The battle being waged by Toronto's first-term mayor Rob Ford over the future of transit in the city is getting uglier by the day, as the Toronto Transit Commission voted Tuesday to fire chief general manager Gary Webster.
On its opinion pages, the Toronto Star bashes mayor Ford for the very public removal of the chief general manager of the city's transit commission, who had the audacity to, "express a professional opinion at odds with Ford's reckless demand for more subways - a transit option that the city can't afford and doesn't need."
Despite the pleas of Premier Dalton McGuinty to solve the transit squabble and the objections of a multitude of area officials, "With the confidence of a sleepwalker, utterly unaware of surrounding reality, the mayor blithely insists Toronto must build subways. A solid majority of Toronto city council has voted against his plan. A host of credible transit analysts - not just Webster - have found Ford's vision wanting."
The good news for residents of Toronto is that it appears the resurrected plans for Transit City will likely proceed without Ford's support.
FULL STORY: Mayor Rob Ford hurts the TTC by unjustly firing Gary Webster as general manager.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association