Recent posts by Active Transportation Advocates on Bluesky

One green cycle in Amsterdam. Mr. Visserplein.

I took a picture in that same spot in 2007 (left). It's fun to see the way Nanjing Road has changed in Chris's photo (right), and the ways it hasn't.

NEW STORY // Bellevue Commission Recommends Watered-Down Middle Housing Code www.theurbanist.org/2025/04/29/b...

We're up in Albany today gathering support for Stop Super Speeders legislation: Thank you to Assemblymember Latrice M. Walker for your staff meeting with @fam4safestreets.bsky.social members and supporting this life-saving bill!

It's ridiculous when the right does it, so I'd encourage all left-leaning, chronically online political accounts to stop posting manipulated imagery just for the sake of racking up internet points. You fire up people's anxiety for what, messaging that has no basis in reality? Don't be like them.

Cars and freeways de-socialize the built environment, keeping us all apart. (That's why billionaires and autocrats love them.) Transit, bicycles, and active transport re-socialize the built environment, bringing us together. (That's why billionaires and autocrats detest them.)

the 'starter home' hasn't existed for a generation thehill.com/business/dom...

the 'starter home' hasn't existed for a generation thehill.com/business/dom...

So New York will have a $254 billion budget, but they don't have $500,000 to study high-speed rail between NYC and Toronto, a route that could take 3.5 hours instead of the 12.5 hours it currently takes by train?

American authorities like to protect buildings but not people, and they are particularly negligent when it comes to threats from vehicles. They should really avail themselves of the UK Government's extensive guidance on Hostile Vehicle Mitigation. www.npsa.gov.uk/hostile-vehi...

If I were a Dem, regardless of what I thought about a car registration fee in the abstract, I would be making a big deal about how the GOP is planning a tax increase on all car owners as part of its reconciliation bill.

The Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall—perhaps the most prominent shopping street in China—is a mirror of Shanghai's evolution into a liveable and prosperous megacity. As recently as 1998, it was a heavily trafficked thoroughfare, until all motor vehicles were removed as part of a redevelopment strategy.🧵

It shouldn't take six years to entitle and permit affordable housing on church-owned land. This is why YIGBY bills are so necessary. www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

In New York, the MTA has unveiled the new #NYC subway map. Not exactly revolutionary graphic design—not like Beck's London Underground map—but at first glance, more legible. www.mta.info/map/5256

You are totally free to drive your car into Manhattan. When you do, you are seizing expensive real estate for your private use. You want that for free? That would be socialism.

"By installing speed limiting devices on the cars of the worst of the worst offenders, we will literally be saving lives." Our Stop Super Speeders research on PIX11 News yesterday:

A big thank you / un grand merci to Donald J. Trump and the American right. By showing us exactly how messed-up things got under their watch, they kept Pierre Poilievre and the Canadian right from gaining power.

Last night I saw a movie I have wanted to see for a long time. Killer of Sheep, by Charles Burnett. I knew it was going to shake me and it has. Can't stop thinking about it. NYC, it's at Film Forum through May 8. If you haven't seen it...see it.

SPD Celebrates Its Hiring Spree. The Only Thing That’s Missing: Women publicola.com/2025/04/29/s...

Fun fact: research shows that drivers yield to pedestrians at a much higher rate if you just *keep walking into the street without stopping* www.kostelecplanning.com/on-the-11th-...

Been super busy and finally got to this episode. So glad Katelyn wrote about this stuff instead of me making an awkward video about it (but I still might make an awkward video)

As the story says, most of this "developable" land is far away from cities, on mountains and in forests. Isolating people who can't afford market-rate housing in far-flung sprawl built on former forest land is a terrible idea. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/u...

Seven miles SW of Baltimore this morning. Walking to the 2025 Maryland Highway Safety Summit to speak on pedestrian safety. I feel motivated.

WTAF. i cannot believe what has happened down there.

Great morning to be speaking in Canada! 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

Could this be the year you take my @HarvardGSDExEd course? May 22-23: execed.gsd.harvard.edu/programs/wal...

No, Google, this is not what I mean when I search “CBC results”.

i keep coming across david schreyer's architectural photography on european architecture sites... these projects are phenomenal (generally much higher quality than we tend to see in the US...) - and the photos themselves are also 👀 enjoy! www.schreyerdavid.com

Early bird registration for CNU Providence is almost over! @newurbanism www.cnu.org/cnu33

bye bye i-5 lid. maybe jeff bezos will pay for it

lol they actually thought it would increase on election day.

"Some members of the City Council are asking Albany to crack down on so-called 'super speeders' by using technology to force them to slow down." @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social coverage of yesterday's Stop Super Speeders rally outside City Hall:

A toast to our nice neighbors upstairs!

These are often also the people who want to "keep the politics out" of cultural products.

