Ben MacLeod 馬志斌

@benmacleod

Hong Kong / Halifax, urban & transportation things

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Bluesky

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Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 5d

also, pick up a spacious bungalow in Colby Village with wall-to-wall carpeting for $588 down (after provincial rebate)

A 1973 newspaper ad for the Colby Village residential development outside Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. "Has the down payment been the obstacle keeping you from owning your own home? You can buy a beautiful home in Colby Village for as low as $1088 down, and all Colby Village homes qualify for the $500 tax rebate provided under this province's home owner's incentive act".

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 5d

Yesterday I came across this piece in which Halifax Transit's director expressed his belief that we'll build an efficient transit network "in a relatively short time" as soon as our politicians "decide to promote transit". May 1973.

A long article in the May 5, 1973 edition of the Mail Star titled "Transit waits, plans for day of key decision" by Ian Thompson, staff reporter. It begins: "A decision to opt for greater emphasis on transit over new road construction must be made by politicians. In the meantime all the transit authority can do is wait and plan for the day when the decision is made". Tom McKim, general manager of Halifax Transit, explains that the transit company cannot unilaterally advance construction of measures such as bus lanes. Rather, "the city has to make the move". He says that Halifax Transit is keeping abreast of transit developments in other cities and trying to apply lessons to the Halifax situation.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 14d

procedures for when the Harbour Hopper captain dies abruptly at sea

A portion of the Harbour Hopper tour script. "Captain heart attack or loss of consciousness. If something happens to the captain while driving, keep all the passengers calm and get help to remove the driver from his seat. If on the water keep the boat running so you can steer the boat in the water away from other ships and away from hitting land. If on land, stop and turn off the vehicle no matter where you are. Do not attempt to drive the boat anywhere. Immediately radio for assistance. If on water turn the radio on to channel 12 and say 'may day' three times, say the name of the boat three times 'harbour hopper', tell them your situation three times and tell them your location in the water three times."

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 14d

Please do not refer to Bishop's Landing as a condominium.

A section of the Harbour Hopper tour script for the Bishop's Landing residential-commercial development on the Halifax waterfront. It includes a list of facts such as, "It is the only residential development right on the downtown Halifax waterfront, boasting 206 luxury suites." The last bullet point says: "Please do not refer to Bishop's Landing as a condominium (luxury residence)".

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 14d

@bikehfxlobby.bsky.social I suspect many parts of the script are sponsored. Here's the one for the casino:

A page from the 2013 Harbour Hopper tour script. It says: "All guides must say the following about the casino" and has a few facts about the Casino Nova Scotia that are promotional in nature, for example "Thursday nights are Vintage Vegas nights with John Gracie singing crooner classics".

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 17d

The things I find in my parents' basement

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 27d

New mural overlooking Barrington Street in Halifax – "Common Ground" by Peru Dyer Jalea

A new park on a grassy, sloping site along Barrington Street in downtown Halifax. There are stairs and ramps that ascend the slope to a multi-use path that runs parallel to Barrington. There is a long, concrete retaining wall on one side of the path, a remnant of the demolished Cogswell Interchange. A long mural is painted on the concrete wall. The mural is composed of bold geometric shapes in bright, contrasting colours. The shapes resemble things such as plants, flowers, and sunrises, while simultaneously appearing like letters that spell out the words "COMMON GROUND".

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· 27d

It's nice out but it's gusty. The wind picked up my lunch and then the crows came for me. Thankfully some nice @hfxgov.bsky.social staff appeared with tissues.

Granville Park in downtown Halifax on a really nice morning with a bright blue sky. The park has various benches, tables and chairs, open concrete walkways and a green lawn. Ben's coffee and salad are sitting on a table in the foreground.

The same salad, but it flipped over. The small amount of salad that remained in the paper bowl is now strewn on the table.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 10

Below those weird stairs lies one of downtown Halifax's lesser-known attractions, the Barrington Street grease drums

Ben poses in a damp corner next to several blue barrels and a shopping cart with trash in it. There is a sign on the concrete wall that says "GREASE DRUMS" in bold, all-caps type.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 10

These cars are parked on the land set aside for the Granville Park fountain that was tendered for construction, but cancelled because the bids were all over budget. I took the photo with my back to the hotel lot.

Site plan from a construction tender for the "Granville Park water feature" in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. It shows the extent of a proposed water feature within Granville Park as well as the location of a temporary portable washroom structure.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 9

I kind of hate that Halifax built a new showpiece downtown park and, at the height of summer, is using much of it as car storage.

A gravel area in Granville Park in downtown Halifax. There are seven cars and a motorcycle parked there.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 8

Weee

The route from the Mackay Bridge to Windsor Street after the Windsor Street Exchange is redesigned. It involves making a 180-degree turn, driving back toward the bridge, then making another 180-degree turn through an underpass, then turning left onto Windsor.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 8

How could I overlook the traffic-island urban farm

A portion of a rendering of the redeveloped Windsor Street Exchange, which shows a lot of greenery surrounded by very wide multi-lane roadways

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jul 8

Newly released renders of Halifax's $180-million Windsor Street Exchange redevelopment, which moves into phase two of contruction today. Not much to be excited about in terms of sustainable mobility.

