Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Remember my post from a few weeks ago about “planners on bikes getting coffee?” Well it happened. That’s the potential of blogging and Twitter. (I sold $TWTR too early.)
Here is the selfie to prove it:

Jason Thorne and I met up with Gil Meslin and Liam Hanebury (Liam needs Twitter) of Artscape and they toured us around a few of their projects, including one of their first artist live/work projects on Queen West.
I do, however, have to confess that we didn’t have any coffee. I can’t drink coffee in the evening because it keeps me up at night. I already have too many things on my mind.
Trying to hold a group conversation on a bike is also not as easy as talking in a car, but I would still label the inaugural session a success, even if I was posing as a planner without a bicycle helmet.
If any of you have any suggestions for the next meet-up or I would like to join, drop me/us a line on the Twitter machine.
Over the weekend, Jason Thorne, who is the General Manager of Planning and Economic Development at the City of Hamilton, tweeted this out. He said, if Jerry Seinfeld can do Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, then he was going to do Planners On Bikes Getting Coffee. And that’s exactly what he did in Barrie with their Chief Planner, Andrea Bourrie.
I immediately responded by asking: Is this really a thing you are doing? Because if not, it is something you should absolutely start. He was kidding but I think the response he received on Twitter got him reconsidering if he should make it a thing. I think this is a great idea, and so I hope he does consider it. If you agree, maybe send him a tweet.
I have a GoPro, gimbal stabilizer, and a bicycle. So if this doesn’t become a thing, maybe there needs to be a Developers On Bikes Getting Coffee.
Remember my post from a few weeks ago about “planners on bikes getting coffee?” Well it happened. That’s the potential of blogging and Twitter. (I sold $TWTR too early.)
Here is the selfie to prove it:

Jason Thorne and I met up with Gil Meslin and Liam Hanebury (Liam needs Twitter) of Artscape and they toured us around a few of their projects, including one of their first artist live/work projects on Queen West.
I do, however, have to confess that we didn’t have any coffee. I can’t drink coffee in the evening because it keeps me up at night. I already have too many things on my mind.
Trying to hold a group conversation on a bike is also not as easy as talking in a car, but I would still label the inaugural session a success, even if I was posing as a planner without a bicycle helmet.
If any of you have any suggestions for the next meet-up or I would like to join, drop me/us a line on the Twitter machine.
Over the weekend, Jason Thorne, who is the General Manager of Planning and Economic Development at the City of Hamilton, tweeted this out. He said, if Jerry Seinfeld can do Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, then he was going to do Planners On Bikes Getting Coffee. And that’s exactly what he did in Barrie with their Chief Planner, Andrea Bourrie.
I immediately responded by asking: Is this really a thing you are doing? Because if not, it is something you should absolutely start. He was kidding but I think the response he received on Twitter got him reconsidering if he should make it a thing. I think this is a great idea, and so I hope he does consider it. If you agree, maybe send him a tweet.
I have a GoPro, gimbal stabilizer, and a bicycle. So if this doesn’t become a thing, maybe there needs to be a Developers On Bikes Getting Coffee.
It is a bicycle light – by a London-based company called Blaze – that forward projects a bicycle symbol 6m in front of you as you ride. It also has a really bright white light.
They will be (or have been) installed on London’s entire bike-share fleet and they are currently being piloted in New York City. Here is a video of it in action.
One of the things I always watch for when I’m cycling is being in a car’s blindspot. Signalling seems to be a dying art, so you never know when someone might turn into you. If this light is able to project in front of the car and signal to the driver that a cyclist is nearby, then I could see this being a big safety improvement. Of course, this is just one scenario where a light like this might be helpful.
Have any of you tried it?
Image: Blaze
It is a bicycle light – by a London-based company called Blaze – that forward projects a bicycle symbol 6m in front of you as you ride. It also has a really bright white light.
They will be (or have been) installed on London’s entire bike-share fleet and they are currently being piloted in New York City. Here is a video of it in action.
One of the things I always watch for when I’m cycling is being in a car’s blindspot. Signalling seems to be a dying art, so you never know when someone might turn into you. If this light is able to project in front of the car and signal to the driver that a cyclist is nearby, then I could see this being a big safety improvement. Of course, this is just one scenario where a light like this might be helpful.
Have any of you tried it?
Image: Blaze
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