Chad Leddy

We should start improving and expanding passenger rail while Alto is being planned, and build better services outside central Canada.

Sadly, the pending (possible) HSR build-out seems to have drawn the (already limited) attention to improving intercity public transportation in Canada away from regular rail, meaning Canadians can look forward to 10+ years of further system degradation before any prospect of improvement

In a way, it’s worse than that in housing, as legacy homeowners have used their political power to tax new housing construction thru development fees, both lowering their property taxes & increasing the value of their assets.

It’s as if OPEC had the power to levy fees on competitor’s new fields.

Sigh, I’m sure you’re right but too bad.

I suppose there are less overt ways to do this - banning urban development charges above nominal amounts and abolishing land transfer taxes, and shifting those burdens onto general property taxes, would go a long way towards encouraging folks to downsize.

What folks often fail to realize is that in our biggest cities, homeownership skews old. Real old.

The highest rate of homeownership in the City of Toronto, by age category is among... people over the age of 85. (Census 2021)

Sad that there are so many homes with empty bedrooms and yet so may couples putting off having families as they can’t afford a larger home

I wonder if some combination of policies like higher property taxes with discounts per child & moving allowances / rent incentives for 75+ homeowners might help

Platform doors make financial sense

A picture of PEW poll on global attitude survey, saying the % who rate the morality and ethics of people in their country as good vs bad, where the US has the worst rankings and Canada the best

Americans: we live in a fallen state—embroiled by sin, cheating, lying, and evil. You cannot trust anyone, not even those who claim to know you best

Canadians: I love my neighbors and my friends!

Wow - you warned it was shocking but even then, I was actually shocked to see what our fellow Canadians think of each other (laudatory)

Single stair means more homes and fewer fire alarms

(which as you say means they get taken more seriously)

Macron also expressing support for Spain. EU being seen to show strong support for a member facing trade coercion makes a trade war less likely. euobserver.com/205567/eu-co...

EU leaders standing up against coercion, you love to see it bsky.app/profile/euco...

When you put it this way, society is paying $3,000+ per month NOT to house people. Makes no sense. Let’s keep building supportive housing for folks who need help. It’s both the right thing to do and also frugal!

Photo of CANMNT defender Sam Adekugbe jumping in a snowbank after Canada goal

One of the best!

Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton had grass until ~2009, could probably put temporary grass over turf again in a pinch, hosted Mexico in world cup qualifying in Nov 2021, was called Iceteca due to the cold 🤣

Fine but if Church street gets pedestrianized you still get a commemorative plaque

Trump says U.S. will cut off all trade with Spain Spain had refused to let U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran

Spain is a core EU member, part of the customs union, and will enjoy the benefit of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument designed to shield members from trade blackmail, so this could provoke a wider trade war in the unlikely event the US does not TACO
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/f79388c...

A tram junction in Milan showing the use of double point switches even on old cobbled track surfaces

Baffling that they continue to install obsolete equipment that badly limits speed and thus reduces service levels and increases costs.

Even other very old systems like Milan (here shown running 100 year old trams) use double-point switches.

This procurement makes zero sense and harms the TTC.

Heck, we should have born-here Canadians publicly affirm too - offer to put it at the end of a Birthright-style trip for young Canadians, send em on a trip across Canada, then to Vimy or Ortona, etc., then bring em home and have them swear the oath with new Canadians

Welcome!

Premier Ford should direct his govt to build hospitals, fix our schools, and end punitive taxes on new housing and leave the mayor to worry about attracting convention-goers

Jury nullification but by the CoA via NIMBY homeowners

There’s an argument the track should curve over into the curb lane for stops, protected by barriers, we just can’t trust 100% of drivers will stop, particularly given virtually no enforcement

Sad to see Halifax - which had been staying out of the way and letting the market build homes - moving to hike development charges.

Municipal government by, of, and for legacy homeowners, dedicated to the proposition that property taxes should be kept down by taxing new home building, is wrong.

This can be easily done in 3 seconds or less even with a bridge integrated into the vehicle door, as per this clip from Zurich

If the floor level at entry varies less 3-4 cm then platforms whose height is in the middle of that range should be navigable as level by the majority of people with wheelchairs, strollers, etc.

Worth re-visiting as faster boarding and door closing could save 30 to 60+ seconds over 10+ stops

Queensway used to be ballasted track prior to a rebuild with poured concrete, I wonder if that might be the cheapest solution as this avoids the pavement cracking issue. Still, if use by emergency vehicles only (other than trams) is foreseen, seems like asphalt might suffice (good enough for roads)

That makes sense, I meant more for areas like the Queensway ROW, or the proposed waterfront east ROW. Be nice to see some experimenting with lower cost materials if these are safe and in use elsewhere.

No of course. I meant above the foundation slab, adjacent to the rail itself