Alex Beckmann

okay sure so it worked in Denver

and in Austin

and it worked for downtown Oakland and for Sacramento

and yes, it’s worked for decades in Tokyo

but how can we be *sure* that building a lot more homes will make California a more affordable place to live??

Last week, Montana voted to:
- legalize 6-story apartments on most commercial land
- sharply cut multifamily parking mandates
- limit excess impact fees
- cut condo defect liability
- require equal treatment for manufactured homes
- legalize single-stair buildings up to 6 stories statewide

WA's Year of Housing Redux?

Passed both chambers as of yesterday's cutoff:

SB 5184 - parking
HB 1491 - TOD w/funded IZ
HB 1096 - lot splitting
HB 1576 - landmarking
SB 5148 - accountability
HB 1403 - condo liability
HB 1183 - setbacks/facade mod.
HB 1757 - conversions
HB 1135 - GMA compliance

Op-Ed: Anti-Speeding Technology Could Have Saved My Son - The Urbanist # Lori Markovitz shares how State Bill 1596 could have saved her son by requiring anti-speeding technology for motorists with records of reckless driving. The bill needs to pass the state Senate by We...

The Washington Senate just approved HB 1596, which will require drivers convicted of reckless driving or excessive speeding to install an automatic speed governor as part of their probationary driver's license. The vote was 40-8.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/04/14/o...

This was an inevitability, not an accident.

The first arch of the new Portal Bridge resting atop bridge piers

First arch of the new Portal Bridge has been lifted into place!

Robust public transit is a key part of reducing the cost of living.

Good transit allows people to get around at lower cost. Cutting transit service imposes immediate increased costs on people.

We must shore up our transit systems & increase, not decrease, service. That’s a huge priority for me.

Seems like a BFD given how bad PFAS is

Getting 75% of a citywide housing plan through the Council in the first big citywide housing fight is not nothing — bsky.app/profile/nick...

A set of railroad tracks with parts of them set on fire as a commuter train prepares to cross.

It has snowed in Chicago and YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! Time to remind everyone that we light our train tracks on fire to prevent the switches from freezing.

We do understand the problem, we just need to implement solutions like:
- bringing design, procurement, planning in-house
- reducing permitting timeline and burdens
- better aligning planning and environmental review
- standardization and economies of scale

Rail workers deserve paid sick leave. USDOT and USDOL are right—it's time for CSX, Norfolk Southern and other Class I railroads to guarantee this basic benefit to ALL employees. Ohio's communities depend on healthy, focused workers to keep our railways safe. Let's finish the job!

just now realizing the @NFPA's single-stair article last month was the cover story for their quarterly NFPA Journal

the article is a must-read for anyone interested in the topic
www.nfpa.org/news-blogs-a...