Episode 7 - Church Street, the big soccer (football) game, and travelling on VIA Rail (w/ Arden)

Episode 7 - Church Street, the big soccer (football) game, and travelling on VIA Rail (w/ Arden)

We're joined by Arden English, who is an undergraduate student studying planning at Simon Fraser University. He also produces educational videos on his YouTube channel “The Greater Discussions” covering topics around city planning and transportation within the context of British Columbia and has also been collaborating with the CBC Creator Network, bringing his YouTube style to a national audience. Arden and Denis discuss their local insights into the closure of Granville Street for the duration of the 2026 World Cup so to allow a pedestrian zone, which includes Vancouver and Toronto as host cities. And on the subject of Toronto, Rodney discusses the closure of Church Street as a pilot project for its pedestrianisation. Ever journeyed across the country on rail? Arden recently travelled on VIA Rail's The Canadian, travelling from Vancouver to Toronto. We discuss why he did this and what his impression was of this service that only runs twice weekly between two of Canada's largest cities. --- Church Street pedestrianisation: https://www.experiencethevillage.ca FIFA 2026 World Cup Granville Street closure: https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/granville-street-pedestrian-zone-june-2026.aspx The Greater Discussions: https://youtube.com/@TheGreaterDiscussions Contact us! mailbag@dwelltime.ca https://dwelltime.ca https://bsky.app/profile/dwelltime.ca https://www.instagram.com/dwelltimepod/

Episode 6 - Transit in Edmonton (with Emily)

Emily Stremel of Edmonton Transit Riders (ETR) joins us in how transit advocacy came to be in Alberta's capital city and the challenges and strengths the region has in making transit great for everyone. We also learn about her insights into the music scene in Toronto and Montréal. --- https://edmontontransitriders.org/ [https://edmontontransitriders.org/] https://www.instagram.com/edmontontransitriders [https://www.instagram.com/edmontontransitriders] https://www.tiktok.com/@edmontontransitriders [https://www.tiktok.com/@edmontontransitriders] https://bsky.app/profile/etriders.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/etriders.bsky.social] https://www.linkedin.com/company/edmonton-transit-riders/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/edmonton-transit-riders/]

Episode 5 - Advocacy wins and setbacks (with Damian)

Advocacy matters and it can lead to wins even with losses elsewhere. We discuss the expansion of the R4 RapidBus in Metro Vancouver, the return of late-night bus service in Waterloo, Ontario, and a survey performed by Abacus around support for ALTO's high speed rail service between Toronto and Quebec City. Damian Mikhail is a Waterloo community organizer, deeply focused on activating young people in politics. Getting his start in municipal politics as founder and president of the University of Waterloo NDP Club, he spearheaded two student transit coalitions that protected Waterloo from cuts to off-peak Ion service and brought Night Transit to the city. At time of recording, he is at the tail end of his term as President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association. --- Student advocacy saves evening ION LRT service https://uwaterloo.ca/news/environment/student-advocacy-saves-evening-transit-service GRT bringing back late night bus in Waterloo after advocacy https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/late-night-loop-route-91-grand-river-transit-university-district-1.7184466 R4 expansion in Metro Vancouver, linking North Vancouver and Burnaby https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/north-shore-metrotown-expanded-rapidbus-9.7157034 TriTAG Website: https://www.tritag.ca/ Instagram & Bluesky: @tritag.ca Damien: @MikhailDamian for Twitter @damian7m for Instagram Abacus Data Survey on ALTO HSR Support https://www.altno.ca/_files/ugd/f1a60d_f91a3f0ada144cb981f03a0da603e347.pdf

Episode 4 - What can we learn from SEPTA and Philly? (with Justin Roczniak)

