Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reece Martin

@rmtransit.bsky.social

17K followers 110 following 3.3K posts

Writer, Learning Enthusiast, Urbanist, Optimist, Traveller, Canadian. Passionate about making the world better. https://cinqpersonnes.substack.com/ https://nextmetro.substack.com/

cinqpersonnes.substack.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · May 17

RMTransit -> Reece Martin

12 150

Reposted by Reece Martin

JRUrbaneNetwork @jrurbanenetwork.bsky.social · 1d

When the Greenbelt Plan and associated planning laws was conceived and put into legislation in the early 2000s, broad urban densification was not proposed. It assumed modest overall population growth at "strategic growth areas" (Hence "Places to Grow Act")

1 13

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 13h

Is this a real thing?

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 13h

Question for the handy folks, is there any decent interior paint that isn't filled with polymers?

5 2 8

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

Environmental Defence isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty cool

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

Pretty cool to be out in Scarberia and have all 3 or 4 buses that pass me on the way to the train station be electric. (Even though the electric buses have been forced on transit agencies for all the wrong reasons.)

1 17

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

Also Europe

Nixbora 🔰 @nixbora.bsky.social · 1d

I have family in Greece (not Athens) which is Europe and transit there is pathetic at best!
Very car centric, and most people hate that, but there is no serious political effort to change that.
My understanding is that this reflects most Balkan countries.

3 18

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

To not appreciating nuance? Idk

1 2

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

My latest in Urbantoronto compares the public transport of Chicago and Toronto, the gap is large and widening every year!

urbantoronto.ca/news/2025/10...

Toronto vs Chicago: Transit Moving Masses Through The Metropolises | UrbanToronto

As the two large Great Lakes metropolises, Chicago and Toronto have a great deal in common, but these evolving cities are on different trajectories, so comparing the two is natural. Today we examine the rail and bus lines that move masses through these two great cities, to try to determine how their public transport networks stack up.

urbantoronto.ca

1 1 21

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

It's like American cities and New York!

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 1d

Didn't suggest otherwise!

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

A bit annoyed that from what I can tell, nobody at the media scrum asked Doug Ford how streets are supposed to get safer with infrastructure changes if we aren’t allowed to install bike lanes

1 2 57

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

I think a lot of urbanist types do not seem to have a super nuanced view of Europe

16 1 70

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Air quality in Toronto has been immaculate the past few days and it’s really making me appreciate that these days are too uncommon

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Spacing is very cool

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Certainly one I had in mind

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Anyways, obviously, I appreciate people highlighting major infrastructure projects, but it often feels like it’s just jumping on the bandwagon of a big media story, and I think the media does a mostly horrible job covering transit in Toronto

1 22

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

There was some comment about how an “LRT“ (which is not a descriptive technical term fwiw) should be easier to build because the tunnel doesn’t need to be as deep and that’s just not how it works! This is the kind of thing I used to make videos debunking…

1 31

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

I should clarify that it stands out to me is reporting on Eglinton where they had people from B1M on and they were saying how Eglinton should be easy to build because it’s an LRT and it makes it clear. They don’t understand what the difference between a subway and a tram in a subway tunnel is.

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Oh no B1M is weighing in on toronto transit

2 28

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

I appreciate elements of the stuff they do, but I think a common issue with trying to make a channel that is broadly successful is you can’t get too much into the nitty-gritty and then probably don’t develop much of a capability of getting into the nitty-gritty

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Many European cities with trams!

1 1

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

Oh no B1M is weighing in on toronto transit

2 2 59

Reposted by Reece Martin

Brendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 2d

I had missed this post from Marco but I broadly agree: Down with BRT, long live the Bus

Down with the BRT, long live the Bus

Why Bus Rapid Transit is a failed planning concept

marcochitti.substack.com

5 7 28

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 2d

You can! But not like Toronto

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 3d

Now everyone gets to learn what living in a financial pressure cooker feels like.

1 13

Reece Martin @rmtransit.bsky.social · 3d

New towns along GO lines remain a great idea while we massively increase our emissions and decrease people's happiness creating commutes to the city from Belleville, Brantford and Barrie.

Idea was supposed to be broad urban densification, but we didn't deliver that before blocking outward growth.

2 31