accessible!

Abstract
Active transportation offers a range of benefits for users, but there are systemic disparities in use of active travel modes. Enabling access to electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes) can enhance mobility justice by mitigating equity-related barriers to active travel.
This potential has motivated equity-oriented e-bike incentive programs, but there is limited evidence of their impacts. In this study we use survey data (N=1,004 responses) to investigate how the long-term impacts of e-bike adoption vary across recipients of income-tiered e-bike purchase rebates in British Columbia, Canada, particularly for low-income purchasers and other structurally marginalized population groups. In addition to substantially reduced e-bike purchase costs (by

48%), we estimate that e-bike rebate recipients also reduced their weekly travel costs by 12% after 1 year of ownership, and had a net increase to their physical activity during travel by 14%. In open-text responses, mode shift and utility stood out as important benefits of e-bike access to study participants; they also articulated the value of enjoyment and improvements to mental and physical health. Conversely, participants expressed concerns about theft (especially in urban areas and for people of colour) and poor riding facilities (especially for seniors). The benefits of e-bike adoption were generally consistent across demographic groups, but seniors, people with physical limitations, people with limited income, and rural residents benefitted more than others.
Further consideration should be given to facilitating e-bike use by other structurally marginalized groups, particularly women and non-binary people, people of colour, people without post-secondary education, and low-confidence cyclists.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#IdeasAtWork ‘TPSC has been out and about this summer asking park users about their public washroom experience! If you haven't already, please complete our online survey to share your thoughts about public washrooms in Toronto.’ - @torontopublicspace.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Three people in a park with a washroom rating poster

“HOW WAS YOUR WASHROOM EXPERLENE???”

toronto_public_space TPSC has been out and about this summer asking park users about their public washroom experience!
If you haven't already, please complete our online survey (link in bio) to share your thoughts about public washrooms in Toronto.
So far we have visited the Christie Pits and Riverdale Park East washrooms. Where should we canvas next? Please let us know in the comments!

Individual holding up a washroom rating poster

“HOW WAS YOUR WASHROOM EXPERLENE???”

Toronto Public
Washroom Survey
What are your experiences with public washrooms in Toronto? Help the Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC) shape better public washrooms for the future of Toronto!
Note: when answering questions about public washrooms, be sure to reflect on your experiences using PUBLIC washrooms (e.g. city park washrooms, public community buildings, etc.)
NOT private business (e.g. restaurants, cafes, etc.).
Note: help us keep this anonymous, do not provide any personal identifiers. The data collected from this survey will be used by the TPSC in stakeholder meetings with the City of Toronto to help improve washrooms in the city.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#HearThis Sharing 3 pieces of Black specific content with my kids this week. 1. 100 Objects Hair Relaxer 2. Mahershala Ali 3. Today is Bud Powell’s birthday I think these stories are all worth #Amplifying h/t @gqmagazine.bsky.social @npr.org @brainchain.ca @99pi.org medium.com/@lanrickbenn...

THE WEEK OF September 27th
#HEARTHIS
SHARING 5 PIECES OF BLACK SPECIFIC CONTENT WITH MY KIDS THIS WEEK

“…Embrace the unknown, work hard to achieve your goals, avoid getting side-tracked and trust in God.” — Dr. June Marion James

BBC 99% Invisible

A History of The United States In
100 Objects

Object #18 Hair Relaxer

Image of Mahershala Ali

"You gotta keep doing the work."

GQ OMQ

Fresh Air

Review
Music Reviews
LISTEN & FOLLOW
Marking the centennial of jazz pianist Bud Powell
September 26, 202412:08 PM ET
Heard on Fresh Air
By

Kevin Whitehead

7-Minute Listen
Transcript
Born Sept. 27, 1924, Powell helped set the style for jazz piano after WWII. While earlier pianists played busy bass patterns, he helped establish a more fragmented, punctuating role for the left hand.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Amazing that BEY was able to build this out, priortzining the safety of their most vulnerable road users, but #TorontoDanforth opted out for a small stretch of pavement on Jones Av. What a legacy to leave us. One of the questions you can find here www.torontodanforth.org bsky.app/profile/grap...

Image of a Library

"Community is Forever"

Image of a mural with a person sitting on a bench in a park

"12 questions to start the conversation. 36 deeper dives to take it further."

Toronto-Danforth has a lot of people asking for your vote. Instead of telling you who to choose, this Question Guide was built to help you ask better questions about what the next councillor will actually do for our neighbourhoods and community.

Input from Toronto-Danforth residents and people with knowledge across the ward has been turned into 12 areas of questions, each with deeper questions to help you move beyond campaign promises and understand what candidates can realistically accomplish over the next four years.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s 1.17 in morning. I can’t un-see this @lukelebrun.ca !

