Top recent posts by Active Transportation Advocates on Bluesky

They never complete the sentence, ie "...educators and students must face ideas we find offensive, such as the claim that Black women lack the brain processing power to fly planes or serve on the Supreme Court or that gay people should be stoned to death." Pretty telling that they don't!

Left-NIMBYs and right-NIMBYs in the most suburban district of SF teamed up to recall a city supervisor because he supported housing and pedestrian friendly streets. Just extremely cursed stuff. NIMBYs must be crushed.

Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tonnes of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by normal driving, account for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally. Heavy vehicles eg SUVs/EVs especially. Via @us.theconversation.com

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.”

I’ve mentioned it before but it’s happened again: a very large percentage of our child-related travel is medium-distance trips that don’t line up well with transit (so it’s barely faster than walking) but biking is literally as fast as driving. Bike-friendly cities are family-friendly cities!

Among so many other things, Robert Redford’s sad passing manages to remind us that there was a time when the Washington Post was respected and credible.

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.

Slower speeds save lives: "...there were 2,638 people injured, including deaths, on low-speed roads in the most recent 18 months, compared with 3,520 injuries between April 2022 and September 2023, a reduction of 25%."

The whole left/right/center metaphor for politics needs to get in the bin. It is the most thought terminating cliché of all. People do not think and behave on a coherent spectrum. There is no "center", no middle ground. A reasonable negotiated compromise does not exist for every issue or position.

Walz showed us the way. Just keep hammering on what the extremist positions actually are. Neighbors taking care of each other is normal. Being hateful is not. The enemy is pluralistic ignorance. The majority of people may privately disagree with loudest/best financed voices but won't speak up.

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.

Nailed it. #Kimmel

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.

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

In Seattle, we like to block dense, low-carbon housing in the name of trees while our temperate rainforest bursts into flame.

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-...

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.

The M15 in Manhattan moves nearly 17 million annually, and still doesn't have bus lanes on its entire route. Objectively, what are we doing here?

so sorry.

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

We talked about this on the podcast re: Mamdani's plan for fast and free buses. Regardless of the policy ins and outs, his focus on better bus service caused Eric Adams to okay the 34th Ave busway plan, which had been stalled forever. Mamdani set the agenda and Adams followed. It's great politics.

Stop putting apartments and condos and manufactured homes right next to freeways challenge

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

By total coincidence, I'll be there on Sunday! Very excited to see this in person. Let's go, London!

A piece in the Star today along with Jonathan English and Narayan Donaldson on fixing the very slow, but very high potential Spadina streetcar. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

"Brazil" is the best dystopian film because it understands that the authoritarian endgame is not targeted, efficient oppression of true dissidents, but a bunch of very stupid people blundering along, causing huge amounts of collateral damage to people who just want to be left alone.

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.

Heads-up: At tomorrow's Seattle comp plan committee meeting, chair Joy Hollingsworth is walking on an amendment to restore the low-density "donut hole" between Capitol Hill and the Central District, reversing a plan to allow more housing in this part of Seattle's core

LA is probably the NIMBY capital of America at this point

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.

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 🚇🏘️

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.

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).

On the unmet need for safe bike storage: "Results suggest a relative undersupply of bicycle parking at destinations compared with free car parking [and] an increasing need for bicycle parking for costlier e-bikes." findingspress.org/article/1442...

Apropos of totally nothing at all of course, a reminder that science is not a belief system or a philosophy. It is not something that relies on faith, which is belief *despite* the absence of data. Science is a process.

Worth noting: Although Hollingsworth has deemed several amendments adding density out of scope because their environmental impacts weren't studied, there's no requirement to study the environmental impacts of retaining apartment bans instead of lifting them.

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...

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.

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".

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.

“Ten years after Dieselgate, carmakers are again trying to pass off their vehicles as cleaner than they actually are — but this time they want lawmakers to make the practice legal" cleantechnica.com/2025/09/16/o...

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.

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

Nailed it. #Fascism

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

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

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.

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.

People with the facts on their side tend to underestimate the power of repetition (or simply get bored/frustrated). You need to plainly state the true thing over and over and over and over. Make it rhyme if you can.

