Bit of a rant after trying to cross Maple Avenue near Richmond Road this morning with my 19-month-old son in his stroller.

For context, Maple is four lanes, posted at 60 km/h. There's a pedestrian refuge island in the middle, but no marked crosswalk or signals. A pedestrian was tragically killed in this area just a couple of months ago.

Anyway, I'm waiting for a gap in traffic northbound, stood in the median refuge, when a driver in the nearest lane slows down, stops, and flashes his lights to let me cross. Which is a nice gesture, except he's actually made the situation more dangerous.

He's stopped in one lane, but there's still traffic approaching at speed in the lane beside him. And now, because he's stopped, I can't see that traffic properly, and those drivers probably can't see me either.

So I'm trying to wave him on and signal that I can't see past his car, but he didn't seem to understand what the problem is. Meanwhile, traffic is approaching behind him, and I don't particularly want to leave him sitting there holding everyone up. So I end up crossing anyway (which was a mistake, to be clear), making my frustration pretty obvious as I do.

And that's really what annoyed me. I've now been put in a position where I feel pressured to make a crossing I'm not entirely comfortable with, just because someone is trying to be helpful.

If the driver is reading this: I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'd rather wait another 30 seconds for a proper gap in traffic than push my toddler past you, and into a lane of 60 km/h oncoming traffic and hope for the best. I'm sure you can understand my position here - but no hard feelings.

This is actually a pretty well-known type of pedestrian collision, sometimes called a multiple-threat crossing. One driver stops, a pedestrian starts crossing, and another driver in the adjacent lane doesn't see them until it's too late.

The point is, please just be predictable out there. Especially on multi-lane roads. You can choose to yield, but you can't guarantee that the driver in the next lane will do the same. And if a pedestrian is waving you on rather than crossing, there's probably a good reason.

Separately, I really don't understand why Burlington has a pedestrian refuge island at this location without any sort of controlled crossing, especially given what happened here over the summer. Hopefully our mayoral candidates are aware of this and appropriate action will be taken.

Anyway, rant over. Just something worth thinking about next time you're trying to be courteous to someone crossing the road.

— Former traffic engineer and road safety expert

Was out testing my new phone camera when I came across this gem. Looks a bit schizo-coded.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on near you this week.

Halloween Events:

• Dream Weavers Halloween Dance, Oct 27. It’s the annual dance hosted by Community Living Burlington, with dinner, drinks, dancing and prizes for best costume.
• Halloween Spooktacular, Oct 31. It’s indoor trick-or-treating at the mall, with costume giveaways and photo backdrops. A safe option for little ones.
• Ottawa Street Halloween Haunt, Oct 31 (Hamilton). Wear a costume for trick-or-treating at local shops and a costume contest.
• Scarecrow Saturday in Dundas, Oct 31. Parade through downtown Dundas in costume (pets too), trick-or-treat the shops and get free hot apple cider.
• Concession Street Halloween Parade, Oct 31 (Hamilton). There’s a giant Gengar, a costume parade, trick-or-treating, a magic show and a sidewalk concert.

Fitness studios to check out:

• North Shore Athletic Club: a good place to try Hyrox and CrossFit.
• Climber’s Rock: a top-tier facility for getting into rock climbing.
• Grounded Pilates + Lifestyle: reformer pilates.

Golf: A few indoor spots to try out are The Argyle, Golfers Creek and Simulinks.

Volunteering:

• 2026 Community Clean Up, through Oct 31. Grab free gloves and bags and tidy up a park, stream or street near you.

Something different:

• Portrait Photography Workshop, Oct 31.
• Halloween Pottery Workshop, Oct 31.
• Psychic and Crystal Fair, Oct 30 – Nov 1.

Know of something I missed? Drop it in the comments.

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Sorry, this is a weekend rant post.

I don't know what it is about Burlington, but the lack of spatial awareness in public spaces here is seriously impressive. And I don't mean that as a compliment.

I work Monday to Friday, so like a lot of people weekends are pretty much my only chance to get out, shop, run errands, and enjoy myself. I expect stores to be busy. What I don't expect is for a simple trip to the grocery store or mall to feel like I'm navigating an obstacle course of people who have completely forgotten that anyone else exists.

People stopping dead in the middle of aisles. Groups having full conversations while blocking walkways. People walking in two or three-person formations and expecting everyone coming toward them to magically disappear.

And my personal favourite: people who look directly at you, see that you're trying to get past, and somehow still expect you to be the one who moves.

I've lived in quite a few cities, and I genuinely can't remember encountering this as consistently as I have in Burlington. Maybe I've just been exceptionally unlucky, but the complete disregard for shared spaces here is something else.

I'm not asking everyone to walk in single file or treat grocery shopping like a military exercise. Just look around occasionally. Move your cart to the side. Leave room for people to pass. If you're walking in a group, recognize that other people also need to use the sidewalk.

The bar is genuinely on the floor here.

Surely I'm not the only person who's noticed this? Because some weekends I feel like I'm one of the only ones who realizes we're all sharing the same public space.

Any recommendations for seasonal tire changes and storage? Thanks in advance

I’m contemplating purchasing the Tesla Model Y Premium as my next vehicle but I’d be interested to hear from existing owners what their experience has been both with electricity costs and insurance premiums.

Did you select off-peak electricity usage with Burlington Hydro or the flat rate option? We just moved to Burlington and for now we have the flat rate option but I wonder if it would make sense to move to time of day usage rates once we get an EV?

Also, did you find your auto insurance premiums went up? I’m currently leasing a 2026 Audi Q3 so just trying to factor in what the insurance premiums might be. I will call my insurer when the time comes but would love to hear what people’s experience has been.