Marcus P.
@reluctantaxe.bsky.social
Tabletop gaming enthusiast, urban planning & transit advocate, and Kamcon gaming convention organiser.
Reposted by Marcus P.
me: towers are good
them: no, we need nice 4-6 storey, human scale buildings
me: we do! let’s rezone the city so we can get 4-6 storeys everywhere
them: oh no, not like that
them: no, we need nice 4-6 storey, human scale buildings
me: we do! let’s rezone the city so we can get 4-6 storeys everywhere
them: oh no, not like that
November 27, 2025 at 3:56 AM
me: towers are good
them: no, we need nice 4-6 storey, human scale buildings
me: we do! let’s rezone the city so we can get 4-6 storeys everywhere
them: oh no, not like that
them: no, we need nice 4-6 storey, human scale buildings
me: we do! let’s rezone the city so we can get 4-6 storeys everywhere
them: oh no, not like that
Just to put into perspective the slowness of this line you can do a round trip from Bois-Franc to Gare Centrale on the REM, the same distance as the Finch LRT, before the LRT would finish a one way trip
Did I hear correctly that it will be slower and less frequent than the Finch buses?
November 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Just to put into perspective the slowness of this line you can do a round trip from Bois-Franc to Gare Centrale on the REM, the same distance as the Finch LRT, before the LRT would finish a one way trip
Reposted by Marcus P.
Vancouver needs real bus lanes! I'm convinced that they would give temendous bang for buck for improving quality of life and getting people out of traffic.
We could learn a lot from Taipei's central bus lanes. Check them out!
youtu.be/C6NXrJxx1kg?...
We could learn a lot from Taipei's central bus lanes. Check them out!
youtu.be/C6NXrJxx1kg?...
Check out Taipei's center bus lanes--Vancouver could learn a lot from them!
YouTube video by Peter Waldkirch
youtu.be
November 23, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Vancouver needs real bus lanes! I'm convinced that they would give temendous bang for buck for improving quality of life and getting people out of traffic.
We could learn a lot from Taipei's central bus lanes. Check them out!
youtu.be/C6NXrJxx1kg?...
We could learn a lot from Taipei's central bus lanes. Check them out!
youtu.be/C6NXrJxx1kg?...
It looks like Montreal is spending money on a train for the sake of having a train. At this point they should just invest the billions into bonds and use the interest to run more and better bus service and end up with a better outcome.
youtu.be/EsreQJoF3Ow?...
youtu.be/EsreQJoF3Ow?...
Montréal's $18 Billion Tram Project Is Not Good
YouTube video by CityTalk
youtu.be
November 23, 2025 at 2:07 AM
It looks like Montreal is spending money on a train for the sake of having a train. At this point they should just invest the billions into bonds and use the interest to run more and better bus service and end up with a better outcome.
youtu.be/EsreQJoF3Ow?...
youtu.be/EsreQJoF3Ow?...
Reposted by Marcus P.
since REM opened this weekend, this is all i can think about.
toronto has been building a smaller, 'lower-order' transit project that costs significantly more and is taking twice as long to complete 🫠
toronto has been building a smaller, 'lower-order' transit project that costs significantly more and is taking twice as long to complete 🫠
November 17, 2025 at 1:10 AM
since REM opened this weekend, this is all i can think about.
toronto has been building a smaller, 'lower-order' transit project that costs significantly more and is taking twice as long to complete 🫠
toronto has been building a smaller, 'lower-order' transit project that costs significantly more and is taking twice as long to complete 🫠
Reposted by Marcus P.
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
Reposted by Marcus P.
the biggest section of the REM (and imo the most important phase) opened today, basically extending a highway-median suburban branch into a full-fledged 50 km north-south metro across the montreal region
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
November 15, 2025 at 8:17 PM
the biggest section of the REM (and imo the most important phase) opened today, basically extending a highway-median suburban branch into a full-fledged 50 km north-south metro across the montreal region
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
Reposted by Marcus P.
