Marco Chitti
@chittimarco.bsky.social
đ€ 6311
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Researcher on urban planning and public transportation.
https://marcochitti.substack.com/
pinned post!
It took quite a while, but the paper about the history of high-speed rail planning in Italy that I co-authored with
@beriapaolo.bsky.social
is finally out! It's open source, so you can read it at length (it is pretty long), But here is a TL;DR: đ§”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
6 months ago
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đđđđđđđ
youtu.be/aWAoFMaMjTA?...
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Riapre via indipendenza
YouTube video by Comune di Bologna
https://youtu.be/aWAoFMaMjTA?si=pxipf1Wb2R3lduTK
2 days ago
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reposted by
Marco Chitti
Brendan Dawe
2 days ago
Honestly wasn't expecting the 2022 Surrey-Langley Skytrain Extension Capital Cost Memo to remind me of the Epstein Files
surreylangleyskytrain.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/...
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Madrid is burying and capping yet another portion of its urban highways, putting a linear park on top. Meanwhile, we leave them as they are or do "highway to urban boulevards" (aka landscaped stroads) because we forgot how to bury things.
youtube.com/shorts/tLSkJ...
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đ§ Gran avance en el soterramiento de la A-5 en Madrid: comienza una nueva fase clave
YouTube video by Ayuntamiento de Madrid
https://youtube.com/shorts/tLSkJiEbD1A?si=ISSE__jUUeet55og
4 days ago
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That's quite the chart of the % of new starts by type in greater Montréal since 2000. More and more a metro area of apartments. From the new Metropolitan plan PMAD.
cmm.qc.ca/wp-content/u...
5 days ago
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This is exactly what happens in large infrastructure projects and ends up driving costs: many times, institutional arrangements determine the perimeter of what is technically possible. I'm pretty sure ALTO's alignment choice will offer a great example of how institutions shapes the material world
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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reposted by
Marco Chitti
Uday Schultz
5 days ago
This is to say: had this merger happened a few years ago, the capacity pressure that required bulldozing housing in the first place would not have existed. It's incredible what re-configuring institutional incentives can do to the material world.
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Without going into the exotic perfection of the Nordics, that's exactly what Italy does, too. AFAICT, pre-filled tax declarations for people on a payroll are the norm in most of Europe nowadays.
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5 days ago
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Today Montpellier inaugurated its 5th tram line, bringing the network to 83 km. The first line was opened in 2000. The network has grown highly interlined, with multiple trunks crossing the central area.
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5 days ago
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Epstein Files đ€ FOIA for a Canadian infrastructure projects' cost estimates.
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6 days ago
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I guess keeping all these electric cables outside is a good idea right? This happens 2-3 times per year, at least.
6 days ago
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reposted by
Marco Chitti
Florian BONET
6 days ago
Tout est en ligne sur leur site internet :
www.cerema.fr/fr/actualite...
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Carrefours cyclables en milieu urbain: les rĂšgles de conception
1/ La rĂšgle dâor : proposer des trajets cyclables crĂ©dibles, respectant les rĂšgles sur les rayons de courbure des trajectoiresLa rĂšgle dâor pour tous les projets de carrefour est la crĂ©dibilitĂ© des tr...
https://www.cerema.fr/fr/actualites/carrefours-cyclables-milieu-urbain-regles-conception
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reposted by
Marco Chitti
Florian BONET
6 days ago
Le
#CEREMA
vient de publier un dossier spécial "Carrefours cyclables en milieu urbain : les rÚgles de conception". On y trouve les clés pour réussir un aménagement qui a toutes les chances de bien fonctionner. N'hésitez pas à l'utiliser. Avec un exemple à Clermont Ferrand ;)
@cerema.bsky.social
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Speed Matters. Some thoughts about transit and speed, life, space and time.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
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Speed matters
Of time, life and space. Or why transit speed matters.
https://open.substack.com/pub/marcochitti/p/speed-matters?r=1rjrgo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
9 days ago
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Does "running times optimism" also exist for grade-segregated transit? If you look at REM, the answer is not as much as for street-running projects like Finch West. D-M -> Canora 2016 ridership study = 27 min current scheduled = 29' D-M -> Gare C.le 2016 = 32' (w/o McGill & E-M) current = 37'
9 days ago
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From Today, Rome's metro will be slightly less underbuilt: the two-station segment between San Giovanni and Colosseo-Fori Inperiali just opened, increasing by a round 50% the number of connections in the network (from 2 to 3 đ), giving Rome a partial "Soviet Triangle" Pics from various sources.
