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Infrastructure Transit Travels

Middle America’s transit oddities

In 2022, with travel restrictions eased, I had the opportunity to take several road trips throughout the Northeast and Midwestern states, from New York and Maryland to Kentucky and Michigan. Previously on this site, I wrote about my visit to Philadelphia’s Rail Park, a lesser-known, yet ambitious project to repurpose former Reading Railroad corridors in […]

Categories
Development Infrastructure Parks Travels Walking

Visiting America’s other urban railway park

On a road trip early this summer, my spouse and I paid a visit to New York and Philadelphia. In New York, we walked the famous High Line, which revitalized an abandoned elevated freight railway corridor, transforming it into a popular grade-separated walking path on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. While in Philadelphia, I made a […]

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Toronto Transit

A farewell to Toronto’s CLRV streetcars

The CLRV streetcars were the first transit vehicles I remember riding. Though the new streetcars are larger, fully accessible, and air conditioned, I will miss the CLRVs.

Categories
Transit Travels Urban Planning

Goin’ to Kansas City

Kansas City might not be at the top of many urbanists’ travel lists, it has a wonderfully restored Union Station, one of America’s few useful streetcar lines, and the world’s first shopping plaza. It’s worth a visit.

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Maps Toronto Transit

A departure from TTC wayfinding improvements

Despite many recent improvements to TTC design and wayfinding standards, two recent changes miss the mark.

Categories
Politics Toronto Transit

How TIFF lost the plot

504 King Streetcar diverting onto Spadina on Thursday, September 5 For the sixth year in a row, King Street between University and Spadina Avenues was closed for four straight days. This closure was for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) “Festival Street,” which took place between Thursday September 5 and Sunday September 8. In addition, […]

Categories
History Toronto Transit

The last run of the Rogers Road Streetcar

Westbound Rogers Road Streetcar at Old Weston Road, 1972. Photograph from Toronto Archives – Fonds 1526, File 72, Item 61 Forty-five years ago today, on Friday, July 19, 1974, the Rogers Road Streetcar made its last run. The route ran from a loop at St. Clair and Oakwood Avenue to Bicknell Loop, located on Rogers […]

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History Transit Travels

The streetcars of Hiroshima: a symbol of resilience

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (A-Bomb Dome), with modern Hiroshima rising beyond. Despite its fame, there’s so much more to the city than the memorials. My wife and I recently came back from an 18-day trip to Japan. It was my first time visiting the country. We stayed in three cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima, though […]

Categories
History Toronto Transit

The story of Toronto’s streetcar “bull’s eyes”

Replica of Toronto Railway Company streetcar #327 operates at the Halton County Radial Railway museum, with the unique glass bulbs visible below the metal “Belt Line” sign. Photo taken June 2012 In 1891, the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was created, taking over the city’s streetcar system from its predecessor, the Toronto Street Railway. The TRC […]

Categories
Infrastructure Transit Travels

The streetcar returns to Detroit – but who benefits?

After sixty-one years, streetcars have returned to Detroit’s famed Woodward Avenue. But without integration with other transit systems, its usefulness is limited.