Matthew
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optimistmatt.bsky.social
Matthew
@optimistmatt.bsky.social
have yourself a wonderful day and don’t forget to eat cookies
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20 | AuDHD
suburban urbanist
millwright
@moretransitso.bsky.social
@fasttracktoronto.bsky.social
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Toronto Area📍🇮🇹
Reposted by Matthew
Roughly 1 in 6 households car-free in Montreal and Toronto *metro areas* is quite impressive. Higher than I'd have thought.
February 8, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Matthew
The metro area with the most car-free households in 🇨🇦 is Montreal (18%), followed by Toronto (16%) and Winnipeg (14%).

Quebec City has more car-free than Vancouver!

Calgary and Edmonton have the least car-free households, but still get very respectable LRT ridership by North American standards.
February 8, 2026 at 5:45 PM
thank god man
Thank God it's a lot faster than Finch.

It is like 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday but this feels properly quick.

I'm happy.
February 8, 2026 at 4:13 PM
he’s so cooked
This explains so much.
February 6, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Reposted by Matthew
FastTrackTO is a single issue advocacy group (made upof @englishrail.bsky.social, @rmtransit.bsky.social, Narayan Donaldson and @optimistmatt.bsky.social) pushing to address slow transit in Toronto, particularly the downtown streetcars.
February 3, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Matthew
The wait is finally over. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will open this Sunday, and you can ride it for free on opening day!
February 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Matthew
Today I'll be presenting at TTC about a comprehensive plan to revitalize surface transit in Toronto. To be effective, it needs to be implemented as a package but it could radically improve the speed and reliability of streetcars, LRT, and buses.
www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...
Toronto could unlock transit potential by revitalizing surface network: advocate
A presentation set to be delivered before the TTC Board today argues that revitalizing surface transit to make it attractive to riders would involve giving vehicles “real priority” by extending green ...
www.ctvnews.ca
February 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Matthew
My @thestar.com column: The Eglinton Crosstown is finally opening this Sunday, but please, spare us the celebration. We don’t want a party — we want an apology, an explanation, and a reason to believe a bungled project like this won’t ever happen again. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Matt Elliott: When the Eglinton Crosstown LRT finally opens, they should offer us an apology, not a party
Due to Metrolinx’s veil of secrecy, there are still too many unanswered questions about why everything related to this project has been so slow.
www.thestar.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Matthew
I heard the Nintendo Wii crash noise in a YouTube video I watched today, and my brain, as usual, said "Hey, you want to make something silly?" #VideoEdits #YTPMV
January 27, 2026 at 11:03 AM
January 28, 2026 at 12:20 AM
watching anime that is 10+ years old for the first time is so crazy to me, especially since many of them don’t have much of an attachment to time in real life. it’s weird to think I was so young when most of these shows were released, and would’ve never thought I’d be watching em’ later in life 🧵
January 26, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Reposted by Matthew
No power and freezing rain.
#winter #boo #nopower #ihateice #noice
January 25, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Matthew
The healthcare worker ❤️ in our household walking to the subway. Thankfully the only portion of the TTC that is still open will take her downtown.

h/t @uhn.ca #TorontoStorm
January 26, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Matthew
Wow! This read-along of the NYT moment-by-moment leading to the murder of Alex Pretti should shake everyone awake. He was a Good Samaritan.

Agents fired at least ten shots in roughly five seconds. DHS and Pam Bondi claim Pretti approached them armed and intent on a “massacre.”
January 26, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Matthew
Gorgeous night in Toronto.

The ability to go for an evening walk during a snowstorm is priceless and can help quiet all the noise of the world. Even if for a brief moment to allow you to breathe.

#SnowTO
January 26, 2026 at 12:33 AM
good luck tomorrow y’all 😭
#winterstorm
a drawing of a person wearing an orange jacket and goggles
ALT: a drawing of a person wearing an orange jacket and goggles
media.tenor.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Reposted by Matthew
Something is right
January 25, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Reposted by Matthew
yeahhhhh i probably will be more willing to fork over the extra money for amtrak next time
Me pitching a train ad campaign
January 20, 2026 at 4:17 AM
Reposted by Matthew
An incredibly important video on the huge benefits of upzoning a North American city, and the risks that present afterwards: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVQ6...
This City Tried to Fix Housing. The Backlash Was Intense.
YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!
www.youtube.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:24 PM
it’s absolutely wild
That we still haven't removed the "you musn't go faster than 25 kph through an intersection" rule on Finch tells you a lot
January 18, 2026 at 11:57 PM
Where’s the #transparency in Canadian government bodies, and why is there no will to foster trust!?
It’s insane that even Google’s AI can figure out what is really inhibiting acceptance of change, a persistent problem in Toronto…and yet our leaders haven’t even gotten close.

Hint: It’s exactly why the NYC mayor Mamdani was so successful #toronto #ONpoli #TOpoli
January 18, 2026 at 11:57 PM
It’s insane that even Google’s AI can figure out what is really inhibiting acceptance of change, a persistent problem in Toronto…and yet our leaders haven’t even gotten close.

Hint: It’s exactly why the NYC mayor Mamdani was so successful #toronto #ONpoli #TOpoli
January 18, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Matthew
"LRT" . . . Sigh

Part of why we don't get better is because our reporting is not very good.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
January 16, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Matthew
To be clear, the finch light rail being shut down because of snow in Canada is nuts. I personally had to dig my household out of probably thousands of pounds of it and it wasn't fun but this is a literal rail system! Just feels like an extension of the mismanagement.
January 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Matthew
Want to know what's broken with transit in Canada? Often the same things broken in other areas, government willing to charge taxpayers huge amounts to keep votes in select communities
January 17, 2026 at 2:36 PM