In 2025, both Metro Vancouver and Philadelphia faced tremendous budget cuts only to have them cancelled at the last minute through the age-old method of kicking the can down the road. We're joined by Justin Roczniak, one of the hosts of Well There's Your Problem podcast where we discuss not only the budget troubles transit agencies face, but calamities such as trolley poles that have no business being used in places they don't belong or the current state of affairs with the bus manufacturing industry in North America. This episode will be a bit chaotic due to our audio recording software having a mind of its own. Please excuse any weirdness with how parts of the episode are segued! --- Justin's links: https://www.wtyppod.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/donoteat.bsky.social https://www.youtube.com/user/donoteat01 https://www.transitforwardphilly.org/ [https://www.transitforwardphilly.org/] https://blvdsubway.com/ [https://blvdsubway.com/] Mayor Chow Announces Phase 1 TSP for Lines 5 and 6 https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1rqd87j/transit_signal_priority_update/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1rqd87j/transit_signal_priority_update/] https://ontariotrafficman.wordpress.com/ [https://ontariotrafficman.wordpress.com/] Metrolinx Documents Leaked: Series by Jack Hauen: * Shorter, more frequent GO train plan ‘unlikely to materialize’: leaked document * https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/shorter-more-frequent-go-train-plan-unlikely-to-materialize-leaked-document-12023949 [https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/shorter-more-frequent-go-train-plan-unlikely-to-materialize-leaked-document-12023949] * Metrolinx could run first electric GO trains in 2036: leaked document * https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/metrolinx-could-run-first-electric-go-trains-in-2036-leaked-document-12019017 [https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/metrolinx-could-run-first-electric-go-trains-in-2036-leaked-document-12019017] * GO trains in ‘poor’ condition and could ‘begin to fail’ in 2026, says leaked report * https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/go-trains-in-poor-condition-and-could-begin-to-fail-in-2026-says-leaked-report-12011777 [https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news/go-trains-in-poor-condition-and-could-begin-to-fail-in-2026-says-leaked-report-12011777] Three door buses for Vancouver https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-new-solaris-trolley-bus-three-doors [https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/translink-new-solaris-trolley-bus-three-doors]

Episode 3 - Talking Mexico, Halifax, and Eglinton Crosstown (with August)

While a Canadian did not make it on a round trip from Earth to the Moon just yet, the Eglinton Crosstown or simply "Line 5" did in fact finally open! Joined by August from TTCriders, we discuss our first impressions and how monumental this is for the Greater Toronto Area. Denis talks about his time travelling across warm and sunny Mexico while Rodney speaks about his simultaneous visit to Halifax, which admittedly was nowhere near as warm. --- Learn more about August! https://bsky.app/profile/auguststreet.ca https://www.auguststreet.ca https://bsky.app/profile/ttcriders.bsky.social https://www.ttcriders.ca Olivia Chow’s Thread on signal priority https://www.threads.com/@mayoroliviachow/post/DVHTrvbEqzh?xmt=AQF0OQVPeUKbmxz3XcQnAIMwRXtrl8GEL8-9HZMayk6ZlA [https://www.threads.com/@mayoroliviachow/post/DVHTrvbEqzh?xmt=AQF0OQVPeUKbmxz3XcQnAIMwRXtrl8GEL8-9HZMayk6ZlA] Canada Public Transit Fund cut by $5 billion https://environmentaldefence.ca/2026/02/02/statement-5-billion-in-transit-cuts-a-huge-step-backwards/ [https://environmentaldefence.ca/2026/02/02/statement-5-billion-in-transit-cuts-a-huge-step-backwards/] Halifax Transit Advocacy Group: It’s More Than Buses https://morethanbuses.ca/ [https://morethanbuses.ca/] Activate Transit Windsor Essex https://activatetransitwindsoressex.ca/ [https://activatetransitwindsoressex.ca/] HFX by Bike https://www.youtube.com/@hfxbybike [https://www.youtube.com/@hfxbybike] Denis’s Thread about Mexico https://bsky.app/profile/denisagar.bsky.social/post/3megqagnqis2a [https://bsky.app/profile/denisagar.bsky.social/post/3megqagnqis2a] Jonathan English’s report for CSA for the show notes:  https://www.csagroup.org/article/public-policy/making-the-grade-recommendations-for-addressing-the-high-cost-of-canadas-transit-infrastructure/ [https://www.csagroup.org/article/public-policy/making-the-grade-recommendations-for-addressing-the-high-cost-of-canadas-transit-infrastructure/]