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This is #TorontoDanforth Visited the newest coLab project in Leslieville. The laneway is south of Queen Street East, between Caroline and Berkshire via @blairscorgie.bsky.social Learn more about here leslievillelaneway.ca #LoveTheLaneways

Come hang out in the laneway!
Leslieville Laneway
Hang
Lemonade & Snacks • Kids' Activities • All
Welcome
SCAN TO LEARN MORE OR VISIT:
LESLIEVILLELANEWAY.CA
Come meet your neighbours, hear about the plans to make this laneway safer, greener, and more welcoming - and tell us what you'd love to see.
SAT
26 SEPT
2:00 - 4:00 PM
IN THE LANEWAY SOUTH OF QUEEN, BETWEEN LARCHMOUNT & BERKSHIRE
Supported by The Laneway Project's Colabs Initiative

Share your ideas!
Leslieville Laneway Project
SUPPORTED BY THE LANEWAY PROJECT'S COLABS INITIATIVE
SCAN TO LEARN MORE OR VISIT:
LESLIEVILLELANEWAY.CA

We're making the laneway south of Queen - between Caroline & Berkshire - safer, greener, and more welcoming. We'd love to know what you think.
To get involved:
1) Send us an email with your ideas:
leslevillelanewayproject@gmail.com
2) Take our short survey
3) Join the mailing list
4) Attend the visioning session this fall
Visit our website for more information:
leslievillelaneway.ca

• What might change
We're keeping an open mind. Ideas we're exploring include greening and planting, murals and public art, brighter surfaces and lighting, and small touches that make the laneway feel safer and more welcoming. What actually gets built will reflect what neighbours tell us matters most - and what our budget and permissions allow.
This is a light-touch project, not a major reconstruction. And it will always respect how the laneway works day to day: access, deliveries, garbage collection, parking, and snow clearing all keep working as they should.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#IdeasAtWork “…from last night's Critical Mass ride is a stark illustration of why more cycling infrastructure reduces congestion, not increases it. On the uphill section visible in the photo, there are about 30 cars in the same space roughly 160 bikes.” - Brian Tao h/t @xkcd.com

Image of Critical Mass taking over street space

Brian Tao
...
X
1h • J
This photo and many others from last night's Critical Mass ride is a stark illustration of why more cycling infrastructure reduces congestion, not increases it. On the uphill section visible in the photo, there are about 30 cars in the same space as roughly 160 bikes. Even assuming an average of 1.1 people per car, that's still roughly a 5x greater density achieved by bikes.
Both modes of transportation were travelling at roughly the same speed and taking up the same amount of room in this photo, so the difference is down to the traffic count per unit time. Major arterials like Bloor St can handle about 20,000 cars per day, peaking at 1000-1500 cars per hour of freeflowing traffic. The same amount of road space can accommodate over 10,000 bikes per hour, again while maintaining freeflowing traffic.
Congestion occurs when traffic demand exceeds traffic supply. Adding more lanes increases supply, but then induced demand inevitably also rises to meet the available supply, and we're back to square one.

There are two other approaches to solving this problem: decrease demand, or make the supply more efficient. Good bike (and transit!) infrastructure can do both. They offer more viable alternatives for people wanting to travel around the city, instead of pouring money into catering to the least efficient mode of transportation. It also repurposes the same land use with greater efficiency.
Imagine that we have, say, 30 meters between facing buildings on opposite sides of the road along Bloor St W. 15% of that is taken up by each sidewalk, 15% by two bike lanes, and the remaining 70% is made up of two rows of parking spots, two traffic lanes in either direction, and a shared turning lane.
To me, any street classified as a minor or major arterial road by the City of Toronto should _not_ have any parking on it. Why dedicate 20% of your roadway to something that moves exactly O people per hour? Eliminate those, and replace them with transit priority lanes while leaving bike lanes and sidewalks intact. There are still at least three traffic lanes available, but the capacity of the exact same stretch of road has now increased by 50-100%.
Bloor St would thus be usable by all modes of transport: on foot, by bike, in cars, surface transit, and subway. It is the logical choice, but for many who grew up in our heavily car-centric society, they can only ever envision driving anywhere and everywhere.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Going viral is a toxic cesspool. “My name is Erika. Our baby is Anastasia. My husband is Ramses. Before you decide what our marriage looks like, I would like you to hear from the woman you’re defending.” themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...

themomoftheyear.substack.com

I’m the Mom in That Viral Giants Clip. Let Me Tell You About My Husband.

