brett bergie (she/her)
@brettbergie
Followers
3,901
Following
2,662
Media
4,961
Statuses
29,621
Treaty person, safe streets, sustainable mobility, people-centric spaces in cities, climate mitigation. 🚲👣 🚊🚍Mobility 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Metres from a bicycle network
Joined March 2012
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
baekhyun
• 522510 Tweets
Linkin Park
• 164434 Tweets
Adalet
• 154267 Tweets
For Asia
• 136829 Tweets
Chester
• 85236 Tweets
小泉進次郎
• 68536 Tweets
ベイマックス
• 40194 Tweets
知的レベル
• 34158 Tweets
エイリアン
• 33584 Tweets
資さんうどん
• 32424 Tweets
雇用統計
• 32177 Tweets
すかいらーく
• 28901 Tweets
大阪府警
• 26338 Tweets
#INZM_HyperBandLive
• 25363 Tweets
#Mステ
• 22430 Tweets
#Number_1
• 21880 Tweets
#ビリスク
• 16876 Tweets
押し出し
• 14361 Tweets
Hyper Band Live M/V
• 13810 Tweets
神ちゃん
• 13591 Tweets
佐藤勝利
• 11231 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
As Banff Ave Ped Zone nears its dismantling, thank you to the visionaries on Town Council and in admin for doing brave work, challenging a deeply embedded status quo, inviting residents and visitors to experience something transformative and calmer.
Thank you for being willing.
0
1
15
As SUVs bloat without restraint, they occupy a different scale than that of other motor vehicles. There’s just no compatibility anymore between gargantuan SUVs and cities scaled to humans.
55
157
1K
Let’s stop indulging hyper loop fantasies, highway widening projects, and climate denial and start building the sustainable transport infrastructure available today that gives us a chance at tomorrow.
200 passengers & 20 bikes on our first Niagara GO train. This is great news.
16
63
426
14
244
1K
I’m a trans woman 🏳️⚧️ living and working in Calgary. I’m a parent, spouse, and involved in my community. I feel gratitude for my trans brothers and sisters who created the conditions for me to come to awareness of my transness and live out loud.
#InternationalTransDayofVisibility
24
31
974
Look at all those empty car lanes in winter. Why are we even building them?!?
15
175
932
Incredible crowd, positive energy.
Calgary showed up. And we will again and again for trans youth in our schools, communities, doctors’ offices, and sport.
Our Alberta is for everyone.🩷🤍🩵🏳️⚧️
597
126
893
Well I'll be, one more lane *did* fix it.
7
143
840
A train. Not another lane, not faster/larger/electric cars.
A train will fix this.
49
89
789
Just after 4 a.m., I received a hate message. The author used the vile trope Jeff von Rotz of Valbella directed at Canmore Pride.
This trope is designed to make it harder for trans people to exist in public, dehumanize us, and encourage violence toward us.
Not okay.Not alright.
91
73
689
“This trans panic [Premier Smith] is manufacturing is hateful, hurtful and needs to stop.”
255
135
677
Calgary to Edmonton in one fold.
346 kms in just over 14 hours of riding time.
Thanks to all for your support. I look forward to reading your messages.
78
40
616
In solidarity with automobile drivers, who spend on average 54 hours a year stalled in traffic, here are some photos me—a person on a bike—stuck in traffic.
Is no one spared?
25
61
562
Ghastly, gutting visual. Vehicular violence stole the life of a 5-year-old boy in Mississauga yesterday.
The motor car's occupancy and dominance of our roadways is a radical revision of the role roadways have played in the development of our society.
This is not normal:
17
180
521
I
•
Don’t
•
Feel
•
Safe
•
Here
•
Dec. 6, 2020 • Calgary, Alberta.
29
30
488
I don’t think we talk enough about how micro-businesses can transform dead urban spaces into convening spaces and lively environments.
15
50
465
This makes me smile, even encourages hope.
A bike corral for City of Calgary employees:
19
39
451
COVID-19: “Outside is not cancelled.”
Climate change: “Yeah, it is.”
7
85
444
“How freakin’ civilized is this? Can you seriously tell me you’d rather sit in traffic, confined to your seat, constantly paying attention, with no way to comfortably eat, or take a piss, instead of this?! I refuse to believe there is any better way to travel.” ~
@notjustbikes
6
58
446
It’s less to do with a love affair with cars and more to do with having built cities in such a way that we impose car dependence on the many and make mobility exceedingly difficult, inconvenient, and even dangerous, for those who choose alternative forms of transport.
