Matt is an emerging expert in the planning and design of streets and intersections that balance the needs of all road users. Matt has a master’s in civil engineering and seven years of experience in transportation planning and engineering, specializing in active transportation facility design, complete streets, and first and last-mile access to transit. In 2022, Matt received the Young Transportation Professional award from the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) and in 2020, Matt was recognized as the Young Professional of the Year by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP).
Ontario Protected Intersection Guide
Ontario municipalities are increasingly adopting and trialing “protected intersections” as a treatment to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety at intersections. With this in mind, the Ontario Traffic Council raised funds to develop Ontario-specific guidance for their design, operation, and construction.
Matt led the development of the guide, including coordinating with researchers, engineers, senior experts, and graphics specialists. The guide is highly visual and is grounded in latest best practices and research. Following its publication in September 2023, Matt now leads training sessions on the guide for practitioners across Ontario.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of WSP.
CNIB Island Platform Bus Stops Study
Island Platform Bus Stops promise major safety improvements for cyclists, but create new challenges for pedestrians, and particularly for people with sight loss. To understand these challenges and identify mitigations, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind led a national research study involving on-site research at five island platform bus stops across Canada.
Matt was involved in this project since its inception, supporting the CNIB in authoring a grant application and securing funding from the federal government. Matt conducted a literature review and worked with WSP’s research lead Yousteena Bocktor to implement over 20 structured site visits at five locations across Canada. The final report includes recommendations for designing bus stops more inclusively for people with sight loss.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of WSP.
Martin Grove Road Cycling Connections
The City of Toronto is proposing opportunities to connect existing on-street and off-street bikeways along Martin Grove Rd between Eglinton Ave and Kipling TTC/GO stations at Dundas St W, which will improve safety for people cycling, walking and driving.
Matt led the functional design on this project, which includes four signalized intersections with “protected intersection elements”, road safety and accessibility improvements, green infrastructure, and a study on traffic diversions. The project is now going through detailed design and implementation, and will be constructed in phases.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of WSP.
OTM Book 18: Cycling Facilities Update
The second version of “Book 18”, the cycling design manual for the province of Ontario, features a major overhaul from the original version with a focus on physically separated infrastructure and advanced safety measures at intersections.
Matt was one of the authors of the update, and produced the updated guidance on cycling facilities, advisory bike lanes, bicycle parking, and curbside management. Matt also managed the production of all new graphics (nearly 100 in total).
Finally, Matt continues to serve as a lead trainer for the guide, delivering full- and half-day training workshops to municipal and consulting staff to build knowledge about the new guide. Matt has helped train over 600 professionals across Ontario to-date.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of Alta Planning + Design, Inc., and led trainings as an employee of WSP.
Ottawa Protected Intersection Design Guide
Ottawa’s award-winning Protected Intersection Design Guide is the single most comprehensive guide published in Canada and the US for the design of this type of infrastructure. Covering preliminary and detailed design as well as construction and maintenance, the guide has received praise at the national and international levels, and in 2022 the project received the TAC Mobility Achievement Award.
Matt served as a contributing technical author for the development of this guide including planning, functional and detailed design guidance for Ottawa’s implementation of protected intersections.
Matt was foundational in developing the overall guide’s layout and contents. He conducted an observational study on user behaviours at existing protected intersections, developed graphics for the guide, and authored the functional design guidance section.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of Alta Planning + Design, Inc.
Toronto York U Cycling Connections
This award-winning project includes the design and construction of 1.5 lane-km of all-ages-and-abilities cycling infrastructure connecting Finch West TTC Station, York University, and the Finch West Hydro Corridor Trail in Toronto. The project was completed in 2022 and includes Toronto’s first full protected intersection, and in 2023 it received the Stan Teply Outstanding Technical Project award from ITE Canada.
Matt served as the design coordinator for this assignment, guiding a multidisciplinary team of civil and electrical engineers, road safety experts, landscape architects, and accessibility experts.
The challenging project featured many unique elements that required careful coordination with City staff including a fully-protected right turn with transit signal priority (TSP), an island-platform bus stop, unique accessibility treatments, green streets features such as “green gutters”, and a significant narrowing of an existing roadway.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of Alta Planning + Design, Inc.
Metrolinx Bike Infrastructure Design Standard
Metrolinx’s Bike Infrastructure standard guides the design of linear cycling infrastructure and bike parking at all GO Transit facilities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The standard is helping to inform the construction of over 20 secure bike parking facilities and over 1,000 total secure bike parking spaces as part of the GO Expansion program.
Matt served as the lead author for this standard, after noticing inconsistencies in how bike infrastructure was being implemented across the GO Rail network. Matt coordinated and led working groups to propose and approve guidance related to secure bike parking rooms, bike racks, dedicated cycling access to stations, cyclist dismount policy, and addressing conflicts with motorists and pedestrians at station facilities.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of Metrolinx.
Ottawa Preliminary Design of 34 Protected Intersections
In response to growing concerns about the safety of cyclists at intersections across Ottawa, the City commissioned a study to develop concept designs for over 34 intersections to be rebuilt as “protected intersections”. The City of Ottawa has since integrated the designs into projects under development and has allocated dedicated funding to the design and construction of several of the intersections.
Matt served as the design coordinator for this project, which involved developing both interim safety measure recommendations and ultimate concept designs for all of the study intersections.
Matt conducted site visits and reviewed collision and traffic volumes data to inform recommendations, produced concept designs for all intersections, and supervised multiple CAD designers to complete the designs in an expedited timeframe. The majority of the ultimate intersection concepts included protected intersection elements and recommended consideration of protected signal phasing.
Matt contributed to this project as an employee of Alta Planning + Design, Inc.
Better South Keys Centre
Better South Keys Centre is a community coalition advocating for the evolution of Ottawa’s South Keys Centre, from a big box mall to a vibrant, amenity-rich transit-oriented community that embraces active transportation and healthy living.
In Summer 2021, inspired about the potential for redevelopment of the mall across the street from his house, Matt wrote a blog post with some ideas, which was viewed thousands of times. Leveraging the community interest and energy, Matt organized a community meeting in Fall 2021 and became a founding member of Better South Keys Centre.
Better South Keys Centre is a unique group, advocating for the needs of both future residents and existing ones, advocating for better projects, policies, and actions to create a new urban hub in Ottawa South.
BIKE MINDS
BIKE MINDS is a storytelling event featuring positive and inspiring stories related to cycling. Started in 2018 at a small café in Toronto’s west end, BIKE MINDS has since expanded to multiple cities with stories shared from people all over the world. To-date, nearly 100 stories have been shared over 16 events, reaching a collective audience of thousands.
Matt co-founded BIKE MINDS in 2018, finding inspiration for the idea from a similar event he attended in the Netherlands in 2017. As executive director ever since, Matt has organized a team of several volunteers to deliver events and frequently hosts events himself.
More recently, Matt guided the transition of BIKE MINDS into the virtual event space, maintaining a strong audience and finding stories to be shared from all over the world. Matt has also supported other community groups in developing and delivering their own BIKE MINDS events in Halifax, Guelph, and Gatineau.
Beyond the Automobile 