Cassie Smith (she/her)
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cassiesmith.bsky.social
Cassie Smith (she/her)
@cassiesmith.bsky.social
Feminist geographer and cargo bike mom.

Volunteer: Bike Ottawa VP, For Our Kids, Kidical Mass championing safe, sustainable, fun, and equitable spaces especially for kids.

Work: Transportation strategy and solutions with EnviroCentre. Views my own.
I find it works better to have the roads cleared first and then the bike lanes otherwise the bike lane has a berm of snow at every intersection.
January 18, 2026 at 5:21 PM
While I was skating I was thinking about a recent interview with the CEO of the NCC talking about the importance of public spaces and the canal sure is an amazing one. www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
Will a floating sauna make you hate the NCC less? | This is Ottawa | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
The National Capital Commission has been a lightning rod for criticism. From shutting down a lemonade stand on Colonel By Drive to a Sparks Street with no spark - Ottawans have loved to loathe the NCC...
www.cbc.ca
January 18, 2026 at 12:37 AM
I know TransLink has done some work on this, including qualitative analysis of what those types of crowding feel like. Not sure if it's published somewhere but the speaker we brought in for the @envirocentre.bsky.social symposium last year spoke about it.
January 17, 2026 at 2:22 PM
I had no idea it came out so long ago. 2018 (-2026) was a blur. 😂

And I have already been thoroughly teased for being behind on the demon hunters (and yet have still not seen it either 🫢).
January 17, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Neither do I. But I recall Ottawa's data was supportive, just like my own personal data: 1000s of km travelled (/VMT reduced), $1000s saved, better physical and mental health, and countless smiles 😁😁😁
January 16, 2026 at 8:01 PM
This is all so terrible. I am sorry you, these kids & the whole community are facing this invasion. Thanks for sharing these dispatches and making sure others know the horrors and surreal things you're dealing with. So many of us are proud of and behind your efforts to stand up for your neighbours.
January 14, 2026 at 3:44 AM
I'll add - kid personalities/needs may play a role here. One of my kids (or maybe both) have sensory sensitivities so being very close together can be more challenging. Some rides are fine, but if they are already spent for the day it becomes a problem.

If you ever want to try for fit let me know 😊
January 12, 2026 at 12:26 PM