Azalea officially turns two today, but I'm pretty sure she entered her "terrible twos" early. I've heard a lot about the "terrible twos" and what to expect from her, but I gotta say that attempting to cross the floor — twice — was not on my bingo card. 😅
November 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Azalea officially turns two today, but I'm pretty sure she entered her "terrible twos" early. I've heard a lot about the "terrible twos" and what to expect from her, but I gotta say that attempting to cross the floor — twice — was not on my bingo card. 😅
The only people that should be allowed to make the ostensibly binary technicall approval of permit and zoning compliance are municipal staff, not independent certified professionals. To do so would destroy local planning, at least according to the UMBC and the local land lift goblin
November 11, 2025 at 7:07 AM
The only people that should be allowed to make the ostensibly binary technicall approval of permit and zoning compliance are municipal staff, not independent certified professionals. To do so would destroy local planning, at least according to the UMBC and the local land lift goblin
Reposted by Marcus P.
The US political system is just baffling viewed from abroad. Utterly baffling.
November 10, 2025 at 12:03 AM
The US political system is just baffling viewed from abroad. Utterly baffling.
Reposted by Marcus P.
Reposted by Marcus P.
New post on inclusionary zoning, for my housing literature review.
IZ requires developers to provide subsidized homes in their new apartment buildings. Without providing compensation to developers, this unfunded IZ is just a tax on new housing.
1/
IZ requires developers to provide subsidized homes in their new apartment buildings. Without providing compensation to developers, this unfunded IZ is just a tax on new housing.
1/
November 3, 2025 at 8:03 PM
New post on inclusionary zoning, for my housing literature review.
IZ requires developers to provide subsidized homes in their new apartment buildings. Without providing compensation to developers, this unfunded IZ is just a tax on new housing.
1/
IZ requires developers to provide subsidized homes in their new apartment buildings. Without providing compensation to developers, this unfunded IZ is just a tax on new housing.
1/
The fact that this isn't considered a huge problem by the TTC and Toronto city council is pathetic.
The difference in the time it takes a streetcar in Amsterdam vs. Toronto to clear an intersection after servicing a nearside stop.
November 2, 2025 at 1:25 AM
The fact that this isn't considered a huge problem by the TTC and Toronto city council is pathetic.
Reposted by Marcus P.
The difference in the time it takes a streetcar in Amsterdam vs. Toronto to clear an intersection after servicing a nearside stop.
October 31, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by Marcus P.
Disappointing that this isn’t coming with bus stop consolidation. Every stop should have a shelter, but we should not have so many stops. Now we’re investing in some stops that shouldn’t exist, which will make it more difficult to remove them.
November 1, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Disappointing that this isn’t coming with bus stop consolidation. Every stop should have a shelter, but we should not have so many stops. Now we’re investing in some stops that shouldn’t exist, which will make it more difficult to remove them.
The purpose of transit is to actually move people around efficiently, and speed is part of that. Spending billions of dollars for a capacity increase and a bit more reliability should be a huge scandal. I'm so glad that Surrey ended up with the SkyTrain instead of LRT.
Went up to Finch Avenue, a long fear I have had is that the new light rail would be slower than the buses it replaced, and it seems like that may well be the case.
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
October 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The purpose of transit is to actually move people around efficiently, and speed is part of that. Spending billions of dollars for a capacity increase and a bit more reliability should be a huge scandal. I'm so glad that Surrey ended up with the SkyTrain instead of LRT.
Reposted by Marcus P.
Went up to Finch Avenue, a long fear I have had is that the new light rail would be slower than the buses it replaced, and it seems like that may well be the case.
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
October 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Went up to Finch Avenue, a long fear I have had is that the new light rail would be slower than the buses it replaced, and it seems like that may well be the case.
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
So many decision makers in Toronto are drivers that they don’t realize that people might take public transit because it’s fast
Reposted by Marcus P.
7pm on a sunday in vancouver.
just missed a train while going up the escalator. the next train is now, 2 min, and 5 min. i love being in this city 💜
just missed a train while going up the escalator. the next train is now, 2 min, and 5 min. i love being in this city 💜
October 13, 2025 at 2:02 AM
7pm on a sunday in vancouver.
just missed a train while going up the escalator. the next train is now, 2 min, and 5 min. i love being in this city 💜
just missed a train while going up the escalator. the next train is now, 2 min, and 5 min. i love being in this city 💜
Reposted by Marcus P.
