Kate Allen

Nov 13, 2024 | thespec.com | Kate Allen

It’s often said that numbers don’t lie. But do they bike to work, or do they drive? Since the Ford government announced plans to limit new bike lanes and “review” some of Toronto’s existing ones, one number has received a lot of scrutiny: how many Torontonians actually cycle. Wildly different statistics have been being tossed out. Those who go looking could come up with numbers as low as one per cent, or as high as 70 per cent, depending on the source.

Nov 13, 2024 | thestar.com | Kate Allen

It’s often said that numbers don’t lie. But do they bike to work, or do they drive? Since the Ford government announced plans to limit new bike lanes and “review” some of Toronto’s existing ones, one number has received a lot of scrutiny: how many Torontonians actually cycle. Wildly different statistics have been being tossed out. Those who go looking could come up with numbers as low as one per cent, or as high as 70 per cent, depending on the source.

Oct 28, 2024 | thestar.com | Kate Allen

That morning, the forecasts were unremarkable. By lunch, the Don Valley Parkway would be underwater. After Toronto was deluged by flash flooding in July, officials said they were surprised and overwhelmed by the storm, with dangerous results: motorists were trapped and nursing home residents in Mississauga had to be rescued by raft. A new research hub hopes to help.

Oct 27, 2024 | thestar.com | Kate Allen |David Rider

Sitting in a long snake of vehicles inching across the Bloor Street West bridge over the Humber River, a fuming driver can’t help but eye the nearby empty bike lane. There’s no obvious reason for this eastbound gridlock that includes TTC buses and a construction truck. Reaching South Kingsway, it’s apparent that at least some delay is from traffic being halted to let the truck rumble into a condo construction site.

Oct 26, 2024 | thestar.com | Kate Allen

On a recent morning at the Toronto Zoo, a Massasauga rattlesnake named Boss needed treatment for a mouth abscess. Massasauga rattlers being Ontario’s only venomous snake, this was even less straightforward a procedure than it sounds. Boss the rattler, sheathed in what you might imagine a limbless straitjacket to look like — a tube — lay anesthetized on an operating table in a gleaming procedure room, as veterinarians carefully probed around its fangs.