NEW PUBLICATION: “Understanding the Drivers of Transit Construction Costs in Canada” in @UofTCities @CANURB

The first from me, Balthazar Crane, @ChittiMarco, and @Amer0204

So why are transit projects so expensive in Canada? Here’s what we found: 1/🧵

stateofcitiessummit.ca/files/041224_U… Data from @StephenWickens1 shows an exponential increase of transit costs in Toronto - far beyond inflation.

Toronto once had one of the most competent, low-cost project delivery regimes in the world - particularly in subway building. We’ve regressed significantly. 2/

How is it possible to view fast & frequent suburban railways as a weapon of neoliberal austerity?

I’m becoming increasingly jaded towards the NA planning/geography apparatus - an institution which has repeatedly prioritized aesthetics over material gain. 1/

https://twitter.com/tribtowerviews/status/1810100037252485203

Before the RER, Paris’ disproportionately poor suburbs were EXCLUDED from the city. In many ways, the geography of the city was almost feudal in nature:

The wealthy, urban 6-storey Haussmann city center remained far away from the stigmatized, suburban high-rise Banlieues. 2/

How did European cities get their human-centric streets and public spaces? Why could they escape the car-dependent status quo, while North America seemingly can’t?

There's one EASY trick planners and engineers don't want you to know about: Street Experiments. 🧵 1/ Often, “good urbanism” in European cities is attributed to historical, cultural, or geographic factors - things out of our control. This assumption is wrong: the built form of a city is a DIRECT result of conscious decisions made by people.
So first, let’s dispel some myths: 2/

Yglesias is absolutely correct:

It is IMPOSSIBLE to grasp the fundamentals of how to improve US transit without visiting a major Canadian city.

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1614778053187743744

This all goes back to the "lines on a map" derangement syndrome seen too often in US planning, instead of examining networks, ridership, and service.

Common comparison is Toronto vs Chicago: similar pop but JUST LINE 1 of the TTC carries more riders/day than the ENTIRE Chicago L

After being in Munich for a week, I'm now a firm believer that regional rail is the next truly transformative transport mode for cities, even more so than the highway or metro: 1/

https://twitter.com/EnglishRail/status/1545595657305587715

Regional Rail often describes a network of mainline trains that run frequent service throughout a metropolitan region. Networks can be organized in many ways, but the crucial point is that trains start from the periphery and run through the city center onto the other side. 2/