A Redditor made a graph of the percent of population of US and Canada metro areas over 1 million that live in a given density. When they ordered them by average density the lowest ranked Canadian metro area, Edmonton, was ranked 14th between Miami and Washington. 6 of the top 15 were Canadian metros
October 11, 2025 at 11:24 PM
A Redditor made a graph of the percent of population of US and Canada metro areas over 1 million that live in a given density. When they ordered them by average density the lowest ranked Canadian metro area, Edmonton, was ranked 14th between Miami and Washington. 6 of the top 15 were Canadian metros
Spending elevated SkyTrain money to build a LRT that just improves capacity and maybe beats the old bus at rush hour travel is an achievement.
painful to see slow zones on the finch west LRT before it even opens. this portal has been speed limited to 10 km/h.
thanks to unplanned slow zones and weak, passive signal priority, trains are taking longer to complete trips, and gaps are wider.
multiple cases of 12-15 min waits on line 6 😒😒
thanks to unplanned slow zones and weak, passive signal priority, trains are taking longer to complete trips, and gaps are wider.
multiple cases of 12-15 min waits on line 6 😒😒
September 28, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Spending elevated SkyTrain money to build a LRT that just improves capacity and maybe beats the old bus at rush hour travel is an achievement.
Reposted by Marcus P.
Hi Internet! I'm Drew and THIS IS MY FACE.
If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!
Donate at blinkingguy.com
If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!
Donate at blinkingguy.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Hi Internet! I'm Drew and THIS IS MY FACE.
If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!
Donate at blinkingguy.com
If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!
Donate at blinkingguy.com
Very mild take, Google needs to figure out some heuristics, use some combination of speed and frequency, for what transit service they show. Having the WCE on the map is much less useful than the RapidBuses. The tangel of streetcars in Toronto is less legible and you might as well show all bus lines
September 8, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Very mild take, Google needs to figure out some heuristics, use some combination of speed and frequency, for what transit service they show. Having the WCE on the map is much less useful than the RapidBuses. The tangel of streetcars in Toronto is less legible and you might as well show all bus lines
The BCNDP gave the municipalities a lot of leeway to implement SSMHU regulations in good faith, in response many of them chose to do everything they could to get in the way. Here are a good list of things the province can do to rectify that.
Ok, I've been pondering some of the ways that BC's new housing minister @christineboyle.bsky.social might build on the expansive work championed by @ravikahlon.bsky.social and her previous work as a @cityofvancouver.bsky.social councillor.
So - here's a first draft: 🧵
So - here's a first draft: 🧵
September 5, 2025 at 4:43 AM
The BCNDP gave the municipalities a lot of leeway to implement SSMHU regulations in good faith, in response many of them chose to do everything they could to get in the way. Here are a good list of things the province can do to rectify that.
Reposted by Marcus P.
People question whether building more housing can lower prices, but I think it’s useful to flip that around and ask: are you saying that you can block housing without pushing up prices? Is that plausible?
Can I block the production of other goods or services with no effect on prices?
Can I block the production of other goods or services with no effect on prices?
September 5, 2025 at 12:43 AM
People question whether building more housing can lower prices, but I think it’s useful to flip that around and ask: are you saying that you can block housing without pushing up prices? Is that plausible?
Can I block the production of other goods or services with no effect on prices?
Can I block the production of other goods or services with no effect on prices?
Reposted by Marcus P.
Should we add hundreds of businesses to the rapid transit network, or zero? 🚍
Should we route BRT through Burnaby Heights, or along Boundary Rd?
They're the same question. Tell TransLink that routing rapid transit away from key destinations is a dumb idea 🤦
movementyvr.ca/release-tell...
Should we route BRT through Burnaby Heights, or along Boundary Rd?
They're the same question. Tell TransLink that routing rapid transit away from key destinations is a dumb idea 🤦
movementyvr.ca/release-tell...
September 4, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Should we add hundreds of businesses to the rapid transit network, or zero? 🚍
Should we route BRT through Burnaby Heights, or along Boundary Rd?
They're the same question. Tell TransLink that routing rapid transit away from key destinations is a dumb idea 🤦
movementyvr.ca/release-tell...
Should we route BRT through Burnaby Heights, or along Boundary Rd?
They're the same question. Tell TransLink that routing rapid transit away from key destinations is a dumb idea 🤦
movementyvr.ca/release-tell...