40% of global shipping is just moving around fossil fuels 2/3 of US energy production is just wasted in delivery

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

Can't achieve this level of destruction at safe speeds.

Great new episode of UCLA Housing Voice podcast @shanedphillips.bsky.social, featuring @holz-bau.bsky.social on single-stairs & ecodistricts, and how they differ from TOD. Definitely worth the listen to learn more about these issues:

WARNING to parents of young kids in sports: If they continue on as they get older, the practises and game times just get later and later and later! They now have start times when I'm trying to get to bed.

"If European cities can ban left turns on tram routes entirely, surely Toronto can do without a few." Ideas on how to get #Toronto's molasses-slow Spadina streetcar running at respectable clip. (Co-signed by @rmtransit.bsky.social ) www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

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

It's as if Republicans lied about who pays these tariffs.

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

It was so great seeing everyone at YIMBYtown. It's honestly really inspiring how this movement continues to grow, put in the work, rack up wins, and stay positive. Honestly, the only bad thing about the event is wanting to chat with everyone, but having so little time!

For 9 years, folks are told we can’t build more housing because it’s not in the comp plan. Now we’re doing the comp plan, and they’re saying we can’t add housing to the plan because it’s not in some other document. It’s BS.

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

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.

#Canada led the world in passenger rail tech. We ran world's fastest steam trains, North America's fastest scheduled trains (Rapidos, in the Corridor), and the TurboTrain, which topped out at 274 km/h (170 mph). Now federal government has announced support for a 1,000-km high-speed rail line 🧵

Human-made global warming ‘caused two in three heat deaths in Europe this summer’. Researchers from Imperial College London say 16,500 deaths caused by hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Added a few more cities to the "Life After Cars" book tour! Even more coming soon. www.lifeaftercars.com

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.

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.

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.

that's a million trees in 60 days ugh indeed

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.

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.

"Speed limits are legal requirements. Enforcement of the law is not a tax." - Robin Jones AMO President #VisionZero

This section of new bike lane has recently been completed! (Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine) I usually think it’s important for cyclists to follow traffic lights, but I can’t fault people at a T-intersection like this (after making sure there are no pedestrians crossing).

This is how we fix the terminally slow Spadina streetcar — by @ontariotrafficman.bsky.social, Jonathan English, and @rmtransit.bsky.social "If European cities can ban left turns on tram routes entirely, surely Toronto can do without a few."

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.

A new study finds that switching to Daylight Saving Time and back every year increases the risk of strokes and obesity, and suggests we should stay on Standard Time all year. But I think the distribution of strokes and obesity in each time zone tells another story.

Fixed it.

I'm not live-posting tonight's Seattle D2 council debate—sorry! It's the least exciting race (and debate)!—but Adonis Ducksworth (who trailed Eddie Lin in the primary) made a great point about the need for PEER support, in response to a leading question about how addicts need "accountability."

Ugh

At Berczy Park. The Dog Fountain keeps winning.

Cars are an invasive species.

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

US building codes effectively create chicken coops for people, and apartments are a terrible substitute for detached housing single stair addresses this. you get homes that are more comparable to living in a townhouse or ranch house. homes that cross ventilate. abundant daylight.

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?

🚨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!

there are 3 times more tier 1 and tier 2 trees lost to activity other than construction (left) v. lost to construction (right)

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...

insulation is cheap negawatts ftw

Who was it who made that joke about why is British Telecom like a Pelican? It can shove its massive bill up its arse. In unrelated news, I'm stuck on an online chat trying to get British Telecom to stop charging me for an account I closed weeks ago...

Three separated modes in the making.

I'm pleased to join 20 other movement leaders in issuing this public invite to come on out this Saturday to DRAW THE LINE – for People, for Peace, for the Planet. ✊☮️🌎 👇 There are about 70 actions taking place across the country. Find the one closest to you here: drawtheline.world/canada?r=CA&...

Third places where you can simply be. ♥️

“The school was settling into the earth more than expected in areas, as much as three inches, and it hadn’t stopped sinking.” www.kuow.org/stories/seat...

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.

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

Are there any city planners out there listening?

this timeline sucks so so so much

Why do we always feature bikes alongside the worst of headlines?

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

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.