Cassie Smith (she/her)
@cassiesmith.bsky.social
Feminist geographer and cargo bike mom.
Volunteer: Bike Ottawa VP, For Our Kids, Kidical Mass championing safe, sustainable, fun, and equitable spaces especially for kids.
Work: Transportation strategy and solutions with EnviroCentre. Views my own.
Volunteer: Bike Ottawa VP, For Our Kids, Kidical Mass championing safe, sustainable, fun, and equitable spaces especially for kids.
Work: Transportation strategy and solutions with EnviroCentre. Views my own.
Pinned
What a week BlueSky! Welcome new followers! 👋🏻 I mostly post about kids, bikes, & kid-carrying bikes along with climate action and local happenings in Ottawa.
This all ramped up 3.5 years ago, when (in the span of ONE month) I:
- had a (2nd) baby
- got a cargo bike
- was accepted into grad school
This all ramped up 3.5 years ago, when (in the span of ONE month) I:
- had a (2nd) baby
- got a cargo bike
- was accepted into grad school
Spotted this cool low speed electric delivery vehicle on the job today.
💚 Cutting emissions
📦 Getting packages to people efficiently in dense neighbourhoods (it can fit up to 80 boxes per trip!)
🚴🏼♀️👩🏼🦼🚶🏼♀️🚸 Improving safety for people walking and wheeling
Way to go Purolator!
💚 Cutting emissions
📦 Getting packages to people efficiently in dense neighbourhoods (it can fit up to 80 boxes per trip!)
🚴🏼♀️👩🏼🦼🚶🏼♀️🚸 Improving safety for people walking and wheeling
Way to go Purolator!
February 12, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Spotted this cool low speed electric delivery vehicle on the job today.
💚 Cutting emissions
📦 Getting packages to people efficiently in dense neighbourhoods (it can fit up to 80 boxes per trip!)
🚴🏼♀️👩🏼🦼🚶🏼♀️🚸 Improving safety for people walking and wheeling
Way to go Purolator!
💚 Cutting emissions
📦 Getting packages to people efficiently in dense neighbourhoods (it can fit up to 80 boxes per trip!)
🚴🏼♀️👩🏼🦼🚶🏼♀️🚸 Improving safety for people walking and wheeling
Way to go Purolator!
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Sobering and incisive piece by Maude Barlow.
"We have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not.
"The larger answer must be diminishing our love affair with cars…EVs are a stop-gap at best." #EVs #SustainableTransport
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/11/o...
"We have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not.
"The larger answer must be diminishing our love affair with cars…EVs are a stop-gap at best." #EVs #SustainableTransport
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/11/o...
Are electric cars really an environmental success story?
It is not lost on local communities that the global South is being asked to bear the environmental cost of making batteries for electric cars so that wealthy countries can decarbonize.
www.nationalobserver.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Sobering and incisive piece by Maude Barlow.
"We have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not.
"The larger answer must be diminishing our love affair with cars…EVs are a stop-gap at best." #EVs #SustainableTransport
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/11/o...
"We have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not.
"The larger answer must be diminishing our love affair with cars…EVs are a stop-gap at best." #EVs #SustainableTransport
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/11/o...
How do we build a safe and caring city for everyone? Looking forward to seeing some inspiring stories at this event Friday in Ottawa: tinyurl.com/febfilms
February 10, 2026 at 2:46 AM
How do we build a safe and caring city for everyone? Looking forward to seeing some inspiring stories at this event Friday in Ottawa: tinyurl.com/febfilms
It feels like there are a lot more 40-ish year olds at this Olympics (and at the top) than usual.
Or maybe I'm just more impressed by them than I used to be 🤔
Or maybe I'm just more impressed by them than I used to be 🤔
February 8, 2026 at 4:39 PM
It feels like there are a lot more 40-ish year olds at this Olympics (and at the top) than usual.
Or maybe I'm just more impressed by them than I used to be 🤔
Or maybe I'm just more impressed by them than I used to be 🤔
I am somewhere in this crowd. At one point a large man apologized for squishing me and I replied "you're helping me because my feet aren't even on the ground!" 😂
Final day of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Gold Medal Men’s Hockey game, overtime after Team USA tied it with 24 seconds left.
Iginla makes perfect pass, Crosby scores the Golden Goal. Canada wins final Gold Medal of the Games, breaks the record for host city Golds.
Vancouver goes Berserk.
Gold Medal Men’s Hockey game, overtime after Team USA tied it with 24 seconds left.
Iginla makes perfect pass, Crosby scores the Golden Goal. Canada wins final Gold Medal of the Games, breaks the record for host city Golds.
Vancouver goes Berserk.
