Good Roads Podcast

This week, our hosts discuss three developments shaping roads, transit, and infrastructure funding in Canada and beyond:
🚜 Advocating for Safer Rural Roads
Good Roads President and Hornepayne Mayor Cheryl Fort appeared at provincial pre-budget consultations in Thunder Bay, calling for dedicated funding to improve safety on rural and northern roads. With vast road networks, limited tax bases, and infrastructure designed a century ago, municipalities face growing safety and liability risks without adequate provincial support. 
⚡ Canada’s National EV Strategy Takes Shape
The federal government has revised its electric vehicle approach, replacing sales mandates with rebates, emissions standards aligned with Europe, and a new $1.5 billion EV infrastructure fund. As the U.S. steps back from emissions tracking, Canada appears to be charting a different path—raising important questions for municipal infrastructure planning and charging networks. 
🚍 What Would It Take to Fix American Transit? 
New research estimates that bringing U.S. public transit up to international standards would require $4.6 trillion USD over 20 years—still less than what’s planned for highways. The analysis highlights how vehicle density, long-term investment, and global benchmarks could reshape transit debates, even amid political resistance.

This week, our hosts dig into three developments that matter to municipalities across Ontario and beyond: 🏗
 Buy Ontario Rules: What Municipalities Need to Know New regulations under the Buy Ontario Act could soon require municipalities to prioritize Ontario- and Canadian-made goods in procurement. While intended to support local jobs, these rules raise serious concerns around cost, supplier choice, trade agreement conflicts, and funding risk. Good Roads explains what’s at stake and why clarity from the province is critical.
🚧 Northern Ontarians Rally for Safer Roads Hundreds gathered in Cochrane to demand action on Highway 11, calling it a corridor of unacceptable risk. With tragic stories driving the message home, the province is responding with enhanced enforcement and coordination. This movement may mark a turning point for northern road safety.
🤖 AI Traffic Cameras Target Distracted Driving Arkansas has deployed AI-powered cameras in work zones that detect phone use behind the wheel—flagging drivers for police without issuing automated tickets. With similar technology already active worldwide, is this the future of work-zone safety?

Why do so many infrastructure projects—big or small—go over budget, run late, or fall apart? And how can Ontario’s municipalities avoid the same fate?
In this episode of the Good Roads Podcast, bestselling author, journalist, and human-behaviour expert Dan Gardner breaks down the real reasons projects fail—and the surprisingly simple principles that can make them succeed. Drawing from his book How Big Things Get Done, co-authored with megaproject scholar Bent Flyvbjerg, Dan explains why planning slow and acting fast, managing risk, and understanding human behaviour are essential for municipalities of every size. 
From California’s high-speed rail disaster to Morocco’s success story, Dan shows how politics, culture, and psychology shape project outcomes far more than engineering ever will. He also shares practical lessons for municipal leaders: building cohesive teams, defining clear project goals, maximizing experience, and creating a culture where every worker understands their role in the mission.
Dan Gardner will also be the keynote speaker at the 2026 Good Roads Conference—catch a preview of his insights here.
Register for the 2026 Good Roads Conference: https://goodroads.ca/conference 
How Big Things Get Done (Dan Gardner & Bent Flyvbjerg): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/boo... 
🎧 Listen to more Good Roads Podcast episodes: https://goodroads.ca/podcast 
📚 Learn more about Good Roads training & education: https://goodroads.ca/education

In this episode of the Good Roads Podcast, Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict joins us for a vital conversation on Indigenous leadership, municipal collaboration, and community development. Chief Benedict represents 133 First Nations across Ontario and brings deep insight into the challenges and opportunities in infrastructure, economic development, and reconciliation.
We explore successful partnerships like the joint Akwesasne-Cornwall waterfront project, the infrastructure gap affecting First Nations, the impacts of Bill 5, and why Indigenous inclusion from day one is essential to responsible development.
This episode is a must-listen for municipal leaders, planners, and anyone working toward a more equitable and collaborative Ontario.
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In this powerful episode of the Good Roads Podcast, co-hosts Thomas Barakat and Andrew Blackburn sit down with Eleanor McMahon — founder of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition and a former Ontario Cabinet Minister — to talk about the tragic loss that inspired a movement, and the decades of advocacy that followed.
Eleanor shares her personal story of loss, the creation of Share the Road, and the fight for safer, more inclusive streets across Ontario. From legislative victories like Greg’s Law and the 1m Safe Passing Rule, to the rise of cycling tourism and infrastructure in rural communities, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in road safety, active transportation, and community well-being.
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