10
96
437
Just listened to
@modacitylife
on the
@TheWarOnCars
podcast, and I learned that the adult demographic most frequently moving by bike in the Netherlands is the 65 to 75 year-old demographic. Think about what that means for wellness, aging in place, opportunity to form community.
12
102
435
Beatrice and I are celebrating our 15-year wedding anniversary today, reflecting on building a life together, raising a son, living the life we imagined — writing, bicycling, adventuring, surviving, thriving, and exchanging “I love yous” every day.
47
3
412
I legit don’t understand how this can exist in one place yet doesn’t compel other places to do the same.
14
78
395
I bought my
@BromptonBicycle
in spring 2016 but started tracking my kilometres earnestly by fall 2017.
Sometime this week, I will pedal my 50,000th recorded kilometre on this wonderful, very capable bicycle.
📸 June 2016, after my first fold:
24
16
393
I’m a dad and life partner.
I’m a person who moves by bike.
I’m an advocate for safe streets and sustainable communities.
I’m a public sector professional.
And I’m a trans woman.
My visibility across life’s compartments is privilege in these hostile times.
#TransDayOfVisability
33
35
401
When you choose to ride a bicycle, you do not become a cyclist.
You become a community advocate.
7
69
396
I was not prepared for so stark a message from Alberta’s CMOH that we’re all just individuals living in proximity rather than people living in community, with obligations to one another and one another’s needs.
6
61
394
Yesterday, I enjoyed a 110-km bike ride on a car-free highway. To experience this level of quiet, breathe pristine air, and lose any concern for inconsiderate or inattentive drivers is a freedom to which everyone should retain access, always, not just for a short window in June.
13
27
376
Cleaned my Brompton, packed an overnight bag, planned out my food intake for the next 30 hours, set my alarm for 3:30 a.m. Tomorrow, I’m heading out from Calgary on my Brompton Bicycle, and with any luck, I’ll end the day in Edmonton. Follow along:
#GrandFoldo2021
40
10
362
Some dude rolls up beside me on his bike, looks down at the Brompton:
Him: “You don’t go very far on that thing.”
Me: “Well, I’ve gone 40 kms this morning. Why, how far did you go?”
Him:
Me: 🙄
Him: **crickets**
18
13
323
As a trans person with a child, I’ve spent time in schools. I recall tiny kiddos seeing me, registering something’s different, but invariably, there’s a shrug moment, and we all move on.
This is what’s being protested today. Children finding the humanity in everyone.
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️❤️
17
39
308
On the left, a parking garage lit like a beacon, and on the right, a major active mode transport corridor in darkness and shadow.🤔
16
54
299
This is a solemn, moving
@PopAlberta
urgent COVID briefing.
@jvipondmd
shared that approximately 5% of the health workforce is out with COVID, including
@NeejaB
, who is still contributing on the panel. Also 10 healthcare workers have died in service and care of Albertans.
5
86
286
“Studies confirm that it is substandard infrastructure and maintenance, rather than the cold or the snow, that keeps cyclists off their wheels in winter.”
Great piece. My stress rose as the article describes how cities betray winter cycling efforts.
9
65
278
When I, a trans person, was in
@TownofCanmore
recently, I felt warmly received by the lodging and hospitality community there. 💖 Jeff von Rotz of Valbella stands alone in his vile bigotry and hate.
Canmore
#Pride
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ is set for Sept 16 to 19. ✨✨
9
16
275
Let no one tell you winter bicycling is an expression of fanaticism or inaccessible to the many as a viable form of transport.
Don’t let your city get away with inadequate investment in active mode infrastructure and maintenance.
Calgary, AB, Nov 21, 2020:
6
37
266
I woke up on Friday feeling groggy, lethargic. I began isolation. Over the weekend, I developed a few core COVID symptoms and have been mostly horizontal since. I’ve done my very best to exempt myself from chains of transmission. My focus now is to ensure this chain ends with me.
49
2
271
@Tommy_Slick
The frame and emphasis of this story is right. Thanks for your account and careful approach.
1
1
251
I hopped across the street to grab coffee and was subject to street harassment, something about my shoulders and hips.
I’m feeling good about my silhouette on most days, today included, so I won’t let this person take that away from me. Feelin’ and sendin’ positive vibes.
24
2
259
Mobility lanes are multimodal and make the city more accessible for everyone.
As seen in Calgary, Alberta:
4
27
252
Can we arrive at a place where we agree that maybe, just maybe, cars don't need access to every smooth surface? Maybe some of that space can be reallocated to people-centric amenities for transport, convening. We have so much space but we hand it over to cars, so we don’t see it.