You saw me carrying our baby and food. There was more happening in our family that night.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#BikeTO "My gut feeling is that we might have more riders than last month (which was just over 800), but I don't think we got 25% more to break 1000. We may have gained some riders on the way, and this footage was taken before leaving High Park." - Brain Tao youtu.be/rDmu7yBGvwU?...

youtu.be

Critical Mass rider count (Sep 25 2026)

YouTube video by Brian Tao

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Reposted by Lanrick Bennett

Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

priorities.

white text on fuchsia

It would be really fucking great if we prioritized housing for humans the way we do housing for cars.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Not Toronto, but peak car brain complaint. Just park legally or don't drive.

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"How do you build complete communities on Toronto's waterfront? In Episode 1 of The Next Wave, @waterfrontoronto.bsky.social 's Meg Davis, Chief Dev Officer, & Renée Gomes, SVP, Development, talk about how recent milestones at Quayside and Ookwemin Minising..." www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7e1...

youtube.com

The Next Wave of Housing

YouTube video by Waterfront Toronto

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"Want to know how many people are biking at nearly any intersection in the City of Toronto & how flows have changed over time? Here is a nifty new free/public tool where you can click & compare bike counts and trends at any location over the past 20+ years!" - @safestreetsto.bsky.social #OpenData

Want to know how many people are biking at nearly any intersection in the City of Toronto AND how flows have changed over time? Traditional bike counters are limited, but there is another way.

Multi-modal Turning Movement Counts (TMCs) have been available on #OpenData some time, but the .csv tables are highly complex so it's hard to combine and compare counts over time ... but not any more...

Here is a nifty new free/public tool where you can click and compare bike counts and trends at any location over the past 20+ years!

TIP: If you click the pink 'bikes' mode in legend under the map you can filter the charts to show only bike counts over time such as this example for Bloor and Bay. You can also subset the data for peak hours only which gives you a way to compare older 8-hour counts along with more recent 14-hr counts.

TRY IT HERE: https://t.co/azej9LuStd

Big Thanks to Isaac Berman for his public service in creating these tools! Check out his bike share counts, and many other dashboards on his 'hobby' website: https://lnkd.in/gVUb8FXw

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Trees and Plant Life! Welcome to @thewaroncars.bsky.social No humans were injuried in the destruction of this planet killing Hummer. Cc: @greenpeaceca.bsky.social @davidsuzukifdn.bsky.social @toenviro.bsky.social

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is #TorontoDanforth “Attending your first Critical Mass? Not sure what to expect? Intimidated because this is your first CM? Looking for some friendly faces to ride with? Join us at bikeSauce (341 Broadview Av, south of Gerrard St E) from 4:30 pm onwards today! We roll out at 5:30 pm SHARP!”

Illustration of multiple bike riders on hills

JOIN THE
BIKESAUCE
CONTINGENT
Critical Mass!

Cycling in Toronto
...
Brian Tao • 46m • gi
Attending your first Critical Mass?
Not sure what to expect? Intimidated because this is your first CM? Looking for some friendly faces to ride with?
Join us at bikeSauce (341 Broadview Av, south of Gerrard St E) from 4:30 pm onwards today!
We roll out at 5:30 pm SHARP!
X
* FRIENDS! We can't wait for our BikeSauce contingent at Critical Mass this Friday!
We'll have music of. and bubbles
and fairy
lights * and protest signs - and the bestest of VIBES (
• Want to make a quick protest sign? We'll have already-painted blank cardboard panels for you.
• We roll out at 5:30pm SHARP. We want to arrive at High Park before CM sets off at 6:30pm.
• Want to meet us at High Park? Look for a cargo bike with loud music and flag.
• Bring water and snacks! Bring lights and warm clothing!

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Yup! "His transparency with the New York Times was welcome. An equal measure of transparency at home would be similarly welcomed." - @thestar.com @susandelacourt.bsky.social

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Some gems on the alternate listing bsky.app/profile/nest...

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Reposted by Lanrick Bennett

Vision Zero Kjipuktuk-Halifax @visionzerokh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Leaders (staff, councillors, MLA's) should ask - Am I providing real Leadership to resolve a public safety crisis? In what way?

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Of note: I did get a surprising number of questions regarding the perceived advantages/disadvantages of that 'messy' process. You can make a complaint to the City Clerk's Office: Election Complaints www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u... or ask the @ombudsmanto.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/ombu...

toronto.ca

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

✅ Looking for negotiator? Hire Maxime! “An 8-year-old’s plea to reopen his Brooklyn playground helped inspire @mayor.nyc.gov New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new Renew Crew, a $2.3 million initiative aimed at speeding up repairs across New York City parks.” #FridayFlex

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

✅ DJ Martin Streek led retro 80s nights at the now-defunct Whiskey Saigon (if you know, you know) h/t @torontomike.com @tomflood.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/meli... #FridayFlex

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