House GOP hopes to eliminate funds for efforts to reconnect communities & improve access. Projects that could lose fed funding include: —Austin I-35 deck —Atlanta Beltline south —Buffalo Bailey Ave BRT —Chicago Blue Line improvements —Philly Chinatown Stitch —Seattle Stride BRT & many more

I tried to condense 100 year of housing history to help put our current crisis in perspective. Check it out on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/cityb...

extremely tired today

1) Build a rapid transit line 2) Build a ton of housing around it 3) Use that added tax money to build and operate more transit

Dad I think it’s time to get rid of that shirt. NEVER! I will wear this til there is nothing left of it.

Context for American friends: Liberals are currently at 168 seats, short of a majority government (172), which would have allowed them to govern predictably for 4 years. A minority government requires support from another party (likely NDP) to govern. It’s less stable. Possible election sooner.

Congestion pricing, but it's $300/trip for all News Corp employees.

Freedom = options. Getting to choose between walking, cycling, taking transit, or paying a lousy $9 to drive an SUV into Manhattan is about as free as most Americans can hope to be as far as transportation goes.

You're right, @chrislhayes.bsky.social — congestion pricing works!

you'd think the road rules contestant would know that motorists kill over 1.25 million people a year and seriously injure millions more. is that not violent and dangerous?

The US Secretary of Transportation is actively campaigning against public transit use at this point.

You are absolutely free to drive your car, Sean. You just have to pay $9, a small price to pay for brining a living room on wheels into the densest, most transit-rich city in the country.

Every city needs leaders and a fighters like Council Member Robin Wonsley. It was great to talk with her while we were in Minneapolis.

so stoked to read this!!!

If rescission goes forward, this would eliminate support for a number of promising reconnecting communities efforts that won grants under Biden but have not yet received the funds. I *believe* this includes: —Rochester Inner Loop N —Baltimore US-62 —Cleveland downtown lakefront ...& many more

My hottest take lately is that I would be fine with dropping the gas tax if it meant we could have a mileage tax for all vehicles instead. 1) Charge EVs 2) Turn road fees into consumption taxes

Anecdotal observation, and I know many of our minds are consumed with the fight for democracy, but has the urbanist crowd disappeared or backed away from Bluesky? Gone back to X or Meta? Seems quiet around here content and discussion wise. Maybe it's just my skewed perception, but it feels odd.

The number of times I've made this point to students when one of them makes a comment about how much Americans want to be able to drive everywhere ...

every single time

Some insight as to why we expect the I-5 closure in Tacoma to be an extended one.

House GOP Transportation & Infra committee releases its proposed reconciliation bill elements. Bill would: —Impose a national annual car registration fee, of $200/electric car, $100/hybrid, $20/gas-powered —Include a rescission of funds from Neighborhood Access program (Reconnecting Communities)

🎶 ogni accusa è una confessione 🎶

Sorry Elon, but Tesla is definitely "on the ragged edge of death." With a 71 percent drop in net income over last year, this is a company that is bleeding out. Brand nightmare: Nazi-saluting CEO. Cybertruck a punchline. A Telsa is a "Swasticar" for progressives; a Cuck-mobile for MAGA types... 🧵

If it's not too much trouble... Creative done with @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social

I’m pleased with this result and also he’s right.

Both directions of I-5 are CLOSED in Tacoma following a major collision at milepost 128.92 near S 84th St.

With Liberal win, Canadians show they really, really don't want to be Americans. (No surprise.) Also: with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre defeated in his own riding, that they're really, really tired of relentlessly negative, dog-whistle campaigning. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Rush hour in Montreal on Election Day — L’heure de Pointe à Montréal, le jour de l’élection

Bezos might be the biggest leopard who got his face eaten of them all.

Last week, Dallas changed its building code so that apartments with up to 8 units can be built under the same code as single-family homes, reducing building difficulty. For buildings up to 7500 sq ft, the change allows single-stair design, no sprinkler system, & changes to fire protection rules.

"But where did they park?!"

A media thread by bike in Vienna 🇦🇹. 👇

Infrastructure redevelopment takes both money and time. Until then, we deal with the arrogance of space of motorists like this. Future design enhancements should be removing the grey. If it looks like car infrastructure, it will be treated as such. Design details involving color create distinction.

We spend so much of our lives inside a house, inside an office, and often through no choice of our own, inside a car. What if the urban environment gave you not only the option but the incentive to be outside for your everyday movement from A to B?

From a recent study of mode share (cars v transit v walking/biking) across global cities. Urban residents throughout US, Canada, & Australia largely get around by car. But Europe is a mixed bag, w/cities dominated by cars (Rome) as well as bikes (Utrecht) or transit (Paris) doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

In Rochester as elsewhere, the urban expressway pseudoscience was grimly consistent: Rising driving rates were to be treated as a fixed given; to avert disaster, road capacity had to rise to keep up with rising demand. The proposition was supposedly self-evident.

I had the chance to meet Mike and worked with him on a petition. He is a principled and thoughtful person and does not do politics in an ordinary way. I'm so sad about this result. He should have won.

