Categories
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
Intercity Rail Maps Ontario Transit Travels

Ontario intercity transportation at the end of 2022: More choices, fewer routes

On December 7, I took a trip out to Kingston to ride the newest coach operator to arrive in Ontario: Red Arrow. A division of Pacific Western, Red Arrow is the latest carrier to stake a claim to the busy Toronto-Kingston-Ottawa route, which is now served by five private companies. Between Toronto and Ottawa, five […]

Categories
Infrastructure Transit Travels

Why the future of transit might be found in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio is probably best known as the hometown of Wilbur and Orville Wright, the two bicycle mechanics who made the first successful controlled heavier-than-air flight. The city has remained a centre of the aviation industry. The US Air Force (and its predecessors) have operated a major base in Dayton for over a century, which […]

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 […]

Categories
Infrastructure Maps Ontario Politics Roads Toronto Transit

GO Transit is broken – and other transit updates

GO Transit is broken. So far, I have seen no initiative from Metrolinx or any level of government to fix it. That should outrage all of us.

Categories
Brampton Infrastructure Politics Transit

It’ll always be the Hurontario Line to me

The “Hazel McCallion Line” might be just the first of many politically-motivated renamings of publicly-funded transit facilities.

Categories
Infrastructure Roads Transit

A welcome revision at Major Mackenize

Earlier this year, I wrote about a major malfunction at a new Viva Rapidway station near Downtown Richmond Hill. The Major Mackenzie station on Yonge Street was built one block south of the busy east-west arterial road; passengers taking Viva buses were forced to walk from Major Mackenzie Drive south to the intersection of at […]

Categories
Infrastructure Ontario Transit Urban Planning

A visit to GO Transit’s new Garage Mahal

Despite Bloomington’s modern design and environmental features, it does not support contemporary demands for sustainable development or transportation.

Categories
Brampton Ontario Politics Transit Urban Planning

How Brampton commuters are caught in the middle at Steeles

Frustrated by Metrolinx’s responses to my questions about pedestrian safety at the northern terminus of the Hurontario LRT, I submitted an Access to Information request to the provincial agency to find out more.

Categories
Ontario Transit

Why Durham Region is going the microtransit route during the pandemic – and what it means for other transit systems

Previously on this site, I expressed my skepticism about Durham Region’s commitment to improving transit service. But in the five years since, the region east of Toronto has done exactly that by creating a route grid along major corridors, fusing together a network from four separate municipal systems. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seen […]