Recent posts by Active Transportation Advocates on Bluesky

finally. easy choice

So Flint, Michigan gave $1,500 to all pregnant people, plus $500 each month for the first year of the child’s young life. It saved Flint $6.2 million dollars a year, due to lower rates of rates of prematurity and low birth weight, with fewer corresponding admissions. The right thing, AND cheaper.

What can we do to protect Bluesky? This can’t just be the place for a particular political “team.” It may end up being the last place that isn’t owned by the billionaires trying to buy all speech.

Congrats, Melissa and Chris! We can't wait to read it.

Political candidates are NOT “all the same.” One might be disappointing, or even a truly awful leader, but another might be a nightmare-level dystopian apocalypse that destroys democracy, the rule of law, the very notion of facts and reality, every established human right, & the entire world order.

LA is probably the NIMBY capital of America at this point

I know a lot of things have been called the fascist “canary in the coal-mine” recently, but Trump and the GOP going after comedians for making fun of them is clearly quite a bit past the canary in the coal-mine.

I know a lot of things have been called the “canary in the coal-mine” recently, but them going after comedians for making fun of them really is the fascist canary in the coal-mine.

Nailed it. #Kimmel

Tons of space for non-car uses, like pedestrian, bike, and green infrastructure, if there is political desire.

NEW // Seattle Narrows Down Options for Initial ‘Low Pollution Neighborhoods’ By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/09/17/s...

I honestly never gave a shit about Jimmy Kimmel until now. Basically anyone of influence that stands up to this regime has my support, however that presents itself.

I got an interesting email from a marketer who was very aware of my work & media activity (or AI wrote it) and offered a service to make pitches to big podcasts with big audiences on my behalf. I didn’t know that was a thing. How about this instead— any podcasters want to talk about better cities?

Drinking 8:30 PM coffee because I can.

Schumer and Jeffries keep saying they need to focus on kitchen table issues like health care subsidies but "regime cancels comedian for telling joke" is right fucking there. If they can't make hay out of this they're even more useless than they've been through all of this so far.

It had occurred to me that Stephen Colbert might become the new counter-Rogan (I don’t call it the “Joe Rogan of the Left,” because a key to this is that the person appeal to more than the Left). But I now think there’s a different role for Colbert. I predict the counter-Rogan will be Jimmy Kimmel.

Nailed it. #Fascism

Just like he said after Colbert's firing that Kimmel was next, here is saying Fallon and Meyers are next. Sometimes he tests the waters to see how much he can get away with before dialing it back. This is not one of those times.

Fascists and authoritarians always go after comedians. They hate any laughter than isn’t cruel. #Kimmel #Colbert

They're gonna force one of the big three networks to install Greg Gutfeld in late night, right?

@publicenterprise.bsky.social is hosting a series of webinars on Affordable Housing finance starting next month. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

honestly I kinda figured I'd die fighting side by side with The Man Show. y2k was like that.

I guess my family will get their vaccinations when we go to Brazil to visit family for the rest of this period of fascism. Oh, and we won't pay a thing for them because we're covered under the national health system there.

Mrs. American Fietser is entering her 20th week of pregnancy and still biking for regular errands. Yes she's being extra careful, but really benefiting from the passive exercise.

Now the corporate cowards have cancelled Jimmy Kimmel too. Since Fallon has made himself unwatchable with his lack of integrity, it’s nearing the end of credible late night interview shows in the U.S. (watch your back, Seth). The lack of backbone is just staggering. www.vulture.com/article/abc-...

Cars are an invasive species.

The vehicular arms race has forced people into paying up in order to survive. It's no longer about quality or luxury, it's about being the family that's heavier, larger, and less likely to die in the eventual crash. This is predatory capitalism at its finest.

Now the corporate cowards have cancelled Jimmy Kimmel too. Since Jimmy Fallon has made himself unwatchable with his lack of integrity and backbone, it’s the end of credible late night interview shows in the U.S. And Trump didn’t even have to make them do it. The corporations did it themselves.

jimmy: i've fucking been cancelled matt damon: he's fucking been cancelled?!?

Kudos to @theguardian.com - this is how climate emergency reporting should be done! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hear from Sarah Tang of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community about what’s going on with the proposed stadium at ‘The 78’ — and why we’re asking the City to hit PAUSE until a community benefits agreement is reached for the Chinatown community and transit improvements restored!

