Below is a link to a July 20, 2025 video from Jason Slaughter’s ‘Not Just Bikes’ YouTube channel. The video is ostensibly about trams and streetcars, but I also find it to be a nice encapsulation of many topics that our own advocacy groups address in their respective forums:

• Defining what factors are needed for a streetcar to be as useful as it can, and how groundbreaking the outcomes are when city designs allow for the best streetcar service.
• City planning to prioritize street usage for efficient methods to reach the highest throughput of passengers.
• City designs that promote the most efficient and safe sharing of infrastructure among transit, cars/trucks, bikes, and pedestrians.
• City designs that prioritize safe and efficient streetcar accessibility.
• Streetcar route efficiency, including prioritization of traffic signals for transit, as well as street-calming techniques.
• National, regional, and local policies and cultural norms that either facilitate or hamper efficient passenger throughput.

One segment I found particularly illuminating referred to the Toronto King Street pilot project to improve streetcar efficiency on that corridor. The large increase in ridership due to better service, for a project cost that was relatively low, is in inspiration. (Unfortunately, the inertia of local Toronto government clamped the success by not leveraging and replicating the project across the city.)

There are some more nuggets in this jam-packed presentation. See if you can find them … One I’ll give away: His discourse on ramps versus level-boarding streetcars …

I recommend the ‘Not Just Bikes’ YouTube channel with content researched, created, and narrated by Jason Slaughter. His content focuses on urban planning and city design with special attention to the synergies among cars, transit, bikers, and pedestrians. Jason currently resided in Amsterdam, formerly in Toronto. When discussing his topics, he often uses his own experiences and personal video footage from various cities to illustrate his points, and to compare and contrast what he feels works well versus what doesn’t.

Not Just Bikes

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