February 7, 2026 at 11:42 PM
I am somewhere in this crowd. At one point a large man apologized for squishing me and I replied "you're helping me because my feet aren't even on the ground!" 😂
I really enjoyed sharing some of the Olympic traditions and lore with my kids tonight... Except when it somehow* led to me having to explain who Tonya and Nancy are.
*Thanks husband for mentioning them and then deferring to the "skating expert in the house" when follow up questions were asked.
*Thanks husband for mentioning them and then deferring to the "skating expert in the house" when follow up questions were asked.
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 AM
I really enjoyed sharing some of the Olympic traditions and lore with my kids tonight... Except when it somehow* led to me having to explain who Tonya and Nancy are.
*Thanks husband for mentioning them and then deferring to the "skating expert in the house" when follow up questions were asked.
*Thanks husband for mentioning them and then deferring to the "skating expert in the house" when follow up questions were asked.
Don't underestimate how many people walk, bike, and take transit to local events, activities and businesses. In this case study, only 33% of people at a community festival arrived by private automobile.
Better event decisions start with evidence, not assumptions.
This pilot with the Wellington West BIA explores how observing real behaviour can clarify which interventions actually matter.
Read more: envirocentre.ca/work/taste-o...
This pilot with the Wellington West BIA explores how observing real behaviour can clarify which interventions actually matter.
Read more: envirocentre.ca/work/taste-o...
February 6, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Don't underestimate how many people walk, bike, and take transit to local events, activities and businesses. In this case study, only 33% of people at a community festival arrived by private automobile.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Win! @davethompsonvic.bsky.social 's motion about welcoming wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike & roll routes passes unanimously! 🧵 cheknews.ca/victoria-cou... #yyj #bcpoli #mobilityjustice
February 5, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Win! @davethompsonvic.bsky.social 's motion about welcoming wheelchairs and mobility scooters on bike & roll routes passes unanimously! 🧵 cheknews.ca/victoria-cou... #yyj #bcpoli #mobilityjustice
This poor family 😥. I'm glad they are (mostly) physically okay.
There's a reason this @tomflood.bsky.social graphic resonates with me and so many others.
Have you ever thought about how your last act might be a final push of the stroller to try and save your kid's life. I have. Far too often.
There's a reason this @tomflood.bsky.social graphic resonates with me and so many others.
Have you ever thought about how your last act might be a final push of the stroller to try and save your kid's life. I have. Far too often.
February 5, 2026 at 10:40 PM
This poor family 😥. I'm glad they are (mostly) physically okay.
There's a reason this @tomflood.bsky.social graphic resonates with me and so many others.
Have you ever thought about how your last act might be a final push of the stroller to try and save your kid's life. I have. Far too often.
There's a reason this @tomflood.bsky.social graphic resonates with me and so many others.
Have you ever thought about how your last act might be a final push of the stroller to try and save your kid's life. I have. Far too often.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
What people need to understand is that safe bike infrastructure means not only freedom for kids, but *freedom for their parents*.
I just met a captain at San Quentin whose kid rides 3.5 miles to middle school every day. A parent doing drop-off and pick-up would spend 60 more minutes in the car.
I just met a captain at San Quentin whose kid rides 3.5 miles to middle school every day. A parent doing drop-off and pick-up would spend 60 more minutes in the car.
February 5, 2026 at 5:37 PM
What people need to understand is that safe bike infrastructure means not only freedom for kids, but *freedom for their parents*.
I just met a captain at San Quentin whose kid rides 3.5 miles to middle school every day. A parent doing drop-off and pick-up would spend 60 more minutes in the car.
I just met a captain at San Quentin whose kid rides 3.5 miles to middle school every day. A parent doing drop-off and pick-up would spend 60 more minutes in the car.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
At Planning Committee yesterday, we voted unanimously to replace a road that was originally going to connect Preston to Lebreton Flats with a pedestrian and cycling bridge. This is a win for active transportation and for traffic management in Little Italy. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Ottawa to scrap Preston Street expansion to make way for LeBreton Flats subdivision, arena
The City of Ottawa is looking to hit the brakes on a future expansion of Preston Street to assist with the planned development of a subdivision and an NHL-sized arena at LeBreton Flats.
www.ctvnews.ca
February 5, 2026 at 2:05 PM
At Planning Committee yesterday, we voted unanimously to replace a road that was originally going to connect Preston to Lebreton Flats with a pedestrian and cycling bridge. This is a win for active transportation and for traffic management in Little Italy. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
"What separates these cities from the rest of North America is not climate, geography, or culture—it’s political commitment and follow-through"
In the 2025 Copenhagenize Index, only three North American cities cracked the global Top 30—all in Canada.
momentummag.com/the-5-most-b...
momentummag.com/the-5-most-b...
February 4, 2026 at 10:27 PM
"What separates these cities from the rest of North America is not climate, geography, or culture—it’s political commitment and follow-through"
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Listen to the poets.
