Jedwin Mok
@jedwinmok
Transport Planner & Researcher Creative Director | cityux.com Research Lead | infrastoryinsights.com
Can confirm. As Gabe posted this I'm in beautiful Prague riding trams that are nearly 10km/h faster on average than Toronto's, despite having large sections in mixed traffic. Let's catch up with the rest of the world, reduce emissions and boost the economy!
How can we even begin addressing the problem if we can’t even acknowledge we have one?
Montreal’s Blue Line Extension believes they are building at “competitive” costs. The project is over $1B/km… Italy, Spain, and South Korea (democracies with environmental laws!) are building underground metros for ~$150M/km. The global average is ~ $300M/km! montrealgazette.com/news/costs-o...
Metrolinx will soon “set up a procurement to think through how to best procure 1400 rail cars - specifically EMUs” Disappointed that we need a procurement for the procurement for a world-standard technology, but 11 years after GO RER, a decision has been made. baby steps, baby steps…
Toronto’s transit cost disease has hit… metal fences. Just a reminder that $2M CAD is about the cost of half height PSGs for one platform in Hong Kong. Then we use NYC to justify our wild cost estimates for actual screen doors. The incuriosity and Anglo echo-chamber here is astounding.
Without reform to governance and institutions, we’ll always be too afraid to propose a vision like Taipei or Paris or Istanbul or Hong Kong. This new year, let’s stop being afraid. Demand more from our institutions. Hold politicians accountable. Speak truth to power. Let’s dream big again! 9/9
What might’ve looked like a series of short, nonsensical stub lines just 20 years ago now form the basis for one of the best planned metro networks on earth. 200K+ people attending this year’s festivities can use all 3 lines across 8 stations no matter their destination! 7/
Pulling this off required an incredible feat of long-term planning & engineering: - preserved ROWs for lines & junctions - ‘overbuilt’ stations for their expected final state - weaving, underpinning, & tight tolerances Line colors in this 2007 map are set in preparation for the end state. 6/
Look closely! The secret of the network lies before the primary lines enter into a grid pattern: a series of 4 cross-platform interchanges across 4 high-capacity lines. Each line interacts with every other DESPITE the grid, creating easy directional transfers & distributing the load. 5/
This metro grid facilitates trips from anywhere to anywhere, meaning event attendees don’t really care what line they take. It’s only possible as a result of steady investment and careful planning towards an ambitious vision first dreamt up by consultants in the 1970s. 4/
How do you get 200K+ people out of a tiny area all at once? With Taipei’s metro grid, of course! 3 metro lines, EACH capable of moving 40,000 PPHPD serve 8 different stations (120,000 PPHPD). Car infrastructure taking up the same amount of space would move only ~3000 PPHPD. 3/
As an attendee, everything flows well without car traffic. - 2km^2 of city closed to cars - pedestrians use the entire road width - crowd control by thousands of staff - extra tap points installed in stations These measures work only because Taipei has been preparing for DECADES! 2/
Happy New Year from Taipei! Tonight, major roads are CLOSED as the metro works overtime as the primary mode of transport. 1M+ people will celebrate, with 200K+ at the busiest site. Dodgers stadium can’t host a 50K event without crippling traffic. We got lots to learn… 1/🧵
The suburban centres of Sydney are MUST SEE TV! - Masterful urban integration between indoor/outdoor space - Small retail units for street activation & entrepreneurship - Centered on fast & frequent suburban rail We’ve got much to learn from Australia… (📷 Chatswood, Parramatta, Hurstville)
It’s great that stronger TSP is now a political priority. Unfortunately, our $3B+ tramway will STILL take 46-min to go 10km, slower than the bus. This is due to: - “Vision Zero” speed limits of 35 midblocks, 25 intersections, 15 platforms - speed limits and gradients enforced by unnecessary CBTC
We’ve gotta talk about the Finch West megaramp… There’s no way that the additional excavation required for all that station volume isn’t more expensive than a simple elevator. It’s also such an insult to force anyone with mobility issues to walk 3x the distance!
At $240M/km, Finch West LRT is… - MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway - 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations … for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic. Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
Some GTFS data for REM was released recently and… holy shit will this project fundamentally change Montreal’s geography. I suspect ridership is underestimated, particularly if feeders are done properly. This is how high impact, low cost transit projects create modal shift folks (📷 via agoramtl)
Hurontario LRT construction, as seen from above… … showing the stupidity of building it as a surface tramway. The line will cost $300M+/km, more than 2x the cost of fully underground metros in other developed nations…
Toronto city council’s reaction to literally anything is demanding more consultation. Bus lanes, Pedestrian streets, Platform screen doors, legal apartments… BASICS in any global city. The horror! Council is literally afraid of getting anything done - and it’ll cost Chow the mayoralty in 2026.
Unfortunately, as we know, two pillars - RapidTO and GO Expansion - are currently in a sorry state. RapidTO originally consisted of 5 initial corridors - Jane, Dufferin, Bathurst, Steeles, and Eglinton East - which by my rough math would’ve served more than 272,000 RIDERS PER DAY. 10/