Marco Chitti
@chittimarco.bsky.social
Researcher on urban planning and public transportation.
https://marcochitti.substack.com/
https://marcochitti.substack.com/
Québec figured it out.
November 24, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Québec figured it out.
The fact that these guys that are way older than my grandmas were still running until 1995 speaks volumes.
November 24, 2025 at 5:11 AM
The fact that these guys that are way older than my grandmas were still running until 1995 speaks volumes.
What makes the city somewhat bike-friendly is the very large old city with it's limited traffic area, the generally compact urbanism with few stroads in the inner neighbourhoods and a few decent bike paths on key corridors, like the boulevards and the modernist peripheries.
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
What makes the city somewhat bike-friendly is the very large old city with it's limited traffic area, the generally compact urbanism with few stroads in the inner neighbourhoods and a few decent bike paths on key corridors, like the boulevards and the modernist peripheries.
This is the "high quality" infrastructure you'll find in Bologna. A lot of in-street bike lanes, often in the dooring area, or very narrow ones painted on already narrow sidewalks.
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
This is the "high quality" infrastructure you'll find in Bologna. A lot of in-street bike lanes, often in the dooring area, or very narrow ones painted on already narrow sidewalks.
I'm always suspicious of any kind of ranking based on made up metrics, but seeing Bologna in the top 30 makes me even more suspicious.
Don't get me wrong, biking in Bologna is ok, but mostly despite public policies or as a collateral consequence of urban history and traffic management
Don't get me wrong, biking in Bologna is ok, but mostly despite public policies or as a collateral consequence of urban history and traffic management
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I'm always suspicious of any kind of ranking based on made up metrics, but seeing Bologna in the top 30 makes me even more suspicious.
Don't get me wrong, biking in Bologna is ok, but mostly despite public policies or as a collateral consequence of urban history and traffic management
Don't get me wrong, biking in Bologna is ok, but mostly despite public policies or as a collateral consequence of urban history and traffic management
I mean, that's impressive.
Toronto, ask some help from Switzerland. But maybe the CFF would run away from Toronto as DB did...
Toronto, ask some help from Switzerland. But maybe the CFF would run away from Toronto as DB did...
November 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I mean, that's impressive.
Toronto, ask some help from Switzerland. But maybe the CFF would run away from Toronto as DB did...
Toronto, ask some help from Switzerland. But maybe the CFF would run away from Toronto as DB did...
What I don't understand it's why do you need to build a dedicated garage for the electric fleet. Bologna has retrofitted part of the existing garages for the electric buses, by just adding charging stations. Open air.
November 21, 2025 at 5:07 PM
What I don't understand it's why do you need to build a dedicated garage for the electric fleet. Bologna has retrofitted part of the existing garages for the electric buses, by just adding charging stations. Open air.
The French-style approach is much more effective for constrained RoW, and safety concerns can be mitigated with a design that slows down turns (narrow radii) and reduces crossing distances with bumpouts. But it also comes with reduced speed for transit b/c of delayed left-turn cars encroachment.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The French-style approach is much more effective for constrained RoW, and safety concerns can be mitigated with a design that slows down turns (narrow radii) and reduces crossing distances with bumpouts. But it also comes with reduced speed for transit b/c of delayed left-turn cars encroachment.
In constrained RoWs, the impossibility of providing additional space for dedicated left-turn phases and pedestrian islands for multi-stage crossing can result in blank left-turn bans and ineffective TSP, see for example Pie-IX BRT.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
In constrained RoWs, the impossibility of providing additional space for dedicated left-turn phases and pedestrian islands for multi-stage crossing can result in blank left-turn bans and ineffective TSP, see for example Pie-IX BRT.
On the positive side, it is much easier to provide absolute priority, especially because multi-stage crossing for pedestrians is the norm, thus the minimum leading time for activating the truncated red strategy is generally equal to the time it takes pedestrians to clear the transit RoW,i.e. 7-8 sec
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the positive side, it is much easier to provide absolute priority, especially because multi-stage crossing for pedestrians is the norm, thus the minimum leading time for activating the truncated red strategy is generally equal to the time it takes pedestrians to clear the transit RoW,i.e. 7-8 sec
On the negative side, this solution can be less safe for pedestrians and bike users and, in general, for all non-transit traffic, because many conflicting maneuvers coexist, especially left turns yielding to through traffic, pedestrians and bikes, which can be pretty dangerous.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the negative side, this solution can be less safe for pedestrians and bike users and, in general, for all non-transit traffic, because many conflicting maneuvers coexist, especially left turns yielding to through traffic, pedestrians and bikes, which can be pretty dangerous.
Generally, there are no separate left-turn or delayed right-turn phases (even though there might be). This means you don't need additional lanes at the intersection, which works quite well in constrained RoW, keeping it as narrow as 20-ish meters or even less without bike lanes.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Generally, there are no separate left-turn or delayed right-turn phases (even though there might be). This means you don't need additional lanes at the intersection, which works quite well in constrained RoW, keeping it as narrow as 20-ish meters or even less without bike lanes.
The French-style approach is based on an intersection management in two main phases, one for the main street and one for the lateral one. TSP is provided via a dedicated transit-only phase that relies just on truncating the other two phases whenever needed.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The French-style approach is based on an intersection management in two main phases, one for the main street and one for the lateral one. TSP is provided via a dedicated transit-only phase that relies just on truncating the other two phases whenever needed.