🫡 Week of 9.15 Volunteer Opportunities ➡️ Sep. 18: Public comment for transit and CBA for The 78 at City Hall ➡️ Sep. 18: CTA 2026 Budget Hearing at Truman College ➡️ Sep. 20: Save Transit canvassing at Aurora Farmers Market Sign up at the link in our bio! 🔗⬆️

Turns out you can’t rely on the benevolence of billionaires to keep your free society alive, I guess

At Berczy Park. The Dog Fountain keeps winning.

if ADUs etc are required to pay MHA - HB1110 is effectively dead in seattle

alright sounds like i'll be in brooklyn for 2 events about single stair, and social housing. 18-19 november. and to celebrate the mamdani win

So much going on as the clock ticks down to pub day! It's getting real...

would love for some actual NOAA folks to chime in on this. is auto-centric sprawl better for orcas than compact urban development. i cannot believe we're having this discussion while the bear gulch fire exploded yesterday (50% increase in > 24 hours) nearly 300,000 trees.

Sorta wild how quickly Australia can build rail lines relative to the rest of the Western world. (Middle Gorg, VIC, 2016 -> 2019)

alon bassok had a plan for just this

Oooh. New stickers coming from our publisher! They'll be going out to Patreon supporters and with merch orders soon! www.lifeaftercars.com

oh, you want to use the olmsted boulevards as an amenity people can actually utilize? have i got the plan for you

The Seattle Police Department has informed me that they will not follow the policy they agreed to in a settlement with the Seattle Times on public disclosure when dealing with my records requests. Instead, they are "grouping" all of my requests and responding to them, in full, one at a time.

Join The Urbanist and @seattlesubway.org for a Meet & Greet with our endorsed King County Executive candidate @claudiaforkcexec.bsky.social on Capitol Hill tomorrow afternoon! We’ll be at Paradise at 5:30, with our speaking program beginning at 6:15.

if we're 'planning for our city's success' - the comp plan is the wrong vehicle. it doesn't even incorporate mobility.

Maritza Rivera has some general comments: "To be successful we need more housing of all types." She has proposed reducing neighborhood centers by more land area, all in her Northeast Seattle District, than any other council member.

this timeline sucks so so so much

ezra said abundant bigotry

the EIS showed alternative 5 did just this - opening up much opportunities for more housing in north seattle to reduce displacement pressure in south seattle. the mayor had that eliminated to *reduce* housing potential in north seattle - adding much more in south seattle.

Several speakers today have suggested that NOAA would support single-family zoning—because Seattle house owners have big trees in their private lawns and trees capture carbon and help address runoff. In fact, SPRAWL destroys forests and vastly increases toxic runoff (and NOAA would probably agree).

wow shocking not a housing amendment

I knew this was a possibility but didn't know it is a done deal. Very curious to hear from folks about the pros and cons and how agency staff are feeling about this. #wildfire #GoodFire Feds combine several wildland firefighting operations into new Wildland Fire Service share.google/83UQpNAjpCQG...

More doorbelling for @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social after school today — and yes, if you’re wondering people do seem to be home in the afternoons. I had the same success rate as evenings, and it gave the kid something to do after school.

LNG projects in BC, Canada are on track to receive CAD 3.93 billion in public support by the end of 2030. This money could be better spent accelerating growth of clean industries & helping communities adapt to climate change. 🆕 @IISD_Energy report: www.iisd.org/publications...

Any U.S. Corporate “leaders” making firing decisions, or doing ANYTHING, at the urging of someone as awful as Milo Yiannopoulos, over something as normal as sharing Charlie Kirk’s own words, deserves to themselves be fired.

Stealing some footage and the ask from @streetfilms.bsky.social Here in #TOpoli there seems to be a lack of #PoliticalWill collectively from elected municipal reps to prioritize the safety of vulnerable road users. Could individuals interested in becoming mayor do better? Could they do this? ⬇️⏬👇

I'm at city hall for the first round of comp plan votes today. Two speakers have read near-identical remarks supporting Joy Hollingsworth's amendment to continue banning apartments in part of the Central District, arguing that allowing renters there constitutes a Trump-like erasure of Black lives.

“How Montreal’s miracle metro could change everything” by The Flying Moose on YouTube

New Sydney rail plans were leaked ahead of the official report, and additional services are being rumored. What are your thoughts?

Bike-lanes don’t cause traffic congestion. Car dependency, foolish land-use sprawl, too many (& bigger) cars driving too much taking up too much space, highly subsidized driving costs, and not enough choices in how to get around, ALL cause traffic congestion. Think about it. THAT’S common sense.

Great to see scholars digging into the high cost of purchasing public transit buses in the US. www.brookings.edu/articles/pay...

After two years of obsessing over every word and photograph, the first physical copies of “Women Changing Cities” landed on our doorstep today. We couldn’t be prouder of these eleven stories of transformational leadership, and sincerely hope they find the global audience and attention they deserve.

