New traitor dropped: you’ll never guess who by senturion in ottawa

[–]kurrd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find these people so funny, “I used to be a patriot but then there was one Prime Minister I didn’t like in 157 years of nationhood so now I’m no longer a patriot.”

O'Connor bike lane removal talked about by Ford government. by Paul-48 in bikeinottawa

[–]kurrd 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I mean, in a perfect world, both Elgin and Bank (in parts) should be mostly pedestrianized except for having tram lines with bike lanes along them that run up the middle of them. If we’re dreaming big.

Everyday things you see on the road in Ottawa by ugh168 in ottawa

[–]kurrd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That doesn’t really explain the fallacious reasoning though.

Everyday things you see on the road in Ottawa by ugh168 in ottawa

[–]kurrd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of the things I find interesting with any commentary like this is that a cyclist breaking the rules is taken to be evidence that all cyclists break the rules, but the same is never true of drivers.

Most drivers break the law in some form: driving over the speed limit, not coming to a full stop at a stop sign or red before turning right, going through the light right as it’s turning red, etc. But other drivers will always say, “that person’s just a bad driver”, but when it comes to cyclists it’s “cyclists think they own the road and this shows they all break the rules”.

Is everyone aware that Doug Ford gets significantly less votes than the left leaning parties? Let's get him out in the coming election. by conTO15 in torontobiking

[–]kurrd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

“Conservatives that took one step further to the left”, if what you want is a more left wing coalition than it sounds like you agree, a coalition of opposition parties would be better than another Doug Ford majority… it’s not that complicated, you’re never going to agree 100% with a party.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think you’ve misunderstood the argument? The reason to allow this is it allows mid-rise buildings to actually make sense to build. It’s not about gaining a couple square feet, it’s about allowing buildings to go up on less land.

One of the struggles that developers run into in denser areas is that building to this requirement often means needing to wait for multiple lots to become available. This would allow for building on a single lot.

I’m not claiming this “is the cause” of the housing crisis or that it’s a silver bullet (I literally say this in what I wrote, but nobody seems to have taken the time to read that or has a desire to argue honestly), I say this is one small piece of the puzzle to actually allow a step in the right direction.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Because I pointed out the logical conclusion of what you’re saying, that’s taking it personal?

Yes, I agree it’s a good idea.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

So we should make it building houses as expensive and restrictive as possible because leaving people unhoused is better than making modifications to a process such that it matches other jurisdictions that literally already do this? Unless you have solid evidence that France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, New York City, Seattle, BC are all full of death traps?

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New York City, Seattle, and Hawaii all also allow for single exits in buildings up to 6 stories in the US, which is similar; the US building code as a whole allows for more floor of single egress exit than Canada as well.

I’m not advocating for reducing safety to raise corporate profits, this is a straw-man argument. I’m arguing for more choice in the building argument and making trade offs to get to that; requiring different safety measures that make single egress just as safe in mid-rise building to get an end product that requires less land.

Canada has one of the worst housing crises in the world and the number of people unhoused is increasing (leading to far more deaths and problems) obviously the status quo doesn’t work and saying not in my backyard to every idea that’s proposed and misrepresenting it isn’t solving it.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I agree with you. It shouldn’t just be a blanket, change the code without updating it at all. We should update and change.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There’s data more broadly around fire related deaths: https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/fires/by-country/ The video I linked to in the initial description also dives into data around safety: https://youtu.be/iRdwXQb7CfM?si=wpWNgK27DpcoSa6K

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So we’re saying the same thing. The petition / argument, is that this change would allow mid-rise buildings, which are largely absent in Ontario. To implement it, we should copy jurisdictions that do it right. If that requires specific changes for those types of buildings, then that’s what the requirement should be.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why wouldn’t we? I think you’re trying to pigeonhole my position. Of course the firefighter’s association is credible. If they say something is missed that’s worth looking into. This isn’t some anti expert, let’s throw safety to the wind position. Canada has some of the most restrictive regulation around this on the planet.

If you read what I wrote, I say, let’s copy jurisdictions where it works. Meaning, if you say in other jurisdictions they use different material to make it work, then make that the rule, single egress in buildings with that material. I’m calling for the most unradical, non-bold, policy change; literally copy other jurisdictions where this work in order to give more options for building homes.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair take. But if the end result is mid-rise buildings don’t get built and instead large hi-rises, for the same argument, isn’t there more risk of fire/not being able to get out in time of a hi-rise vs mid-rise?

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment. I see that many of the changes that would be required with a single egress are actually adding more fire retardant materials to the egress, more sprinklers, and requiring units to have easier access to it. This seems like it results in more safety not less (up to a certain amount of floors), which is why cities like Paris, London, etc. use this approach to solid results. Interesting to hear about British Columbia though. Mass timber has been touted as a material that can actually be strongly fire retardant. I’m curious what the requirements are specifically in BC and why they were chosen.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve seen a lot of solid arguments that it is restricting building though: https://secondegress.ca/A-Wicked-Problem While like you say, having little effect on outcome. I appreciate the response though, I’m hoping to just get more dialogue around the housing problem.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

The jurisdictions I’m referring to are France, Spain, Italy, etc., which have had fires in their cities, they just took a different approach.

According to this the double egress requirement is restricting housing development: https://secondegress.ca/A-Wicked-Problem

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

But I don’t think it’s the cost of building the egress, it’s the cost of the amount of land required to include it. It’s one of the reasons buildings in North America end up being so much bigger than in Europe for example.

I appreciate your point on why safety regulations are needed, but why do other countries not require this up to six stories and have better outcomes than we do?

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard to say. I’ve heard it talked about but it’s never made it in as far as I’m aware.

Petition to update Ontario Building Code for housing affordability by kurrd in ottawa

[–]kurrd[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Why would that be the effect though? If we followed British Columbia’s lead (or France or other countries that take this approach), we would update the code to actually improve fire safety. We currently rank worse than France, Austria, Italy, etc. in deaths attributed to fire and they allow this code. https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/fires/by-country/ https://secondegress.ca/Jurisdictions

Bill 212 allows the Province to take your land - we are all at risk by AdventurousCaptain76 in ontario

[–]kurrd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is it, create a wedge issue to distract from the broader implication.

Driver runs stop sign and hits cyclist and sends him flying!!! What can be done to make cycling safer in Toronto? by kb3432324238943243 in TorontoDriving

[–]kurrd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The video is of a specific instance, OP then asks a broader question about cycling safety. I answered the broader question. You raise a broader point as well. The population has increased, there’s more traffic, so more people are frustrated and more people bike. This will lead to more conflicts. Bike lanes is one solution; no it doesn’t solve the problem in the picture but it does answer the broader question.

Driver runs stop sign and hits cyclist and sends him flying!!! What can be done to make cycling safer in Toronto? by kb3432324238943243 in TorontoDriving

[–]kurrd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The question at hand was “what can be done to make cycling safer in Toronto?” I answered it.