Support for public transportation has grown significantly over the past decade in North America. Major transit expansions were key issues in the recent Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg elections, and ambitious plans were green lighted by voters in each of those...
Transportation
What We Can Learn from the City That Lost A Million Pounds
There are two types of people in Canadian cities: people who hate cars, and people who hate cyclists. Or so the perception goes. While it is true that many cities have seen bitter electoral feuds over bike lanes and urban sprawl, they are driven more by perception...
Transit And Roads Don’t Need To Compete
In local government, the assumption is often made that a good road system means that public transit must suffer, and vice versa. Sometime roadways and transit are at odds, when light rail or streetcar projects remove lanes of traffic, or when road design does not...
Baggage Fees No Longer Necessary to Keep Airlines Afloat
Canadian air travellers have recently been hit with a $25 charge for checked baggage. WestJet moved first, and Air Canada followed suit just days later. Airlines struggled when the recession hit in 2008, and some of them turned to baggage fees for relief. But airlines...
Featured News
Cities Have to Expand for House Prices to Fall
The cost of actually building a house does not vary that much across Canada The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong...
How We Teach Reading Really Does Matter
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...
Enbridge may become desperate and choose less safe alternatives
Richard Neufeld, a former B.C. energy minister and oil and gas industry booster, now says publicly he doubts Enbridge will be able to build the Northern Gateway pipeline even if the company obtains federal approval. First Nations protests across BC (Alberta bands are...
Reason for cautious optimism on Canadian air travel prices
The first step to addressing a problem is acknowledging that it exists. For those of us who are concerned about air travel prices in Canada, hearing Jim Flaherty admit that there is a problem was welcome news. But Flaherty didn’t just acknowledge that it is a problem — he also mentioned that Minister of Transportation Denis Lebel is working with airlines and airport authorities to come up with a solution.
Airport Policy in Canada
Mary Jane Bennett argues that Canada should privatize its airports to reduce passenger loss to the United States and bolster our major airports as hubs of commercial activity.
Media Release – Time to Privatize Canada’s Airports: Airport Policy in Canada
High rents paid to the federal government have forced airports to increase landing fees to uncompetitive levels.
Failing to Make the Roads Safer
This backgrounder argues that distracted driving laws do more harm than good.
Media Release – Distracted Driving Legislation Failing to Make the Roads Safer
Consistent with the evidence from US states, the new Manitoba distracted driving laws appear to have made the roads slightly more dangerous, rather than less. The unintended consequence of these laws is that people find dangerous ways to hide their activities, rather than complying with the law.
Traffic congestion: Metro Vancouver second worst in North America for local travel: City stalled in livability lane, says columnist Jon Ferry
Vancouver may no longer be eligible for inclusion among the world’s top 10 best places to live. But it can claim one distinction: It has the worst traffic congestion in Canada — and the second worst in North America, with only car-mad Los Angeles leaving it in its rear mirror.
Car Sharing is a Good Idea
A group in Saskatoon is evaluating the feasibility of establishing a car sharing service in the city. To me, this is a good idea that can reduce the cost of transportation for a lot of people. Another desirable step would be for SGI to create a "pay-as-you-drive"...
Road Safety
There are times where traffic cameras have merit. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sf-bikes-20120616,0,4422915.story The bicyclist was zipping south on Castro Street at the end of his twice-weekly ride to the Marin Headlands, blowing through red lights and stop...