Reece Martin
@rmtransit.bsky.social
Writer, CS Grad, environmentalist and optimist. Focused on infrastructure, macro-systems, and excellence. Bylines in The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, and Toronto Star. DMs Open. https://www.thetransitbrief.net/
If you thought infrastructure procurement had problems, defense procurement is a whole other animal. Read the latest Infrastory now: open.substack.com/pub/infrasto...
The Greatest Procurement Fiascos of All
If you think infrastructure has troubles, take a look at the military.
open.substack.com
Latest from me in the Toronto Star - on making Torontos OTHER airport a great one. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Toronto has been fixated on the wrong airport for too long
Toronto’s main airport should get some love to turn it into both a hub for the region and a magnet for domestic and international travelers.
thestar.com
A new post from The Transit Brief on whether Waymo, and planes, and yes . . . electric autonomous helicopters, might make high speed rail irrelevant. www.thetransitbrief.net/p/high-speed...
High-Speed Rail in an Era of Planes, Waymos, and Electric Helicopters.
Do new technologies undermine the case for fast trains?
thetransitbrief.net
Maybe we could stop using ALL GLASS for bus stops? I've long thought at least making the roof opaque was obvious. . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCD2...
What Toronto’s tree canopy map reveals about equity of shade access in the city
YouTube video by CBC News Toronto
youtube.com
Crazy the degree to which rail ridership in Calgary and Edmonton have cratered, decent odds Ottawa despite all its problems overtakes both.
New from Canadian civil, I did not create the header image! site.canadiancivil.com/canadas-cons...
Canada's Conservatives Need A Positive Vision
There is plenty of room for criticism of the current Alto project which doesn't involve putting yourself in fundamental opposition to the technology underpinning it.
site.canadiancivil.com
We are getting less locomotives (45 not 57) for roughly four times the price (the Kiwis paid about 300m CAD). The fact that this isn't a major news item is crazy.
People are sssssooooooo willing to say things which are not true if data centres are involved. Unfortunate.
It would be great for rational conversations re data centres if everyone read this www.changinglanesnewsletter.com/p/a-citizens...
Data Centres in Ontario: a Citizen's Guide
The loudest fears are the weakest
changinglanesnewsletter.com
Double-blade switches were not developed in Riga, yet we still adopted them because good trams = good
This is going to be huge, and you actually have the chance to get in on some activism and video making.
Canadian Civil@info.canadiancivil.com · last wk.Get your membership and join us on August 15th in #Montreal. https://site.canadiancivil.com/canadian-civil-alive-2026-3/ @reece @rmtransit.bsky.social @carastern.bsky.social @aboutherevideos @OhTheUrbanity @carastern
The TTC doesn't seem all that interested in making the streetcars better. Little pride in the system or shame for being the slowest anywhere. In this state buses would likely be better. Apparently modern switches are already getting pushback because of not invented here disease.
Get your membership and join us on August 15th in #Montreal. https://site.canadiancivil.com/canadian-civil-alive-2026-3/ @reece @rmtransit.bsky.social @carastern.bsky.social @aboutherevideos @OhTheUrbanity @carastern
High speed rail from Montreal to Toronto really is not a huge lift. We have lots of potential corridors, clear routes into the cities, and obvious demand and potential demand with significantly expanding urban rail systems and densifying downtowns - its painfully obvious.
The death of the Toronto Island Airport plans mean we can finally move on to . . . - Fixing the mediocrity at Pearson - Better Transit - Better Amenities - An airport thats not way worse than Canadas third largest - Focusing on HSR for Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal
I think what people don't get about AI is that it's a *different* intelligence. Read my latest post now: open.substack.com/pub/cinqpers...
What AI is and is not (probably).
Some reflections on the hottest thing.
open.substack.com
The latest from The Transit Brief - Albertas lost decade and how not to do light rail (after doing it pretty well!) www.thetransitbrief.net/p/is-the-wil...
Line 2 in Toronto is getting a real glowup with new trains and seltrac and a three station extension. I'm quite happy about that but if we managed to also get screen doors at the 8 interchange stations that would make me doubly excited.
The US Interstates have a storied past, but what can’t be denied is their absolutely transformational impact on the entire North American economy. Read the latest Infrastory now: open.substack.com/pub/infrasto...
How the Interstates Remade the American Map
Universal Access to Infrastructure Can Profoundly Reshape Development
open.substack.com
Its amusing watching people go "nobody wants EVs" and then surprisingly "everyone wants EVs!" when oil prices go up.
Great post on "Corridor Zoning" with examples from Van and Tor, highlighting that density should follow stations not corridors, and that the corridor is about "quarantining" density and pollution away from sfh. pedestrianobservations.com/2026/07/14/c...
Corridor Zoning is not Transit-Oriented Development
Corridor zoning is a style of development, in which major arterial streets are zoned for high residential and commercial density, while side streets remain zoned for low density, sometimes even for…
pedestrianobservations.com
It's remarkable that we spent like twice as much on FIFA as we are on forest fires. Talk about inverted priorities.
See Vancouver has not managed to avoid elevating crazy conspiracy theories about 15 minute cities etc. hard to tell if those promoting are malicious or just impossibly ignorant.
How to stay safe and sane with the wildfire smoke. open.substack.com/pub/cinqpers...
The Blade Runner Guide to Wildfire Smoke.
Not one I am happy to write.
open.substack.com
If you can avoid going outside today, working from home, mentioning to your boss that it's very unhealthy to be out if necessary, you should do that. Particular concentration is basically double what it was yesterday.
