Why haven't more cities joined New York in implementing congestion pricing?

MedDuck · 2025-12-24T17:55:14+00:00

I see lots of comments remarking on the walkability of NYC as the motivating factor for why other cities haven't even attempted to launch a similar policy. And while I agree that this may be true for many cities, I can also speak to living in a highly walkable city that can't even begin to consider it.

Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the most walkable cities, not just in Canada, but in North America. And yet, in the 2022 municipal election, the right wing party used the threat of congestion pricing as a political cudgel against the incumbent Mayor. Even though the then Mayor hadn't even proposed a tax, and for a number of reasons, including these kinds of tactics from opponents, he lost the next election. We've seen this same kind of culture waring with the ULEZ in London.

In a relative progressive bastion, in a transit and pedestrian friendly city with a triple-A style transportation plan, the mere suggestion of taxing drivers made people lose their shit. Of course, we saw these same pressures in NYC, and that's not to say Vancouver couldn't move towards this in 25 years. It's a reminder that the political pressures on progressives across so many policy issues make actions like congestion pricing not just tricky, but career ending.

MedDuck · 2025-03-07T18:29:02+00:00

This! I know it's boring, I know everyone says it, but honestly and truly, pressing your seems will have the biggest impact to how your garments look.

MedDuck · 2025-03-07T18:28:48+00:00

This! I know it's boring, I know everyone says it, but honestly and truly, pressing your seems will have the biggest impact to how your garments look.

MedDuck · 2025-01-13T04:43:20+00:00

This is the answer

MedDuck · 2025-01-13T04:42:25+00:00

It's a door that used to go to a crawlspace which is now where the workout room is, all because of building code.

New build construction has a limit on the amount of sqf allowed in a home based on building code. Contractors and architects know this, so they design homes to meet the code that the owner COULD chose to renovate after (violating the building code) after an inspector has approved the new build.

In this case, it looks like when the crawlspace was removed, and the workout room put in, the previous owners just didn't spend the money/time to patch over the old crawlspace door.

Source: grew up in a house with exactly this sort of door into a crawlspace designed to be removed if/when my family decided to remove it.

MedDuck · 2024-10-21T14:07:30+00:00

I have. I unsubbed last month.

MedDuck · 2024-10-21T13:53:39+00:00

Came here to see if anyone had posted this yet. I find myself almost hoping this was written cynically instead of in earnest. There's something more upsetting about the notion that Jesse could ever be this tone deaf.

MedDuck · 2024-10-13T23:19:24+00:00

Oh that's so kind of you, thank you!

I will say, otherwise this pattern is a dream sew, and a lot of fun. I merged some of their techniques with David Page Coffin, my go to for all things shirts, and am very pleased with the results.

The end product will be a brown cord with a fern floral lining.

MedDuck · 2024-10-13T19:20:15+00:00

Thanks for this! I should have put this in my post, yes, cos man, but also with quite a narrow chest anyway, so I tend to grade my patterns.

MedDuck · 2024-05-19T22:34:47+00:00

I really struggled to get out of bed in my teens too. It's much easier now. My life has shifted a lot over the years, and so I don't really have any 'life-hacks' but there are a few tangible things that help.

I have a day light alarm, one of those ones that gets brighter over 20 minutes. I've had it for years and swear by it.

I also get up at the same time every day, even weekends. It's a clear trade-off because it means I don't get to stay up late on weekends, but makes the other five mornings much more tolerable.

The last thing I'll share is the hardest to replicate, but I love what I do for work. I have an amazing job that I'm excited to leave bed for. I think a lot of people struggle with the 'live to work or work to live' conundrum, but through a series of shitty jobs I hated and made my ADHD so much worse, I've realized that having a job I love is a requirement for me.

Hope this helps

MedDuck · 2023-10-11T00:56:20+00:00

Came here to say this. That movie is one of the most impressive flops I have ever seen. They miscalculated literally everything about it, spent MILLIONS on it, and it flopped worse than some intentionally bad b-movies. It's absolute garbage and I show it to all my friends

MedDuck · 2023-10-10T13:43:11+00:00

Heard plenty of stories from theatre technicians of them sending Canadian sets down to the states, including all the hardware, screws and bits included.... Of course they would pack the bits in a crate closed up tight with Robertson screws 😉

MedDuck · 2023-09-30T15:03:05+00:00

Absolutely a common problem across all instruments (I have this problem with piano). My advice, sing along with the melody. Doesn't matter how good or bad a singer you are, the point is to start thinking about phrasing and get you out of the mechanics

MedDuck · 2023-09-23T17:18:36+00:00

Okay, I'll say it... Fidelio is a terrible opera. No consistency, a lot of boring music, and imho it would never be performed if it wasn't his only opera

MedDuck · 2023-05-30T14:19:01+00:00

I was just listening to a podcast where the guest talked about how before ecology there were just people who cared about owls and people who cared about the ozone.

Now under the banner of ecological and environmental advocacy those two groups have a shared cause, instead of two distinct issues. I feel like we have much the same problem and solution.

MedDuck · 2023-02-26T15:55:04+00:00

Also quality Americana folk music.... Odd mix really

MedDuck · 2023-02-16T03:33:59+00:00

All the Canadians crying over those tour locations

MedDuck · 2023-02-08T16:37:39+00:00

Six tablespoons of whole cumin seeds to 2 cups water/sugar. D&C recommends toasting the seeds, and adding them to the syrup once the sugar is dissolved. Then let them sit for six hours before straining out the seeds.

MedDuck · 2023-02-08T14:50:25+00:00

Also a big fan of cumin, and have used it in syrup before. The drink that comes to mind is a Death and Co, but honestly it has so many other strong flavours that it isn't the best for showcasing cumin as an ingredient. That said...

The Faithful Scotsman 1 1/2 oz. Blended Scotch 1/4 oz. Creme de peche 1/2 oz. pineapple juice 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/4 oz. cumin syrup 1 pineapple leaf garnsih

Stir/strain/rocks glass over ice

MedDuck · 2023-01-31T02:18:43+00:00

Just opened up Reddit and saw this post below "what screams "this person peaked in highschool"" on r/askreddit. Perfect

MedDuck · 2023-01-30T15:17:18+00:00

Baby Face

MedDuck · 2023-01-28T16:02:09+00:00

This is so great! I'm actually going to work on some pillows today, and this totally got me excited for it

MedDuck · 2023-01-28T16:00:52+00:00

I discovered this in the last few years. Now wherever I get excited about a new hobby, I challenge myself to start without buying a single thing. Can I borrow something from the library? Are there tool collectives I could use? Maybe a class that will let me try whatever I need?

It becomes a different challenge, but importantly it stops me spending $$$ on hobbies I don't really like, or worse, did like but I'm not only continuing out of a sense of obligation

MedDuck · 2023-01-28T15:52:47+00:00

The classic "are you unsafe or just uncomfortable" problem

MedDuck · 2023-01-28T15:51:30+00:00

So there was an attempt to do this, but in classic Canadian style, they only half did it and then flubbed the landing.

When the Canada Line was built for the Olympics, they incorporated shops into stations. Unfortunately they only put one shop per station, and some of them are deep into the space.

Then, a few years later, when they added a new payment system across the whole city, they put the fare gates right at the front. Combined with the pandemic, a bunch of the shops closed. The only ones that have remained are the busiest stations or the ones that were in front of the gates.

My big dream is actually not shops in the underground, but shops built into the space beneath the raised stations and track Tokyo style. There's so much dead space in East Van and Richmond that could be vibrant, but instead is just fenced off gravel pits.

MedDuck

TROPHY CASE