9 days ago
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Montréal, 2025: on doit interrompre la voie réservée en rive pour permettre tous les virages à droite France, 1972: il est opportun d'interdire le virage à droite lorsque ils existent des trajets parallÚles. C'est trÚs efficace!
9 days ago
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Hardplatz is another interesting example of how Zurich's traffic management is not just about fine-tuning of signal cycles but broader circulation planning aiming at simplifying intersections to make then manageable. Transformed from a very complex 6-leg junction to a way simpler node in the 1980s
10 days ago
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I find it pretty hilarious that there are people fantasizing about building tramways in Montréal when one of the "frequent" lines that said tramways are supposed to replace run this kind of service. I guess I'm gonna clog the streets wirh a communauto
10 days ago
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The existence of the letter H after any letter that is not a C or a G is a conspiracy against Italians. Sorry, foreign borrower of the Latin alphabet, you cannot just throw random H with other consonants. That's just wrong.
10 days ago
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Places that do not understand tram operations: let's run them with train-like positive protection. Places that do understand tram operations: let's build a 100 m-long platform at our busiest stop so both trams and buses can board simultaneously. We trust trained drivers to handle this. (Ulm HB)
10 days ago
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"Et de son cĂŽtĂ©, le promoteur ne souhaitait pas Ă©riger ses tours sur des fondations quâil nâavait pas lui-mĂȘme construites." Densifier autour des stations â ïž Densifier SUR les stations âïž (On se cherche de la complexitĂ© additionnelle sur un projet dĂ©jĂ complexe)
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10 days ago
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For people not familiar with the matter: any tram line I'm aware of globally works in so-called "line-of-sight", i.e. it's 100% manually operated by the driver with some protection for single track and switches None use PTO signaling (i.e. that enforce max speed), except on off-street sections
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10 days ago
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Austro-Hungarian vibes today as the new daily Vienna-Trieste Railjet arrived in Trieste, part of the new services made possible by the Koralmbahn.
www.ilpiccolo.it/nordest/tren...
11 days ago
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"Bologna, cittĂ senz'auto"* The War on Cars, Bologna edition, 1993. *Bologna, a city without cars. Policy document in preparation of the 1995 Traffic Plan.
11 days ago
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I will hold any consideration until the actual alignment options for Alto HSR are known, but once again we are probably gonna see the curse of anglosphere urbanism on HSR, i.e. the financial and political burden of routing rail through our infinite sprawl for (not?) getting to downtown.
11 days ago
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My understanding is that these signals double as what the French call a SAC (SystĂšme d'Aide Ă la Conduite) which tell drivers that the priority request has been taken into account. The French systems generally have both a priority activated (flashing diamond) and pre-green ( flashing "!")
add a skeleton here at some point
12 days ago
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Today is the last day of operations for Milano Porta Genova station, opened in 1870. Starting with tomorrow's winter timetable changes, the only remaining service terminating there, the R31, will be routed along the railway belt to Rogoredo.
12 days ago
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I'm more and more convinced that there should be only two kinds of meetings: quick calls with maximum 3-4 people to solve immediate problems or Conclave-type ones where the relevant people are locked in a room indefinitely until they figure out a solution. Everything else is a waste of time
13 days ago
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Today Austria inaugurated the Koralmbahn, offering a more direct route between Vienna and the Italian border and putting all its major southern cities on a single line. It's designed for 250 km/h, like most HSR segments in Austria.
13 days ago
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Looking at the Montréal map, it's quite clear how people density is different form floor density Despite having similar typologies (all mostly plexes) to the surrounding ones, the three three highlighted areas are denser because of student flat sharing (McGill ghetto) or poorer (Parc Ex, MTL Nord)
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13 days ago
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One more dedicated left-turn and right-turn lane will fix it, bro, I promise. All we need is just a couple more lanes and longer cycles to increase throughput.
14 days ago
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REM, McGill station. 2:30 pm. Platform direction Deux-Montagnes. Train is due in 5 minutes.
14 days ago
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Everything in planning is about trade-offs. The pros and cons of the two main TSP strategies used in France: "slipping" (the transit phase will "slip" within the normal cycle) versus "overriding" (the transit phase overrides the next phase to keep it in sync). from:
www.cerema.fr/fr/system/fi...