11
42
248
Tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m., I will make my attempt to ride my Brompton bicycle 320 kms, from Calgary to Edmonton.
Follow along: hashtag is
#GrandFoldo
.
26
17
246
Many trans people come to awareness of our trans identities after a process of uncovering insights, following obscure signs, and knowing our hearts.
On
#TransDayOfVisibility
, I see those who are untangling cultural and gender norms from who they are. I am holding space for you.
3
31
231
The young man working cash at the grocery store addressed me as miss twice —
Not expressed tentatively,
Not stilted or obligatory,
But confidently, easily.
It was the most wonderful thing and made my night.
7
1
218
People are broadly aware that safeguarding bikes, components, and accessories are a challenge in cities, yet we’re asking people to consider shifting their transport mode to $3K or $8K ebikes and cargobikes. Lost in discourse is allaying concerns these investments are at risk.
34
32
217
Some say that von Rotz is no longer with Valbella. It’s fine now.
It isn’t.
6
9
216
My family doctor is, in fact, leaving the province. Her last day practicing in Alberta is July 15. In her letter to patients, she specified that she wants to practice where her skills and profession are valued and supported by government.
6
92
204
That flying Calgary to Edmonton or vice versa is an appropriate mode of travel to cover a 300-km distance featuring no geographical barriers on the land in between
What’s something that’s clearly a scam but Albertans have been conditioned to believe it’s “normal”?
345
90
374
14
20
205
One-year and five days since the Peace Bridge was vandalized and the best we can do *still* with temporary materials is a clothing-piercing fence with trip hazards that works well for no one.
One. Year. Later!?!
28
26
203
.
@beatriceaucoin
and I received notice that our family doctor is closing her practice and leaving AB "to practice [where her] profession and public services are valued and supported by government."
She saw Beatrice through cancer, me through gender transition. We're devastated.
17
50
199
We don’t normalize avoidable deaths. We don’t shrug at empty chairs at dinner tables. We don’t reduce the suffocation of human life to mere numbers.
Leadership. Empathy. Response. Those are needed now.
Lead, sir.
8
53
195
@GlobalCalgary
This is an exceptionally well written article, grounded in context and pointed in amplifying voices showing that these remarks have no place in business and the community.
13
2
194
A Burley Travoy came home with me today. My on-demand cargo capacity just increased fivefold. And when I don’t need it, I can just fold and stow my trailer under my bed. Try that with a pickup truck.
21
11
187
Build the damn bike lanes; fill cities with reliable, accessible bike share; prioritize mobility of people on bikes, other micro-mode transport in cities; invest in bicycle rebate programs, and build and maintain micro-mobility infrastructure for winter.
3
43
187
This is it, friends. This is the model:
Cars go on the periphery, people into the centre.
Coming to
#Banff
for the long weekend? Park your car and enjoy Banff on foot or by bike. We provide free 9-hour parking at the Banff Train Station lot.
#sustainabletravel
For details:
📸
@Banff_Town
3
1
19
5
24
184
To those saying bylaw is unreasonable, I was close-passed by a vehicle on a narrow road w no shoulder only to see that same vehicle cross the yellow line to give wide clearance to a wet cardboard box in the lane. Drivers are capable of safe passes, but need to examine priorities.
Starting September 1, motorists driving below 60km/h need to leave a minimum of 1 metre when passing someone cycling. If you’re driving faster than 60 km/h, that distances increases to 1.5 metres. Visit to learn more.
#yycbike
66
170
356
9
28
184
Red Arrow motor coach doesn’t seem to have a Calgary to Edmonton 6 a.m. departure any longer.
The earliest option gets me to Edmonton at 11:40 a.m.!?
With so few sustainable transportation solutions in Alberta, we shouldn’t allow them to get worse.
This is a problem.
22
16
183
On average in Calgary, one pedestrian is struck by a driver every day, half of them in crosswalks.
Lowering speed limits is recognized for bringing about a transportation system more forgiving of our mistakes so collisions do not have to mean serious injury or someone’s life.
I'm not in favour of making the City a playground zone. We should be drawing our attention to more pressing matters. Calgarians are expecting council to focus on the economy, job creation and controlling spending.
#yyccc
139
81
427
13
37
178
Bicycling with my son to school, we waited at a stop light when the motorcyclist behind us yelled, “Get out of the way!”
We were both within the turn box, exactly where we are designated to wait.
We shouldn’t have to fight for every square inch. So tired of this.
