Good Roads Podcast

This week, Thomas and Andrew unpack three stories that explore autonomous vehicles, road safety trends, and vehicle emissions standards.
🤖 Waymo Testing Needed
Waymo is beginning testing on Toronto’s streets this month, mapping the city and testing vehicles with human drivers before moving to fully autonomous operation, with a robotaxi service planned for 2028. We discuss how Toronto’s winters could challenge the technology, the questions around congestion and transit, and why the province will need to update its regulations before AVs can pick up passengers.
🚶 The Carnage Continues
By mid-October, 42 people had been killed in traffic collisions in Toronto, including 20 pedestrians and 11 motorcyclists, a 24% increase from 2025. Ottawa has already recorded 29 traffic deaths this year, compared with 23 in all of 2025. We look at what the numbers say about vulnerable road users and what municipalities can do.
🚙 The Unbearable Lightness of Trucks
For decades, a regulatory loophole has let SUVs qualify as “light trucks” under less stringent fuel-economy standards. Beginning in 2030, the US will classify light trucks by towing and payload capacity instead, but the change comes alongside a sweeping rollback of fuel-economy requirements. We explore what it could mean for Canada, which has similar classifications and is set to strengthen its own standards in 2030.
📚 Show References
Kelowna council candidate who joked he was unqualified wins a seat (CBC News)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/brady-rogers-satire-kelowna-campaign-win-9.7387848
Why Watch the Good Roads Podcast?
✔ Fast, informed municipal discussions
✔ Infrastructure, transportation, and policy explained clearly
✔ Built for municipal leaders, engineers, and decision-makers
👍 Stay Connected with Good Roads
Good Roads https://goodroads.ca
Good Roads Conference https://goodroads.ca/conference
Subscribe to the Good Roads Bulletin (Free Weekly Email) https://goodroads.ca/good-roads-bulletin/
If you enjoy the episode, like, subscribe, and share it with someone working in municipal infrastructure.

In this special municipal election edition, Thomas and Andrew unpack three stories that could shape the ballot questions voters hear about: road funding, e-scooters, and bike lanes.
🕳️ The Long and Winding Road
Voters across the province are ranking road conditions among their top campaign issues, often tied to concerns about taxes and accountability. Greater Sudbury is projecting a jump from $37 million in road spending in 2025 to $67 million in 2027. Meanwhile, Good Roads’ review of more than 40 municipal 10-year plans found councils are “fiscally handcuffed” into resurfacing when rebuilding would last longer. We discuss what the next council inherits, and why a financing plan matters as much as a paving list.
🛴 Scoot Over
The AODA Alliance is urging voters to ask council candidates to sign a municipal disability accessibility pledge, starting with no e-scooters in public places backed by real enforcement. We look at the concerns for pedestrians who are blind or use wheelchairs, how municipal approaches vary, and why micromobility policy is only as good as the street design and enforcement behind it.
🚲 The Spokes Have Spoken
A new Abacus Data survey of 2,000 Ontarians suggests road safety could move votes, with 46% more likely to support a candidate who commits to road safety and cycling infrastructure. 64% believe municipalities, not Queen’s Park, should decide where local bike lanes go. We dig into the results, including a warning sign: the share of Ontarians who never cycle has climbed to 41%.
Why Watch the Good Roads Podcast?
✔ Fast, informed municipal discussions
✔ Infrastructure, transportation, and policy explained clearly
✔ Built for municipal leaders, engineers, and decision-makers
👍 Stay Connected with Good Roads
Good Roads https://goodroads.ca
Good Roads Conference https://goodroads.ca/conference
Subscribe to the Good Roads Bulletin (Free Weekly Email) https://goodroads.ca/good-roads-bulletin/
If you enjoy the episode, like, subscribe, and share it with someone working in municipal infrastructure.

