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About me Design Infrastructure Walking

Live from the CBC mothership

Yesterday, on Wednesday, May 7, I had the privilege of appearing on the long-running CBC Radio program Metro Morning. Though I have been interviewed on the radio a few times before – generally about pedestrian safety or transit issues – this was the first time I was asked to come into the studio. I spoke […]

Categories
Infrastructure Ontario Roads Transit

BRT comes to London

London’s rapid transit project, scaled down due to cost-cutting and local opposition, has serious challenges that will have to be overcome for it to become successful.

Categories
Infrastructure Roads Toronto Walking

Dysfunction junction: permanent obstructions at Union Station

Toronto can, and should, do better than the ugly and intrusive new barriers that are being installed around Union Station.

Categories
Canada Infrastructure Intercity Rail Ontario Transit Travels

North by northwest: a short winter jaunt

Many people choose to go south for the winter. I went north, taking trains and buses through Northern Ontario and Manitoba.

Categories
Infrastructure Toronto Transit Walking

A small step towards better wayfinding at Union Station

New elevator directory signage is a notable improvement, but there’s far more to be done to make Union Station an easy place to navigate.

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Infrastructure Intercity Rail Toronto Transit Walking

Dysfunction Junction: another Union Station malfunction

Union Station remains very difficult to get around using a mobility device, especially when traveling between UP Express and the TTC Subway.

Categories
Development Infrastructure Transit Travels Urban Planning

Another American streetcar, another disappointment

The DC Streetcar is another example of pretty much everything wrong with modern streetcar implementations.

Categories
Cycling Infrastructure Ontario Roads

Crossride of death: how an Ajax girl was killed riding her bike

On Thursday, November 7, a 13-year-old girl was struck and killed by the driver of a Hyundai Santa Fe (a midsized crossover SUV) at Rossland Road and Stevensgate Drive. She was riding on a multiuse path, crossing the street properly in a crossride.

Multiuse paths are a popular form of cycling infrastructure, especially in the suburbs. Poor design and bad driver behaviour have made them dangerous at intersections, and should be fixed.

Categories
Infrastructure Ontario Politics Roads Toronto Transit

Deadcatting: Doug Ford’s big dig

On Wednesday, September 25, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with transportation minister Pradmeet Sarkaria, announced that the provincial government would fund a feasibility study on building a new highway tunnel under Highway 401 from Peel Region to Durham Region, along with an unspecified new transit facility. Earlier this week, Doug Ford exclaimed that those living […]

Categories
Infrastructure Roads Toronto Transit

A little more coordination, please?

Getting around Downtown Toronto can be an exercise in frustration, whether you drive, bike, take transit, or drive. Though necessary transit and road construction projects are the cause of much of the congestion, driver behaviour, poor management, and a lack of coordination between various municipal and provincial agencies have only added to the traffic quagmire. […]