9
2
173
See joy. Feel love. Celebrate communities. Create safe spaces — everywhere. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
#IDAHOT
10
2
172
“There’s a disconnect where New Yorkers are used to living in small apartments, and they would never get a Lazy Boy, sectional sofa, and king-size bed and expect it to fit in their apartment, yet they buy an SUV and get mad because there’s no place to park it.”
~
@BrooklynSpoke
1
14
170
Yesterday, two men on the street inquired into my height before peppering me with questions like, “Are you a man? How did you get tits?”
Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
Speak out when you see bigotry and hate in your community.
34
27
164
If you know, you know.
This. Is. Big.
8
5
172
The idea that pedestrians are unexpected and hard to see in densely populated urban environments is a denial that safer cities come by design, traffic calming measures, choice in transport modality, supported by micro transport networks. Armbands are placebos and victim-blaming.
Happening now: Toronto police are handing out arm bands at a pedestrian safety event geared towards seniors in Scarborough, the day after two seniors were hit in the city. So far this year:
-1100 pedestrians have been struck in Toronto
- 31 pedestrians killed
- 9 of them seniors
265
166
566
11
42
167
A driver of a truck took an act of aggression against Sam and me today. A distressing moment to be sure, but we’re oriented toward a more humane mode of transport and a more empathetic city. We’re sharing our calm with that driver and wish him better choices in future.
17
8
163
I came out as Trans in 2013. On that day, colleagues visited me from my department and others to express support and whole acceptance.
I’ve been made to feel seen and valued ever since.
Proud to march with
@BowValley
College today. Happy
#Pride
, Calgary.
9
0
159
I sent an open call for bike companions for when I have free time in Ottawa next week. Within a few hours, a merry band of bicycle people organized a social ride, showcasing the river, canal, and an experimental farm. There will also be ice cream.
I never loved the world more.🙏
12
8
156
The voice I was meant to have.
Coming soon.
(Voice therapy started today.)
16
0
161
I made it. Hwy 40 and the last few kilometres into Kananaskis Village were tough, lots of elevation and a long, steep climb at the very end. Happy to have that ride in the legs and few carbon emissions to get myself here.
12
4
159
Put in practice, these policies isolate trans kids from peers, deny trans kids opportunities to be affirmed by their communities of trust, deny trans kids medical care recommended by the health professionals in their life ... because the government caucus thinks it knows better.
Gender identity can be a hard thing to talk about, especially when you are involved. But this conversation is extremely important and parental involvement is critical. Kids need to know we love and support them.
My message to all Albertans:
5K
3K
17K
60
43
160
We can’t interpret people driving as an expression of their transportation choice. We have to give them good choices before we can tell.
We have systemically deprived people of choice.
From the latest
@TheWarOnCars
podcast.
7
30
160
Everybody who rode a bicycle, walked, or took public transit today made a trip far more important and consequential to the human condition than Sir Richard Branson’s burn to the outer limits yesterday.
History will be made by those who nurture tomorrow’s living conditions.
4
33
156
Nothing is more disruptive to transportation norms or gives me greater hope for humane mobility than moms cranking smiling babies and toddlers around town.
Editorial note: if you feel inclined to reply with a comment on helmets, kindly delete your account first.
What if your commuting trip involves bike-train-bike ..... and you need to drop off your son at his grandparents?
46
213
1K
4
19
155
At this scenic, fitting spot, my ride comes to an end. I’m feeling fatigued and having difficulty eating; texture issues are the main culprit. Not my day today, but happy overall in Red Deer — 155 kms, 6 hours and 11 mins. A colleague, who left behind me, will collect me here👇
27
0
157
For the second time since Friday evening, I had to maneuver my bike (and today my bike and loaded trailer) through hate believers to move between downtown and my home.
CW - hate
“Tie a noose around their neck … into the river!”
@JyotiGondek
@YYCTKW
@downtowncalgary
45
57
150
FFS. Woman, 34, on a bicycle killed by collision with driver, leaving behind a wife and three-year-old son.
Meanwhile, policy makers, traffic engineers sip coffee this morning with their families and go to work this week committed to the same design dogma that led us here.
9
58
148
A parked car takes up 10 times more space than a parked bicycle.
A moving car takes up 28 times more space than a moving bicycle.
The most essential aspect to city design in to acknowledge the limitations of physics.
27
567
2K
0
2
153
Come to Calgary, they said. There are chinooks, they said.
11
22
152
Since moving downtown, my partner Beatrice adopted cycling for both transport and leisure. Over a short period, she’s become a near daily rider, undeterred by rain and wintry conditions.
