How-Sen

Torontonian. Etobian. Climate Justice Advocate. Driver against car dominance. Also find me at

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

It’s funny how, when faced with the obvious reality that streets predate cars by literal millennia, the “but streets were built for cars!!” people immediately switch their messaging to “but older things are always worse”.

How many of them are “Make X Great Again!!”, I wonder?

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Human societies have had public streets that prioritized commerce, public gathering, and public transportation for literally thousands of years before the invention of the private automobile.

It’s past time to prioritize cars on *every* street.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

The main difference between car traffic today and car traffic with automated robotaxis is this:

Instead of roads being jammed by cars with just 1-2 people in them, roads will be jammed by cars with just 0-1 people in them.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Give any thought past “Toronto could use a second airport” and it becomes clear that Billy Bishop cannot be that airport.

There’s simply no space.

Compare it to Pearson, which is served by a train, two major highways, and several square kilometres of parking.

#topoli

[TheTrillium.ca @Thetrilliumca]

Access denied: Billy Bishop expansion records shielded from public view https://t.co/rpEqYhgFyl

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

It’s important to note that almost every one of those cars has just one occupant in them (or is an Uber with one or zero passengers).

[Observing The City @observinthecity]

28 cyclists and 11 cars make their way through an intersection on University Avenue during rush hour on a Thursday, 8:45AM. The moving vehicles (and 3 parked cars) are allotted 3x the space. These actors are not acting in good faith.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@paulmaqz Totally agree that the bunching problem needs to be dealt with.

That being said, this photo is not of the Bathurst cars being bunched up because of how it’s zoomed out.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Why we need bus lanes.

Here’s 6 Bathurst streetcars NB to Line 2 at rush.

Those riders in their own cars or ubers at 20km/h would form a line nearly 8km long. That’s the distance from the lake to Eglinton.

At 40km/h, it would be 13.8km. That’s the lake to Sheppard.

#topoli

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@M_Chasis @Michael56297223 This is correct.

Rush hour is when every public transit vehicle is the most full.

Rush hour is also when private cars are the most empty

(except for the 95% of their lifespan when they’re just parked and empty)

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@iJonniM Here’s a long list of predictions made by Elon about autonomous vehicles since 2013.

https://t.co/HIB48hrQHo

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Streetcars and buses deserve their own lane.

If everyone in this streetcar were driving, the line of cars would stretch well over a kilometer long.

(One kilometer is the distance between College and Bloor streets.)

#topoli

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@Michael56297223 Actually, cars are the most expensive way to get around. In Canada it costs over $1000 per month to own and operate a car. And cars spend 95% of their time parked and doing nothing.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@Michael56297223 Average car has about 1.5 occupants per vehicle, which includes the driver. That math is already accounted for in the calculation.

During rush hour, average private car occupancy is closer to 1.1, so during those times, the distances should be multiplied by 1.36.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@Michael56297223 Actually, streetcars pre-date cars by several decades. As do trains.

So technically, it’s private cars that are the 20th century technology.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@LibertyCdn The reason is that the streetcar lines were bought up by oil and gas companies, car companies, and companies who want to sell tires in the early 20th century.

A lot of cities are now installing LRT/Streetcar systems again.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

@listenntalk @integrity_to More than 4x

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

By the way: these calculations all assume that the average number of occupants per car is 1.5 (including the driver)

During rush hour, the average is closer to 1.1 occupants. So you all those final distances should be multiplied by 1.36

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Here there are about six Bathurst streetcars going northbound to Line 2.

At 20km/h all those riders in their own cars lined up in one lane would be nearly 8km long. That’s the distance from the Lake to Eglinton.

At 40km/h, it would be 13.8km. That’s the Lake to Sheppard.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Further, many of the malls on this list without rail transit links — like Square One and Sherway here in the GTA — are essentially bus transit hubs.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

A reminder that all the most successful shopping malls in Canada aren’t the ones with the largest parking lots: They’re the ones with the best connections to public transit.

[How-Sen @HowSenChong]

Here’s a list from 2023.

Of the top 12, only Square One, Laval, and Masonville have no connection to upper level transit.

Notably, the country’s most famous mall, West Edmonton, doesn’t even make the list while across town, Southgate (with a transit rail connection) does.