This week, Thomas and Andrew unpack three stories that explore road safety messaging, automated enforcement, and vehicle data privacy.
🚧 Someone Died Here – Slow Down
Spokane, Washington has launched the first real-world pilot of “Emergency Streets,” deploying temporary traffic-calming measures after every fatal crash. Instead of flowers and memorials, drivers see pink cones and signs saying a motorist died there. Early data shows no increase in crashes and little effect on travel times. We discuss whether the approach could work in Ontario communities.
📷 Under the Unblinking Gaze of the All-Seeing Highway
Waterloo Regional Police and MTO are installing automated licence plate recognition cameras on provincial highways, beginning with Highway 401. Mississauga is using similar technology for parking enforcement in school zones, while Brampton and Sudbury have added stationary cameras at intersections. We explore what these Flock-style systems can do, and the privacy questions that come with them.
🚗 Your Car Is Watching You Too
Researchers at Northeastern University and Consumer Reports examined 21 vehicles and 30 companion apps. They found that 19 of the 21 vehicles communicated with third-party companies, including advertising and tracking services, and that discrepancies exist between privacy disclosures and actual data sharing. We break down what your car is transmitting, and how little control drivers have over it.
📚 Show References
‘Try not to let moose lick your car,’ warns Parks Canada, as more moose flock to highways (CBC News)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dont-let-moose-lick-1.7074587
Elephant collects ‘tax’ from passing trucks in Thailand’s Chachoengsao (Asia News Network)
https://asianews.network/elephant-collects-tax-from-passing-trucks-in-thailands-chachoengsao/
Why Watch the Good Roads Podcast?
✔ Fast, informed municipal discussions
✔ Infrastructure, transportation, and policy explained clearly
✔ Built for municipal leaders, engineers, and decision-makers
👍 Stay Connected with Good Roads
Good Roads https://goodroads.ca
Good Roads Conference https://goodroads.ca/conference
Subscribe to the Good Roads Bulletin (Free Weekly Email) https://goodroads.ca/good-roads-bulletin/
If you enjoy the episode, like, subscribe, and share it with someone working in municipal infrastructure.

This week, Thomas and Andrew unpack three stories that explore highway design, autonomous vehicle enforcement, and vehicle safety.
🛣️ Two's Company, Three's a Highway
A new Northern Policy Institute report argues that most of the Highway 11-17-71 corridor needs 2+1 lanes, not full four-lane twinning. The estimated cost is about $3.3 billion versus $18.8 billion, in a region where the road fatality rate is more than double the South's. We discuss where twinning still makes sense and why the upcoming Highway 11 pilot in Nipissing could be the test case.
🤖 A Robotaxi at the Farmers Market
An empty Waymo slipped past closure barricades at a Denver farmers market and cruised between vendor tents. Police and State Patrol confirmed that state law has no mechanism to ticket a vehicle without a driver. We explore who gets the ticket, and what Ontario should settle before robotaxis arrive.
🛻 Half-Measures for Supersized Vehicles
You don't have to ban pickups to act on pedestrian safety. We look at three practical steps: reining in aftermarket lift kits and bull bars, regulating grille heights or requiring front cameras, and asking whether public fleets really need a pickup for every job. One of those is entirely in municipal hands.
Why Watch the Good Roads Podcast?
✔ Fast, informed municipal discussions
✔ Infrastructure, transportation, and policy explained clearly
✔ Built for municipal leaders, engineers, and decision-makers
👍 Stay Connected with Good Roads
Good Roads https://goodroads.ca
Good Roads Conference https://goodroads.ca/conference
Subscribe to the Good Roads Bulletin (Free Weekly Email) https://goodroads.ca/good-roads-bulletin/
If you enjoy the episode, like, subscribe, and share it with someone working in municipal infrastructure.

This week, Thomas and Andrew unpack three stories that explore trucking safety, transit investment, and the future of vehicle safety technology.
🚛 Ontario Takes the Wheel on Truck Driver Training
Following a critical Auditor General’s report, Ontario is developing a new standardized curriculum for entry-level truck drivers. The overhaul comes after serious concerns about inadequate training, poor oversight, and inconsistent testing across private colleges. We discuss why rural and northern driving could finally become a core part of commercial driver education—and why that matters for road safety across the province.
🚆 The Economic Payoff of Public Transit
A new Montreal study makes a compelling financial argument for investing in transit, finding it generates more than three times the GDP impact of spending tied to private vehicles while supporting significantly more jobs. We explore what this means for congestion, economic development, and why successful transit systems require more than just new infrastructure—they need riders.
😴 Can Your Car Wake You Up?
A sleeping Tesla driver recently made headlines after being stopped on the Trans-Canada Highway while using self-driving mode. Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s new Emergency Assist Plus system takes a different approach: detecting driver responsiveness, issuing escalating alerts, and even pulling the vehicle over before calling for help. We compare the latest approaches to preventing fatigue-related crashes.
📚 Stories & Resources Mentioned
Road Safety School https://goodroads.ca/roadsafetyschool/
Managing Winter Operations Workshop https://goodroads.ca/courses/managing-winter-operations-workshop/