A computer rendering of the Windsor Street Exchange in North End Halifax as it will appear following redevelopment. A significant change is the introduction of free-flow traffic between the Mackay Bridge and the Bedford Highway, essentially turning that route into a grade-separated highway surrounded by service roads for local traffic. The rendering also shows new multi-use paths and short transit queue-jump lanes at intersections.

Another aerial view showing essentially the same thing

Another view focusing on the intersection of Windsor Street and Lady Hammond Road. The existing left turn from the Bedford Highway toward the Mackay Bridge has been replaced with a free-flowing ramp.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 28

With the heart of Kwun Tong finally closing this weekend, Hong Kong people are flooding social media with photos and memories of Yue Man Fong (裕民坊). Can't find much on Bluesky, however. Are there so few Hong Kongers here? I drew this in 2014 when I lived nearby.

A drawing of the centre of Kwun Tong, a district of Kowloon, Hong Kong, depicting a dense urban neighbourhood with a mix of low and high-rise concrete buildings, bus and minibus terminals, and street markets.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 27

I had a great time hanging out with three amazing transportation advocates / designers: @fernkhahn.com, @auguststreet.ca, and @jedwinmok.com

Fern, August, and Jedwin at June Rowlands Park in Toronto

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 27

Toronto on film

A modernist indoor swimming pool in the evening. Light is streaming through a row of high-level windows, casting a dramatic diagonal shadow against the red brick wall at the end of the pool. There are blue-and-white banners strung across the pool, which match the blue-and-white swimming lane markers.

Several levels of the Toronto Reference Library as viewed from the top of the library's central atrium. There are many people sitting at tables and working around the perimeter of the atrium.

A crosswalk on Davisville Avenue, an urban street in midtown Toronto. The street is lined with brick townhouses and tall, mid-century apartment buildings clad in white brick.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 24

New plans for the intersection of Burnside Drive and Commodore Drive in Dartmouth provide for a northward extension of the Burnside Greenway multi-use path from where it currently ends at Commodore. #BikeHfx

Construction drawing showing proposed changes at the intersection of Burnside Drive and Commodore Drive in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is a large intersection in an industrial park with right-turn slip lanes at all four corners. The drawing shows proposed new pedestrian crossings at the northern and eastern legs of the intersection, and indicates a "future multi-use path (not in contract)" extending northward from the intersection.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 22

Neoliner Origin, the world's largest sail-powered cargo ship, is in Halifax Harbour today. The masts are tiltable, allowing the ship to pass beneath the Macdonald and MacKay bridges on the way to the Fairview Cove container terminal.

A black container ship docked at a container terminal. It has two very large, white masts that have been tilted diagonally. The sails are folded up.

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 18

Covid-cautious queers of Halifax: I'm hosting this Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon for Mask4Mask at the end of the month. No prior experience with Wikipedia editing is necessary – bring yourself and a laptop. See mask4mask_queers_hfx on Instagram for details (or DM me)!

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 17

The stamps. The first day cover also notes that the building was home to Atlantic Canada's first gay bookshop:

A book of eight colourful stamps showcasing four places of importance to LGBT+ history in Canada, including The 519 community centre in Toronto, a festival called Metamorphosis in Saskatoon, Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium in Vancouver, and The Turret in Halifax.

The reverse side of Canada Post's first day cover for a postage stamp commemorating "The Turret" in Halifax. It says: "Places of Pride takes us to sites across Canada that 2SLGBTQIA+ people fought to make their own – places of celebration and freedom such as The Turret, a Halifax hub for social, political and cultural life from 1976 to 1982. Founded by the Gay Alliance for Equality (GAE) in response to hate and discrimination in non-gay social spaces, The Turret emerged as a safe and inclusive place for queer people to be themselves. Located on the third floor of 1588 Barrington Street, the venue was named after the building's spire-tipped tower and began as a one-night-only gay disco in 1976. It quickly became one of Halifax's first gay bars, hosting discos, variety and drag shows and folk nights – and fostering connection and belonging. A centre for activism, The Turret also provided space for meetings, workshops and conferences, including the 1977 Atlantic Gay Conference. The building also housed The Alternate Book Shop – the first gay bookstore in Atlantic Canada – further solidifying its importance to community members from across the region. Though it closed in 1982, The Turrent remains a powerful symbol of community, progress and belonging."

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 13

New Don Valley bridge under construction for the Ontario Line transit project (in Toronto)

Tall, concrete columns of a new rapid transit bridge under construction in Toronto's forested Don Valley. The skyline of downtown Toronto is visible in the distance.

Another view of the massive bridge columns

A wider shot of the Don Valley Parkway, a highway running through Toronto's Don Valley, adjacent to a hillside where construction for the Ontario Line's tunnel portal is taking place

A six-lane expressway running through a river valley with the skyline of downtown Toronto in the background

Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod· Jun 10

Toronto adventures continued: visited Downsview Park (gorgeous views) and VMC, which I called "Vaughan Town Centre" in an apparent faux pas. Met Blåhaj. Ate a huge takeout roti (not something I have found in Halifax before). And @chanface.bsky.social gave me a tour of Wychwood Barns!