However, this solution is very space-intensive, requiring an intersection mouth with at least 4 lanes per direction (1 for transit, 3 for general traffic), confining the effective TSP to very wide arterials.
In space-constrained environments, the French solution is more efficient. How so?
In space-constrained environments, the French solution is more efficient. How so?
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
However, this solution is very space-intensive, requiring an intersection mouth with at least 4 lanes per direction (1 for transit, 3 for general traffic), confining the effective TSP to very wide arterials.
In space-constrained environments, the French solution is more efficient. How so?
In space-constrained environments, the French solution is more efficient. How so?
Physically, that requires at least two general traffic lanes per direction, with one dedicated to left-turn queues.
If an advanced green safety strategy for pedestrian crossings is adopted, it will result in sub-phase 1.b. Physically, that requires a third lane dedicated to right turns.
If an advanced green safety strategy for pedestrian crossings is adopted, it will result in sub-phase 1.b. Physically, that requires a third lane dedicated to right turns.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Physically, that requires at least two general traffic lanes per direction, with one dedicated to left-turn queues.
If an advanced green safety strategy for pedestrian crossings is adopted, it will result in sub-phase 1.b. Physically, that requires a third lane dedicated to right turns.
If an advanced green safety strategy for pedestrian crossings is adopted, it will result in sub-phase 1.b. Physically, that requires a third lane dedicated to right turns.
Within this strategy, you'll need a dedicated main-street left-turn phase, resulting in at least a 3-phase cycle.
Transit Priority can be provided both as an extended green for phase 1 or by cutting short (i.e. truncated red) phases 2 and 3, to go back to phase 1.
Transit Priority can be provided both as an extended green for phase 1 or by cutting short (i.e. truncated red) phases 2 and 3, to go back to phase 1.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Within this strategy, you'll need a dedicated main-street left-turn phase, resulting in at least a 3-phase cycle.
Transit Priority can be provided both as an extended green for phase 1 or by cutting short (i.e. truncated red) phases 2 and 3, to go back to phase 1.
Transit Priority can be provided both as an extended green for phase 1 or by cutting short (i.e. truncated red) phases 2 and 3, to go back to phase 1.
To simplify, I'm taking a vanilla intersection between two two-way streets, a main one with center-running transit lanes and a lateral low-traffic one.
In the typical "in-phase" TSP strategy, the transit green temporally coexists with non-conflicting movements along the main street (phase 1).
In the typical "in-phase" TSP strategy, the transit green temporally coexists with non-conflicting movements along the main street (phase 1).
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
To simplify, I'm taking a vanilla intersection between two two-way streets, a main one with center-running transit lanes and a lateral low-traffic one.
In the typical "in-phase" TSP strategy, the transit green temporally coexists with non-conflicting movements along the main street (phase 1).
In the typical "in-phase" TSP strategy, the transit green temporally coexists with non-conflicting movements along the main street (phase 1).
Transit Signal Priority is an umbrella term for multiple strategies that reduce delays for transit vehicles at signalized intersections, potentially down to zero.
Here, I'm comparing the trade-offs between a "French-style" and an "in-phase" TSP strategy, more common in North America.
Here, I'm comparing the trade-offs between a "French-style" and an "in-phase" TSP strategy, more common in North America.
November 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Transit Signal Priority is an umbrella term for multiple strategies that reduce delays for transit vehicles at signalized intersections, potentially down to zero.
Here, I'm comparing the trade-offs between a "French-style" and an "in-phase" TSP strategy, more common in North America.
Here, I'm comparing the trade-offs between a "French-style" and an "in-phase" TSP strategy, more common in North America.
In terms of internal distribution, they really look like some classic "star" typologies (edifici a stella) common in postwar INA Casa housing schemes.
November 20, 2025 at 2:53 PM
In terms of internal distribution, they really look like some classic "star" typologies (edifici a stella) common in postwar INA Casa housing schemes.
Justement, je pensais une option comme ça (voir mon autre message pour la description)
November 19, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Justement, je pensais une option comme ça (voir mon autre message pour la description)
Sans connaître exactement la géométrie existante, la géologie ou les RTU, ça serait intéressant d'explorer une option comme celle-ci, en utilisant les stationnements et la bande verte le long de Marcel-Laurier
November 19, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Sans connaître exactement la géométrie existante, la géologie ou les RTU, ça serait intéressant d'explorer une option comme celle-ci, en utilisant les stationnements et la bande verte le long de Marcel-Laurier
Si j'étais la STM ou l'ARTM ou la MIQ (et déjà là on voit le problème du qui fait quoi), je mettrai toutes me ressources à définir un plan pour prolonger la ligne orange jusqu'à Bois-Franc au moindre coût possible, on se donnant comme objectif de faire ça pour moins de $3-400 million (en $2025).
November 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Si j'étais la STM ou l'ARTM ou la MIQ (et déjà là on voit le problème du qui fait quoi), je mettrai toutes me ressources à définir un plan pour prolonger la ligne orange jusqu'à Bois-Franc au moindre coût possible, on se donnant comme objectif de faire ça pour moins de $3-400 million (en $2025).
Are there other countries that make a distinction between personal and impersonal passes in transit, like many Italian cities do? Like, you get a lower price if your pass is on a card with a single holder's name than on a card anyone can use (Impersonale).
November 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Are there other countries that make a distinction between personal and impersonal passes in transit, like many Italian cities do? Like, you get a lower price if your pass is on a card with a single holder's name than on a card anyone can use (Impersonale).