The barriers people lob at urban cycling as unworthy of public investment are made up.
2
16
144
Nearly smoked this morning by an SUV driver turning right on red while I was eight feet along in a crosswalk.
Ban right on red. It is, quite simply, incompatible with cities.
16
20
152
"This was starting to look like the birth of a social uprising [...]
"After surviving terrible pain and hardship in their lives, [2SLGBTQ+ people] tend to be tough and determined.
"That can mean big trouble [...] Smith needs to withdraw these measures."
224
39
148
When I cross a rainbow crosswalk, I feel uplifted, seen, and valued for who I am in my community. What’s being taken from 2SLGBTQ+ youth and adults alike is the affirmation that is uniquely engaged by community expressions of acceptance and love, and that is really sad.
93
19
150
Last week, I appeared in a photo alongside the mayor that was posted to social media.
Now, I’d like to share with you the content of some of the replies directed to me that people felt compelled to write for the sin of being transgender in public. / 2
31
21
147
Coquihalla Hwy reopened to four lanes 13 months after atmospheric river devastation (20 sites). The collapsed section of I-95 saw restoration to six lanes after two weeks.
Calgary's Peace Bridge deck has been constrained since July '22, squeezing different active modes together.
14
21
145
Dear
@CalgaryPolice
: please discourage officers from blocking bike lanes when getting coffee. Modelling desired behaviour matters, and this puts the public at risk. There are designated street parking spaces directly behind the van and an empty lot across the road.
9
12
145
I don’t think I know how to live in a society that doesn’t place the wellness of the whole at its centre, a fairly basic condition.
I reject this reality, this grim portrait of individual circumstance over collective well-being.
I choose to live in community.
5
9
146
I will not be intimidated by those who seek for me to cower in a corner. I am part of this community. I will add my voice and place my energy where I please. I’m also not ashamed of my body. I’m a trans person who exists in a trans body, and that’s just the way it is. /Fin
7
1
145
"Few people pay cash for cars these days," Cowie said. He argues it should be no different for those looking to purchase a cargo bike.
"You can get $5,000 from the federal government up front to buy a Tesla. You get nothing for a cargo bike [...]"
7
40
145
I had a good day, one reason for which was my trip for groceries.
Why? I go by bike; I take a route by the river; my entire trip (10-km return) is on bicycle infrastructure.
I want more Calgarians to have this and foster this feeling.
Build the damn bike lanes.
📸 by
@itsakev
8
15
140
“When transportation takes over the precious central space needed for meeting and mixing, it serves no good purpose, not even its own. If we have to save the hearts of our cities, the choice is clear and urgent: does the city exist for people or for motorcars?”
~ L. Mumford, 1963
Many people in Jax Heights like to blame
#OpenStreets
for every traffic problem they see. Many note Junction Blvd for being backed up all the time.
Here is 1:30pm on Junction between Roosevelt & 37th Ave. It's apparent the real problem is TOO many cars & RAMPANT double-parking.
15
28
200
0
27
134
Minister, while you acknowledge Canadians are making cleaner transportation choices, only one is targeted. Why has Gov overlooked e-assist, cargo and conventional bicycles, $ to cities to install dedicated active transport infrastructure, and municipal/regional transportation?
More and more Canadians are making cleaner, greener transportation choices. 🚗 So, we are making zero-emission vehicles more affordable for families across Canada. As of today, when you purchase or lease an eligible zero-emission vehicle, you'll receive a rebate of up to $5,000!
88
22
126
4
40
139
I don't understand people who fight against this future for cities.
81% of the Dutch population lives within a 20 minute pedal of a rail station.
By unlocking the bike-train combination, residents are given access to the same housing and employment opportunities, and freed from the burden of car dependency.
A cycling city is an affordable city.
140
2K
7K
4
34
138
I love these glimpses into scenes we actively decide against.
What the morning commute and school run could be -- Should be.
5
15
138
Build the damn bike lanes.
London installed over 62-miles of cycles lanes since 2019 in an effort to encourage more people to safely chose to bike.
In that time, bike mode share has doubled from 2.7% of all trips in the city to 5.3%.
@TfL
🚲
🎥
@London_Cycles
15
109
656
5
20
137
We built our cities for cars, and we never thought to ask if they scale.
7
9
131
Done! Sam committed to
#30DaysofBiking
after deliberating on it for 12 hours, and then he just let himself loose. He pedalled 376 kms this month over 30 consecutive days through sun, ice pellets, gusty wind, and brisk mornings. Congrats, Sam!
#ProudOfYou
!
12
4
134