Frequent topics of conversation with strangers: the weather, the time, the fact that it’s still snowing in April, the reason the bus is always late.
If you’re one of those people that loves bemoaning traffic, public transit, bike access, and a lack of great walkways, keep reading. If you’re one of those people that is not only frustrated, but has some fantastic ideas and solutions as well, I urge you to read the rest of this post.
Still reading? Good. I’d like to introduce you to Metronauts.
Uh, what is it?
To put it simply, it’s a way for people passionate about transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton region to voice their opinions on the upcoming Regional Transportation Plan being drafted by Metrolinx. But how about I let the project introduce itself:
Metronauts.ca is an open community of people from across the sprawling greater Toronto region who care about the future of their cities. Metronauts are explorers of the future form of our cities and the role transportation has in our lives.
The Metronauts community exists online at Metronauts.ca, and also includes a series of physical events taking place across the region over the next few months.
Cool, so what can I do?
The first thing you need to do is get involved in the online community. The only way we can encourage good discussion and share exciting ideas is if we get a diversity of voices involved. You don’t have to be from Toronto; you don’t have to be a transit junkie to voice your opinion either. All you need is some ideas and a willingness to discuss them with others. So go register now.
Once you’ve got yourself signed up for the online community, come out to an event! The first Metronauts Transit Camp (sweet, it’s an unconference) is this coming Saturday, and even though registration is closed for now, if you put your name on the waiting list, there’s a good chance more spots will open up.
Wow, are you a rockstar?
I’m no rockstar, but I am pretty proud to be working with a great bunch of people on this project. Here’s are the members of the band:
Mark Kuznicki (Steward-in-Chief), Wendy Koslow (Cruise Director), Sean Howard (Participatory Research Strategist), Misha Glouberman (Conversationalist & Facilitator), Sameer Vasta (ME!), Jed Kilbourn (Cultural Anthropologist), Qasim Virjee (Online Community Architect), Matt Rintoul and Lee Dale (Community Site Design), Alistair Morton (Visual Identity Designer), Daniel Rose (Collaborative Innovation Facilitator), David Eaves (Public Sector Renewalist), Michele Perras (Innovation Design Strategist), Jay Goldman (Social Technology Advisor), Eli Singer (Social Media Advisor), David Crow (transitcamp.org Domain Steward), Joey deVilla (Accordion Guy), Mark Raheja (Experience Strategist), Mark Surman (Professor of Open).