Category Archives: Infrastructure

Terminal Gateway: how bad decisions will affect the safety thousands of daily transit riders

Posted on July 8, 2020 by

Last month, Metrolinx held a virtual open house to present information on the progress of the Hurontario LRT project, planned work, and details on some of the stops along the line. For now, roadwork is limited to median removal and … Continue reading →

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Pylons are not enough: how to make a quiet street

Posted on June 17, 2020 by

Toronto took its time recognizing the need for pedestrian space during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t until late April that the mayor and the medical officer of health considered limited curb lane closures to accommodate crowded sidewalks in front … Continue reading →

Posted in Brampton, Cycling, Infrastructure, Roads, Toronto, Walking | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A tale of two streets: Winona Drive and Shaughnessy Boulevard

Posted on May 26, 2020 by

Earlier this month, as part of Toronto’s long-overdue response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the city introduced ActiveTO. ActiveTO includes several measures addressing the need for safe active transportation and recreation routes as summer approaches and businesses slowly reopen. Current … Continue reading →

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Room to share: How cities can make physical distancing work

Posted on April 27, 2020 by

For my latest TVO article, I spoke with Councillor Shawn Menard in Ottawa, Councillor Rowena Santos in Brampton, and Ryerson University epidemiologist Anne Harris about how cities in Ontario are reallocating road space for pedestrians and cyclists during the ongoing … Continue reading →

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How to reimagine our streets during a pandemic

Posted on April 13, 2020 by

In an interview with local news station CP24, Mayor John Tory said that the city was considering implementing one-way directional traffic on city sidewalks as part of a response to COVID-19. This idea was considered as a measure to ensure … Continue reading →

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One hundred years of Ontario’s provincial highways

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

On February 26, 1920, Ontario’s provincial highway network was born. That year, 16 highways were established across southern Ontario, between the Ottawa and Detroit Rivers. These highways, previously maintained by townships and counties, connected the province’s largest cities and provided … Continue reading →

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Viva Rapidways: hurry up and wait

Posted on February 6, 2020 by

A broken system When York Region Transit was formed in 2001, it promised great things for the large, growing suburban region north of Toronto. It amalgamated four local transit systems, and took over local services provided by GO Transit, and … Continue reading →

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Deadly by design: Supertest Road

Posted on January 28, 2020 by

On Tuesday, January 21, a 26-year-old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a tractor-trailer at the corner of Supertest Road and Alness Street in North York. According to police, the truck driver was making a right turn … Continue reading →

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Zero vision in suburban Toronto

Posted on November 25, 2019 by

Though the city of Toronto has made some progress towards safer streets recently, the lack of police enforcement of traffic laws, the reluctance to spend serious money on road redesign, and the attitudes of some city officials continue to be … Continue reading →

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O-Train impressions: this is what LRT looks like

Posted on October 4, 2019 by

Confederation Line train approaching Tremblay Station Last weekend, I visited Ottawa to check out the new Confederation Line LRT. Canada’s newest rapid transit line, delayed by two years, finally opened on Saturday, September 14. It is the second LRT to … Continue reading →

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