Rob Ford plans to call city councillors - including the ones he doesn't always see eye-to-eye with - into his office over the next few days for a series of brainstorming sessions, reports the Globe and Mail. The move could be an olive branch to the group of councillors - dubbed the mighty middle - who have voted against the mayor in recent key votes and helped steer the agenda away from Ford's own vision.

So we know drivers hate commuting in Toronto, but what are we going to do about it? After a weekend poll by the Toronto Star confirmed support for a transit tax to fund new infrastructure, John Lorinc at Spacing asks what needs to happen to get the wheels moving (pun intended). A list of transit projects the tax could fund is high on the list of priorities. The cause also needs a champion - but who will step up?

The Toronto Board of Health says cutting the speed limit to 30 kilometres per hour on residential streets and 40 everywhere else - among a host of other changes - would improve conditions for walkers and cyclists, reduce injuries in accidents and improve the overall health of the city, reports The Grid. Chances of this ending up as fodder in the "war on cars"? 100%. Would you support a reduced speed limit if it made it to city council?

A document posted on the TTC website suggests the Commission is looking into a fleet of 60-foot articulated busses (bendy busses to you and me) to serve some of its busiest routes. The tender sent to seven vehicle manufacturers, including Metrolinx, seems to be courting offers for several of the high-capacity machines. Let's hope this works out better than London's first fleet of flexible, super-capacity people movers. (via Reddit)

This week's Retrontario blast from the past takes us to the Toronto Islands in the 1970s, a time when a kid could reasonably expect to ride a horse, a giant plastic swan, a car on rails, a miniature train, a rowing boat, a pleasure cruiser, a swing set, a gondola and a ferry all in a single day. Those were the days...

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Blue Jays sweep away Royals [Globe and Mail]
• Raptors fall to Bucks 92-86 as Jennings nets 25 points [CTV]
• Michelle Yu apologizes for mysterious disappearance [National Post]
• 'Sweet' dog killed in violent spear attack in Richmond Hill [The Star]
• Ontario election averted after 'tax the rich' deal struck [CBC]

Photo: "Fedora Noir" by GregoryIV in the BlogTO Flickr pool.