"Our old relationship with the US is over." - Prime Minister Mark Carney. This country has moved on and will strengthen ties with actual allies in the free world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvF7...

What a strange, strange election. The Liberals come back from complete ruin to form government again. But smaller parties are weakened and the Conservatives also put up historically strong numbers. But the Conservative leader loses his seat?!

TOMORROW AT 2PM! Come and see me present a late-lunch talk on the largely untold history of railways, from Ancient Greece to California, scooping in the Reformation and slavery... It's not a tale you'll have likely heard! #Railway200 Book tickets here: www.hopetowndarlington.co.uk/whats-on/Gar...

Today, the DCE joined leaders from government, academia, and industry for a session at Intertraffic Shanghai: “Modern Micromobility Systems Make For Better Living”. We shared insights from the Netherlands for China, and where the two cycling countries might find areas to collaborate in the future.

Shanghai's rapid and dramatic transformation from industrial hub to modern metropolis is best embodied by the East Bank of the Huangpu River. At the heart of the waterfront’s revitalization is a 21-kilometre linear park, with continuous—and sometimes elevated—space for walking, jogging and cycling.🧵

Get ready for a stronger Canada, world. #CanadaStrong

Polska | Poland 15-Minutowe Miasto - Aby taka wizja mogła się urzeczywistnić, potrzebujemy: - inwestycji w transport publiczny i infrastrukturę rowerową, - wspierania lokalnych usług i handlu, - przemyślanego planowania przestrzennego

São Paulo 📚CONVITE para lançamento do livro A CIDADE DE 15 MINUTOS - No dia 7 de maio (quarta-feira), das 19h30 às 22h, acontece o lançamento do livro “A Cidade de 15 minutos”. 📅 Data: 7 de maio, quarta-feira 📍 Local: Livraria da Travessa ⏰ Horário: das 19h30 às 22h

I’m going to try to preempt a common attack from conspiracy theorists who seem to try this goofy one every single election — when the final map for tonight’s Canadian Election comes out showing red and blue ridings across the country, remember that PEOPLE vote. LAND doesn’t.

luckily they have a knack for wildly overestimating these things, right? riiiight?

Mark Carney’s victory speech was outstanding. He set a perfect tone around personal humility (including admitting and learning from mistakes, something Trudeau wasn’t good at), Canadian ambition and values, unity & governing for everyone, all with an impressive amount of REAL humour and inspiration.

New apartments sometimes get the question "who can afford it?", the answer is usually roommates. Ideally there's enough housing that everyone who wants to live on their own can; in the meantime during a shortage, sharing is good, it means more people can live here.

Mark Carney’s victory speech was outstanding. He set a perfect tone around personal humility (including admitting and learning from mistakes, something Trudeau wasn’t good at), Canadian ambition & values, unity & governing for everyone, all with an impressive amount of REAL humour and inspiration.

I'm sick of the carnage on American streets.

How do you like them apples, Pierre?

I noticed that too, was pretty funny actually. It’s like the Universe said “oops, that’s right, better fix that…”

Whatever the final vote tally ends up being in this Canadian Election, the new Carney Government will have to address this incredibly dangerous cultural disinformation attack on Canadian sovereignty by Trump’s allies, which should be considered PART of any sovereignty attack by Trump. #CanadaStrong

Housing is a Human Right! Today, several hundred tenants from across California met with legislators and marched through Sacramento for affordable housing and tenant rights! #housingdignityjustice #lowertherent #fundaffordablehousing @housingnowca.bsky.social @barishaspriggs.bsky.social 🏘️ 1/

this is true for recent development... and yet also:

The revelation. It was almost nice, knowing. There is a depression after an answer is given. Yes, now we know, at least we know what we saw in the beginning. But there is still the question, why?

#30DaysOfBiking Celebrating my MP @juliedabrusin.bsky.social’s win here in #TorontoDanforth h/t @ternbicycles.com

Well said. #ElbowsUp

The Patriots continue to be just the absolute worst.

CEQA exists to preserve the status quo by making it harder to build new things that people with lawyers don’t want built. This is often directly at odds with protecting the environment.

A LOT OF VOTE SPLITTING GOING ON IN ONTARIO (again)

Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker), as always, is a good neighbour. #CanadaStrong #ElbowsUp

Wild things happening in Kitchener Centre

Last class of the semester today. Students presented their tactical urbanism proposals, which was fun. As happens every semester, though, the engineers struggle the most to take risks or, frankly, have fun with it. The men engineers anyway. They are also overly concerned with liability and standards

Love this. “Florida Man Loses Canadian Election.” “In a sharp rebuke to Trump and Elon Musk, Canada’s Liberal Party [and Prime Minister Mark Carney] held on to power.” Sorry MAGA, Peterson, Rogan, Tate…. #NotSorry #ElbowsUp #CanadaStrong