Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

@mbonsma.bsky.social

12K followers 1.5K following 1.6K posts

Bikes + data, UofT biophys PhD, mom. I post about bikes and safe streets, local politics, and sometimes science. She/her.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · Nov 20

I have removed
the bike lanes
that were in
the road

and which
you were probably
using
to get to work

Forgive me
they were delicious
so crunchy
and so cold

19 110 620

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 6h

I needed to see this, I am making a panel intro today and I must be BRIEF

1 8

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 19h

This one, on the other hand, is very good!

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 20h

Duchamp Flies, by Carmen Cicero, 2009, 📸 by Frank Franklin II

9 270 1.5K

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 20h

I was just gobsmacked the first time I saw that ad. Then I saw it 15 more times and it's not getting better

1 2

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

MTF @emteef.bsky.social · 1d

It has boggled my mind since I was sixteen that the moral hazard of driving does not weigh on literally everyone all the time.

I hate it! I don't want to risk ruining or ending someone's life just to get to the damn grocery store, but where I live, I have to, every day.

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 1d

You can be the safest, most attentive driver in the world and still pose a massive risk to other road users. That’s because cars and car dependency are inherently dangerous.

This doesn’t mean you’re a bad person if you drive, but I do think that drivers should acknowledge their role in this system.

2 10 62

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 1d

“The e-bike lets me keep riding bikes and spend time outside, even though I have this health condition,” she said. “I don’t think that a lot of people realize that e-bikes make things accessible to people with disabilities.” www.berkeleyside.org/2025/10/07/e...

Why electric bikes are everywhere in Berkeley

Residents of all ages and abilities are taking to electric bikes — used for commutes, school drop-offs, grocery trips and joy rides.

www.berkeleyside.org

4 25 140

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

i recently got a great deal on a barely used folding ebike and i have to say it has revolutionized my train travel. i can get from my front door to the amtrak station in a little less than 5 minutes!!!

110 210 5.9K

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Kimiko Shibata @eslfairy.bsky.social · 2d

Ford’s cabinet ministers don’t like being told to obey the law, so they want to get rid of speed cameras so they can continue to pose a safety risk to children walking to school without facing any consequences.

globalnews.ca/news/1146373...

Vehicles registered to Ford cabinet ministers caught by speed cameras more than 20 times | Globalnews.ca

Documents obtained by Global News reveal that, over three years, vehicles registered to Ford’s cabinet minister received more than $3,300 in fines for speeding.

globalnews.ca

1 27 68

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

Also thinking about this one - housing may be cheaper in the burbs, but housing + transportation may not be.
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

City living or the burbs? CMHC notes Toronto commuting costs can outweigh cheaper house prices | CBC News

In the Greater Toronto Area, the added cost of a long commute often outweighs the savings from cheaper housing in the suburbs surrounding the city, according to a new study from the Canada Mortgage an...

www.cbc.ca

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

So true ⚾

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

Smug alert

2 4 34

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

Nice paper about this:
bsky.app/profile/mbon...

TL;DR, transit access does make housing more expensive

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · Aug 6

Would you rather have good access to destinations by transit or by car? In a study of real estate prices across Canada, @higgicd.bsky.social and team found that despite the ubiquity of cars, good *transit* access is a bigger driver of housing prices than good car access. 🧵

doi.org/10.1080/2469...

Multimodal Accessibility and the Capitalization of Realized Access by Car and Transit in Housing Prices Across Canada

Although the transportation accessibility benefits afforded by multiple transportation modes play a fundamental role in determining transportation costs and land prices, there are challenges associ...

doi.org

1 1

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

So true, and I have always thought this has to do with an awareness of the benefits of social services for people who live in areas where more of your life is spent outside your own property.

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

Smug alert

2 4 34

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

I have a terminal and incurable case of Toronto smugness and it is, unfortunately, justified

3 13

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

When we lived in Ottawa we were the only family on our street who didn't own a car, and most households had two. In our Toronto neighbourhood, easily half of our neighbours don't own cars. Density and good transit are pretty life-changing.

1 20

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 2d

Living with extreme pride in the blue splotch

A map by Jeff Allen of School of Cities showing GHG emissions for the Greater Toronto Area. Emissions are lowest in Toronto and nearby areas along transit lines, a red circle in the east side of Toronto indicates where I live.

4 1 41

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Jason Thorne @jasonthorne.bsky.social · 2d

The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...

5 78 220

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Boo!-per Lund @cooperlund.online · 3d

This is incredible camera work

10 190 1K

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 4d

This is good —the Mayor of Yellowknife NWT in Canada’s far north weighs in on “Car Bloat” (truck bloat actually) and its many big costs & consequences (thanks @davidzipper.bsky.social for heads-up). And like most who dare tell the truth about that, he’s taking flack.
www.linkedin.com/mwlite/feed/...

Screenshot of LinkedIn post from Yellowknife Mayor describing the costs and consequences of trucks having gotten so much bigger. In the link, he explains the backlash he received for his post.

54 240 900

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 3d

New favourite hashtag just dropped #TruckTooBig

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 5d

Yes! They already have signs, and a period of signs before the camera is installed warning that it will be installed soon. What we need are *bigger* signs.

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 5d

Adapted from public health, the safe systems pyramid for road safety places population-level changes at the bottom, having the most impact. At the very top are individual-level measures like education and enforcement.

visionzeronetwork.org/applying-the...

The safe systems pyramid for road safety. From bottom (most impactful) to top:
1. Socioeconomic factors, e.g. affordable housing near transit, zoning reform
2. Built environment, e.g. roundabouts, curb extensions, raised crosswalks, sidewalks, bikeways
3. Latent safety measures, e.g. signal timing, leading pedestrian intervals, air bags, automated emergency braking
4. Active measures, e.g. signals and signs, in-vehicle collision warnings, seatbelts, helmets
5. Education, e.g. driver education campaigns, slow down campaigns

1 8

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 5d

Road safety advocates arguing in favour of speed cameras while understanding the safe systems pyramid and the danger of a "false equivalency between engineering, enforcement, and education"

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

a man wearing a schitts creek shirt smiles

Alt: David from Schitts Creek nodding and giving a fake smile

media.tenor.com

4 17

Reposted by Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 5d

POLICING THE OPEN ROAD is really important reading. From the very beginning, we've had a deeply ambivalent answer to the question "should the law apply to upper- and middle-class people?"

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD @mbonsma.bsky.social · 5d

This makes me feel crazy. Being aware of the speed limit is like step 1 for driving! "Stealing is illegal, sure, but how are people supposed to know which stores they can steal from without getting caught if the camera ones don't have giant 'NO STEALING' signs??"

www.thestar.com/news/gta/20-...

Chow is pushing for larger signage and changing Toronto’s program so that once a driver is fined for speeding the first time, they cannot be fined again for seven days. It gives drivers an opportunity to receive their fine in the mail and become aware of the camera’s location.

1 19 46