Request (it is syllabus time, obvi 😂). I'm going to have students in Transportation Systems Planning (a civil engr/modeling class I'm taking over) participate in weekwithoutdriving.org, the amazing event started by Anna Zivarts and taken national by @americawalks.bsky.social. (cont'd)

Not quite this, but we have a friend who's a fashion illustrator and she did a brilliant drawing of our wedding

Between major health stuff, moving, and starting over in CA, money is beyond tight. But this looks like such a fun and healthful workshop. I'm a perennial magpie, particularly but not only rocks (one day I will come home from a hike or run without a rock in my pocket, but I've yet to reach that day)

Sydney: A long-term rail transport plan has leaked. Prof. David Levinson is on it: transportist.org/2025/09/15/o...

SB 9 can be an important tool for rebuilding Altadena without displacement.

so... @seattledot.bsky.social could solve this problem quite easily.

I can't wait to read this. Absolutely critical work. I think SLO just started a formal program for people living out of their cars to have safe places to sleep, shower, etc. I would guess (and hope to find out if) a lot of those folks are the working poor".

You are not email RSVPing to the anti Trump rallies because you fear being black bagged by the regime. I am not email RSVPing to the anti Trump rallies because I don’t want to get even more spam emails and texts. We are not the same.

Republican greetings at the Elysee Palace after the ceremony at which the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, awarded the Officer's Medal of the Legion of Honour to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.

Au Palais de l’Elysee, salutations républicaines après la cérémonie de remise de la médaille d’officier de la Légion d’Honneur à la maire de Paris, @annehidalgo.bsky.social Hidalgo par le president Emmanuel Macron

Looks like hydrogen isn't going to blow up after all "From Hype to Shutdown: Europe’s Hydrogen Refueling Network Shrinks" - CleanTechnica cleantechnica.com/2025/09/17/f...

The day has arrived! After two years of planning, interviewing, writing and editing, we finally held a physical copy of our third book, “Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation” in our hands. Available wherever you buy books on October 1st: www.modacitylife.com/women-changi...

Up, up, up the graphs go...

dawg I took 5g of creatine this morning and today is that day

Few things did more critical damage to North American downtowns than the demolishing of old buildings to build massive expanses of surface parking, along with the widening of roads to create huge one-way “car sewers,” all based on the failed theory that surrendering to cars would “save Downtown.”

earth to urban planners and politicians density belongs OFF arterials

people being unable to fish and feed their families is a joke?

I mean, he is right that he'll be in the history books.

I sincerely commend @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social , @maxread.info and @edwardongwesojr.com for managing to avert an increasingly common descent into madness despite spending untold hours in the absolute dreck of the internet for the purposes of public enlightenment. They’re basically war correspondents

Fixed it.

New York City needs more housing, certainly. But where should that housing be located? In a new article in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social, I argue that New York City—already the most transit-friendly city in the country—can do an even better job focusing its housing in areas near transit 🚇🏘️

🚨Action Alert🚨 The City and developers are trying to ram through a stadium deal for 'The 78' WITHOUT the promised transit improvements! This is unacceptable, and we need you to take action with us. Join us tomorrow morning at City Hall for the 10am Plan Commission meeting to raise your voice!

We’re rolling now! Please join us if you can… Cheers!😀👇

🚲 What a kickoff! On Sunday, we launched our Protected Ride Sunnyside campaign with an 8-mile ride, spotlighting existing bike lanes and the dangerous gaps that leave riders unprotected. Big thanks to @claireforqueens.bsky.social, @tstc.bsky.social, the Queens Borough President's office, and CB2!

Mount St. Helens was not getting attention for 5 minutes so she had to go dig up 45 year old dirt on everyone

Are there any city planners out there listening?

my wife broke her arm on a path like this and if you have a trailer or cargo bike it's a massive conflict w/ pedestrians.

Such a common problem found on active infrastructure everywhere and yet no action is taken for years to fix it. Yet another double standard where car infrastructure would have a street department response, but people walking and biking just have to "be careful".

How bad are these sidewalk uplifts? I almost ate it this morning trying to roll over them:

Alright, alright, alright... We're in the final countdown, with just under 60 minutes to go until we start rolling. Please log in to your Google/YouTube account to join us for the Live Chat. It's always wonderful having you along for the ride. Cheers! 😀👇

Late-Breaking Comp Plan Change Would Restore Low-Density "Donut Hole" Between Capitol Hill and Central District A separate "consent package" includes bonuses for stacked flats and social housing, but not proposals to get rid of mandatory parking requirements. publicola.com/2025/09/17/l...

I lived in this donut hole for 6 years. It's a great location for more housing. Great walking, biking and transit access, and there are already lots of apartments. I can't imagine why you would not allow more housing here.

On mode differences. open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...

Three separated modes in the making.

Third places where you can simply be. ♥️

If you have ever made an ActBlue donation then you should not worry about the opsec implications of email RSVPing to the normie lib demonstration.

insulation is cheap negawatts ftw

some of the comp plan consent agenda amendments are workable... also - social housing. lfg. seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...