A recent advertising insert in the Winnipeg Free Press would have us believe that road expansion will solve not only homelessness, but crime and addiction, as well. Let's investigate these lofty claims.

End Highway Expansion, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 26, 2023transportation spending, active transportation, transit, End Highway Expansion, canada, Canada, Manitoba, homelessness, Homelessness, highways, highway spending, freeway widening, economic growth

Flushing Success Down the Toilet

This public toilet in Winnipeg, MB, is a case study in why city governments need to pay attention to the power of small bets.

Local Government, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 24, 2023city government, canada, Canada, public space, homelessness, Homelessness, small bets, little bets, local government, Transparent Local Accounting

The Largest Mistake of Our Generation

The proposed annual budget for Winnipeg, MB, reveals the true cost of the Suburban Experiment, and the vibrancy that the city (and so many others like it) has sacrificed in many of its neighborhoods.

Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodFebruary 22, 2023Transparent Local Accounting, suburban experiment, canada, Canada, suburban development pattern, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, budget, finance, public finance, Growth Ponzi Scheme, transportation, transportation spending

Parking, Pizza, and Apartments at the Mall

The way we build our neighborhoods in North America is nothing like making a pizza. But maybe it should be.

Incremental Housing, Top Story 2Michel Durand-WoodJanuary 31, 2023canada, Canada, Development, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, mixed use, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, incrementalism, resilience, Incremental Housing

The One Ring

Traffic engineers in Canada wear an iron pinky ring as a reminder of their responsibility to public safety. So why, then, do they routinely make street design choices that kill people every day?

Battle of the Business Titans

A small, local, mixed-use business versus a new Amazon warehouse. Let’s put these two business proposals before the Shark Tank (Winnipeg edition).

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Transit Edition)

Don’t be fooled: Winnipeg’s newly proposed “rapid transit” project is actually a road-widening project in disguise. And it aims to borrow money so the City can destroy millions of dollars of its own tax base.

Fixing the Potholes Requires Digging Deeper

When it comes to our places’ roads, we need to start asking: “How much is this gonna cost us?”

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJune 2, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, #DoTheMath, Winnipeg, canada, Canada, member story

Accidentally On Purpose

Massive property damage and pedestrians being injured (or killed) is our transportation system functioning precisely as designed. This is how it was designed to work.

Community, Member Post, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Walkability, Planning Profession, In the Neighborhood, Engineering Profession, Urban Design, dear winnipeg, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 14, 2022advocacy, canada, Winnipeg, neighborhood, city council, community

Red Light, Green Light, No Insight

When we hand our whole transportation system to engineers, we shouldn’t be surprised that the values of their profession override the values of the public. It’s time for a new paradigm.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Transportation, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 4, 2022transportation, public transportation, engineers, engineering profession, traffic engineering, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, #SlowTheCars

The Death of a Car City

Michel Durand-Wood takes us on a hilarious walk through the stages of grief as he puts a financial spike in the heart of his beloved city’s unsustainable 2050 Master Plan.

Transportation, #NoNewRoads, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJanuary 3, 2022car culture, induced demand, Winnipeg, car dependency, canada, cars, transportation, financial solvency, local government, #NoNewRoads

Holy Leaping Dollars, Batman!

Unless we start making better accounting choices today, we’ll be facing service cuts and tax increases every year going forward. …That is, until the day we can’t anymore.

Traffic Deaths Aren't "Meant to Be"

Our broken transportation system wasn’t pre-ordained; it was built out of the choices we’ve made. And we need to start making better ones if we want to fix it.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodOctober 4, 2021Safety, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, STROADS, Street Design, streets, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, transportation, #SlowTheCars

Are Traffic Engineers Sociopaths?

Why is it that traffic engineers seem to value the flow of cars over human lives and safety? Are they just sociopaths?

What To Do When Your City Won't Listen to Reason

When you’re a change-maker, there’ll be times when you’ll feel like you’re losing your mojo. Here’s how to get back on your feet to keep making your city or town a stronger place.

Community, Member Post, Neighborhoods, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodAugust 24, 2021advocacy, canada, Winnipeg, neighborhood, city council, community

Trying to help small businesses? Stop worrying about congestion.

We have to give up on on the delusion that we can have a place that is both great for business, and great at moving cars quickly. To be successful, we need to go all-in on one or the other.

Roads and Streets, Economic Development, Top Story 2Michel Durand-WoodFebruary 19, 2021Winnipeg, STROADS, local business

Oh, the Bureaucratic Inertia Outside Is Frightful

Winnipeg says how much infrastructure it can afford is based on “personal preference.” But doing the math tells a different — and alarming — story.

#DotheMath, Infrastructure, Success Story, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJanuary 28, 2021#DoTheMath, Winnipeg, infastructure, success stories, member story, impact

How I Became a Strong Townie

“I was just a guy, in love with a city, asking it to make better use of my tax dollars.”

#DotheMath, Local Government, Membership, Success Story, Member Profiles, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodNovember 18, 2020#DoTheMath, Winnipeg, local finance, local government, member drive, success stories, member testimonials

It's All Downhill from Here

The slide into municipal insolvency isn’t as fun as they made it sound. It’s time for cities to #DoTheMath.

Top Story, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Finance, #DotheMathMichel Durand-WoodJanuary 28, 2020land tax, tax revenue, Winnipeg, Canada, Growth Ponzi Scheme, budget, #DoTheMath

If It Looks Like a Debt, and It Quacks Like a Debt, Then It Must Be a…Zombie?

Maybe the one good thing you can say about municipal debt is that it’s on the balance sheets. We’re tracking it. But there is another type of future obligation that is like debt…only worse. It comes back again and again, and too many cities aren’t paying attention.

Growth Ponzi Scheme, The Infrastructure Cult, Finance, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodOctober 31, 2019Growth Ponzi Scheme, Infrastructure, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Municipal Debt, halloween, municipal finance

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