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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 4h

How have I been lately?

Never better. I’m focused (failing). In my lane (on my bullshit). Moving in silence (screaming loudly).

You aren’t ready for this heat tbh.

Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5h

Ofc you’re a Leo

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 8h

This is a needle that can be threaded.

POC, low-income, and marginalized people tend to sign up for military service because they left with few structural alternatives to bettering their lives, AND

Participating in and enabling a fascist takeover is wrong.

Two mutually non-exclusive truths.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 14h

That slip is a relic from the bridge’s streetcar days: its wide turning radius geometry allowed trains to continue north to lower Albina. With no interurban making this movement anymore, there’s no reason to keep it open in 2025.

I say this as the resident slip lane closing guy.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 14h

Not only are we not equipped for this, but I’m afraid we don’t know where to start. I can’t think of an example where the US has ever effective de-Nazified—maybe in Germany itself, but clearly that didn’t have as much staying power as we thought.

Reconstruction is an example of a failed attempt.

Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

You may not be saying he has to, but I sure am.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

These small rider amenities may seem like small potatoes--and maybe more to the point: another thing for agencies to keep track of--but I found them to pivotal to my enjoyment of the system.

Part of building a great system is one that's easy to understand. Montréal stands out above the pack in this

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

The 2nd feature that really stood out is the real-time movement tracker displayed inside the metro cars themselves.

A screen which shows the previous and upcoming station is pretty standard fare these days, but the Montréal metro includes a black dot which shows your real-time movement between them

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

As a transit nerd, I had such a great time in Montréal--in large part because of these fantastic user interface features.

The 1st is a graphic displayed on platform screens. It relays how full each part of the next upcoming trainset is, allowing riders to disperse and find a less crowded section.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

I still have several really cool things I want to talk about from my trip, but I think they deserve their own thread. For now, I'll end by highlighting this: a very vibrant street activation outside a metro station.

The lesson: place activation where you know there will be people to use it!

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

On the Champlain bridge, rather than building a whole extra travel lane that would only be needed during rush hour, they have a shoulder that is temporarily convertible to a thru-lane as required during peak times.

Take notes, ODOT: we need not build-out to the highest need as default.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

One thing Montréal is hugely lacking in, however, is a good central train station.

At one point, it had several grand, beautiful, castle-like depots. Today, the REM system, subway, and long-distance trains stop at a subterranean station beneath a mall/office building/hotel. As you can see, it's eh.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

Not really relevant to the urbanism, but I was tickled by this silly little truck. It's used to be able to access billboards. I've never seen anything quite like it, so I thought it was notable.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

Here's another example of their really fantastic bike infrastructure in action. Even accommodating driveways and curb cuts, they manage to bring a lot of protection to the street.

Really great to see.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

Cities differentiate their bike boulevards differently. In Vancouver BC, it's simply an icon of a bike embedded in the print of their standard green street signs. In Portland, we really don't demarcate streets with bike-priority at all. But in Montréal, they had these delightful decals atop the sign

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

One of the quirks of being such an old city is that, sometimes, you get thoroughly modern uses in very historic buildings.

Such as this Subway Sandwich in an old row home.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

A piece of design I thought was damn sexy was this streetlight. Like most streetlights, it illuminates the roadway at an appropriate and fairly-high height. However! It also includes a lamp which lights the sidewalk which is positioned more at human-scale. Very seamless execution.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

I'm back! Going through my photos, I'm realizing there's still so much good stuff from Montréal I want to highlight.

One of them being their wayfinding signs for parking. By directing people to nearby lots, you help make better use of existing capacity without the need to add more.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

I love my boyfriend

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 5d

Dacia, as a constituent, I just have to say: you're such an amazing poster. We love you so fucking much.

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Reposted by Xavier D. Stickler

Dacia Grayber @djgrayber.bsky.social · 5d

Courtesy of @harebrained.bsky.social

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 9d

You're shitty and condescending to people like me who write strongly-worded letters, saying it's useless and not enough. You're shitty and condescending to people who directly protest, saying it's too much and inflammatory. Ever think maybe you're just really hard to fucking please?

2/2.

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 9d

I don't see how blaming the people standing up to immigration injustice for a tyrant's unhinged actions can be in any way productive. Almost every night has been peaceful. And as even centrists have observed, ICE agents are the ones instigating direct conflict through escalation. 1/2

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Xavier D. Stickler @xavierdstickler.bsky.social · 9d

It's crazy to think that today, the only way on and off the island to the Oregon mainline is I-5.

1 very poor pedestrian path on its eastern shoulder, no rail transit connection, and buses are stuck in the right-hand off ramp lane. Very disappointing.

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