February 3, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Listen to the poets.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Even giving half of the same incentive to people wanting to buy pedal assist bikes and trikes would revolutionize cities in Canada. 🚲🌳
#ebikes #ecargobikes #bicycle #climateemergency
#ebikes #ecargobikes #bicycle #climateemergency
Ottawa considers reviving EV incentives as it finalizes its auto strategy: sources | CBC News
The federal government is considering bringing back consumer incentives for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids as it finalizes its national automotive strategy, CBC News has learned.
www.cbc.ca
February 3, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Even giving half of the same incentive to people wanting to buy pedal assist bikes and trikes would revolutionize cities in Canada. 🚲🌳
#ebikes #ecargobikes #bicycle #climateemergency
#ebikes #ecargobikes #bicycle #climateemergency
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Either you're happy for people to be killed and injured to save you a couple of minutes on your journey, or you're not. The evidence that LTNs and 20mph zones save lives is overwhelming.
January 29, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Either you're happy for people to be killed and injured to save you a couple of minutes on your journey, or you're not. The evidence that LTNs and 20mph zones save lives is overwhelming.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Groups campaigning for more walking and cycling said the findings meant LTNs should be created more widely, rather than scrapped because of objections, often from a minority of residents.
#MobilityIsEquity #EndCarDependency
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
#MobilityIsEquity #EndCarDependency
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Low-traffic schemes benefit most-deprived Londoners, study finds
Data dispels myth that low-traffic neighbourhoods are disproportionately found in privileged areas
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Groups campaigning for more walking and cycling said the findings meant LTNs should be created more widely, rather than scrapped because of objections, often from a minority of residents.
#MobilityIsEquity #EndCarDependency
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
#MobilityIsEquity #EndCarDependency
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Heat pumps! Hot chocolate! Hintonburg!
Learn more about heat pumps from regular folks in a low-pressure family-friendly environment. Sign up at visitaheatpump.ca
Learn more about heat pumps from regular folks in a low-pressure family-friendly environment. Sign up at visitaheatpump.ca
February 1, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Heat pumps! Hot chocolate! Hintonburg!
Learn more about heat pumps from regular folks in a low-pressure family-friendly environment. Sign up at visitaheatpump.ca
Learn more about heat pumps from regular folks in a low-pressure family-friendly environment. Sign up at visitaheatpump.ca
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
Today's #TransitCat of the day, a few weeks ago⤵️💜💜💜
Oh! I forgot to share this one from a few weeks ago - to get to the very close vet on a very very cold day. I think he really liked it 😂
January 31, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Today's #TransitCat of the day, a few weeks ago⤵️💜💜💜
Most transportation problems are actually land use problems.
If you ever run into someplace where it doesn’t work, get creative, but also realize that place was likely a huge urban planning mistake, so learn from it and resolve never to build a place like that again.
January 31, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Most transportation problems are actually land use problems.
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
The best first mile / last mile transit technology even invented is a good sidewalk. That’s how all the world’s successful transit systems work.
Recent Danish paper suggests that transit's first-mile/last-mile discourse is overblown.
Pretty much any FM/LM "solution" fails to improve total welfare for distances <1km.
A big reason: Walking is really healthy!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Pretty much any FM/LM "solution" fails to improve total welfare for distances <1km.
A big reason: Walking is really healthy!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
January 31, 2026 at 2:30 PM
The best first mile / last mile transit technology even invented is a good sidewalk. That’s how all the world’s successful transit systems work.
January 31, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
We've spent a ton of time talking about teens getting injured on e-bikes (or illegal e-motos).
We've heard that crash rates are skyrocketing. Marin County Dept of Health even set up a dashboard to see how many e-bike/e-moto crashes are happening.
But how many kids are getting hurt *in cars*?
🧵
We've heard that crash rates are skyrocketing. Marin County Dept of Health even set up a dashboard to see how many e-bike/e-moto crashes are happening.
But how many kids are getting hurt *in cars*?
🧵
December 5, 2025 at 8:40 PM
We've spent a ton of time talking about teens getting injured on e-bikes (or illegal e-motos).
We've heard that crash rates are skyrocketing. Marin County Dept of Health even set up a dashboard to see how many e-bike/e-moto crashes are happening.
But how many kids are getting hurt *in cars*?
🧵
We've heard that crash rates are skyrocketing. Marin County Dept of Health even set up a dashboard to see how many e-bike/e-moto crashes are happening.
But how many kids are getting hurt *in cars*?
🧵
Reposted by Cassie Smith (she/her)
BREAKING: Winter sports fans want Olympic organizers to drop fossil fuel sponsors.
Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice.
More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...
Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice.
More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...
January 30, 2026 at 12:39 AM
BREAKING: Winter sports fans want Olympic organizers to drop fossil fuel sponsors.
Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice.
More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...
Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice.
More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...