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πππππ πΆππππππ πIn The Devil's Picnic, I travelled the world in a quest for forbidden substances, from coca leaves in #Bolivia to clandestine absinthe in the canton of Jura in #Switzerland.
This critically-acclaimed travelogue, a deep dive into the psychology of prohibition, now available as an e-book:
https://tinyurl.com/mrye62z3
πππππ πΆππππππ π"A passionately argued and important book." βThe Guardian
My book #Straphanger, in which I travel world looking at best (+ worst) in transportation + urbanism, is now available as an e-bookβat a nice price.
(NEW: I'm now the publisher, as well as the author! Buying here directly funds my writingβand my new project, about the passenger rail revival.)
https://shorturl.at/oJpZu
πππππ πΆππππππ πWe're getting our first look at Grand #Paris Express in action.
The driverless trains will run at 110 km/h, putting this among the fastest metros in the world.
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4 all-new metro lines
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68 new stations
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200 km (125 miles) of new tracks
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1 major line extension (Line 14, both ends)
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πππππ πΆππππππ πJust back from a ride on Via Rail's Canadian!
I travelled 4,406 kilometers in 3 days, 19 hours. And it was wonderful...
Over the next year, I'll ride the rails across Canada, from Halifax, NS, to Carcross, YT.
You can sign up for dispatches about trains + transit here:
https://www.highspeed.blog/radio-silence-from-the-transcontinental/
πππππ πΆππππππ πOC Transpo, the transit agency of #Ottawa, has really been knocking it out of the park lately. (Out of the park, and into the sewer grate.)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/out-of-service-oc-transpo-bus-gets-stuck-under-shopping-mall-sign-1.7608325
πππππ πΆππππππ πNEW RESEARCH: Parked cars can account for 10 percent of the surface areas of some cities. It turns out that their albedo (reflectivity) can significantly contribute to the urban heat island effect.
Dark-coloured cars are the worst, making the air around them 3.8Β°C hotter vs nearby asphalt road.
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πππππ πΆππππππ πNote to Doug Ford, premier of #Ontario: we had this figured out 60 years ago. Yet somehow you still don't get it.
A vintage reminder, courtesy of #Toronto subway, of how much pain (and congestion, and pollution...) public transit spares our cities.
πππππ πΆππππππ πThe beautiful city of #Bordeaux already has the largest downtown pedestrian zone in #France: all told, 46 kilometers of streets are car-free.
As of Jan. 1 2026, all cars and motorcycles will be excluded from the centre.
https://www.bordeaux.fr/le-secteur-pieton-de-bordeaux-en-5-points
πππππ πΆππππππ πMayor of #London writes: Dear Britain, itβs now clear. 20 mph zones save lives. Implement them.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/12/britain-20mph-zones-save-lives-traffic-safe-streets
πππππ πΆππππππ πWord to the wise: police in #Montreal are handing out $140 tickets to people caught using blue Bixis without a helmet. These are the e-bikes: they can go up to 32 km/h (20 mph). I like what cops have done in NYC and other citiesβthey give out helmets when they stop people.