15 days ago
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"Pour les services de transport collectif, la prioritĂ© aux carrefours est essentielle Ă la dĂ©finition du « haut niveau de service ». " Ăa paraĂźt Ă©vident. Toutefois, ce constat n'a malheureusement pas franchi l'AtlantiqueâŠ
15 days ago
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This is an interesting example of how the strategy for signal priority is intertwined with road design. This arrangement in Besançon might look odd: a lateral queue-jump with nearside stop continuing into a center-running dedicated lane, adding an unnecessary conflict with through traffic. BUT
15 days ago
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I think it would be possible to write a dissertation about the diverging philosophies of traffic management between Europe (or in general Vienna convention countries) and North America, just by starting from the fact that this road sign, i.e. "priority road", does not exist in North America.
15 days ago
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Interesting drone video of the Verona-Vicenza HSR. Most of the civils and the roadbed are completed. Tracklying and OLE installation have started in multiple points. Works started in 2020 and the line is expected to open in December 2026.
youtu.be/gl_EcjA1iAc?...
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Dicembre 2025 - AV/AC Verona-Padova: in volo sul futuro tracciato della nuova linea
YouTube video by Verona-Padova Iricav Due
https://youtu.be/gl_EcjA1iAc?si=OQ9R2Y7Ud5W0CTbf
15 days ago
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The secret sauce of Zurich's transit priority at intersections: two-stage crossings, variable length cycles made of stages that can change their length and order adaptively, and narrow lanes and intersections resulting in very short clearing times
16 days ago
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Talking about setting up priority rules for a VISSIM traffic simulation "It is assumed that most of the time that will be the case, since in reality Swiss drivers seem to be friendly and often yield even when they are not required to do so."
archiv.ivt.ethz.ch/docs/student...
16 days ago
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reposted by
Marco Chitti
Oh The Urbanity!
16 days ago
Toronto is not the only city failing to provide strong signal priority for its transit projects!
@ontariotrafficman.bsky.social
is working his way through documents on transit signal priority on Montrealâs Pie-IX BRT, recently obtained by
@tovarischmark.bsky.social
in a request for information.
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So, apparently the TSP of the SRB Pie-IX is a real joke. Canada loves to spend millions to build transit in dedicated RoW...and then waste all the advantage in non-existent signal priority.
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16 days ago
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Two examples from Zurich of how indirect maneuvers help simplify intersection management and deliver effective Transit Priority even in very complex junctions, as part of a broader circulation plan. The Bellevue/Stadelhofen and Kreuplatz nodes
17 days ago
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Your daily reminder that the most effective transit priority strategy at intersection is... not having an intersection at all.
17 days ago
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L'integration urbaine c'est effectivement l'un des grands points faibles du REM. D'ailleurs Bois-Franc c'est aussi une énorme occasion ratée pour realiser un passage piéton/vélo sous les voies hors de la station. On va regretter ça.
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/g...
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REM à Bois-Franc | Un raccourci bloqué pour les usagers
AccĂ©der Ă la nouvelle station Bois-Franc du RĂ©seau express mĂ©tropolitain (REM) est parfois plus facile en voiture quâĂ pied. Pour corriger le tir, des usagers rĂ©clament lâouverture dâun raccourci piĂ©t...
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2025-12-08/rem-a-bois-franc/un-raccourci-bloque-pour-les-usagers.php
17 days ago
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I couldn't resist
17 days ago
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I'm repeating myself ad nauseam, but this totally stupid nonsense of all identical traffic lights with written signs to indicate what they are meant for is so absolutely insane that has come to symbolize the hyper-provincialism of Ontario and why it fails so miserably at transit construction.
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18 days ago
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I must have missed the snap elections when Reform won a majority. It's quite clear that they've already won.
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18 days ago
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You know what's funny? It's that Canada does multi-stage pedestrian crossing in its oldest LRT, in Edmonton! Because it treats it as a railway crossing, with railway barriers... But conceptually it's a multi-stage pedestrian crossing, allowing the LRT to have full priority... at 70 km/h!
add a skeleton here at some point
18 days ago
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"aspettando il tram" waiting for the tram via Indipendenza in Bologna finally pedestrianized for good as the tramway works draw to an end Pics: Comune di Bologna.
20 days ago
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Technology is cool and all but did you ever happen to think that what is possibly the most impressive and comprehensive transit signal priority system in the world, Zurich's, is essentially based on updated versions of 1970s and 80s tech, i.e. induction loops, antennas and basic programming?
20 days ago
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