Thomas Bamonte

The Illinois law only applies in transit-served areas. It only abolishes parking minimums. Contrast that simple abolishment with the British Columbia law that goes much further by imposing minimum density and minimum building height requirements around transit assets. www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

While the IL law no doubt will be characterized by opponents as draconian and unnecessary, cities and states in North America have been actively repealing or preempting laws that allow local governments to impose parking minimums. IL just catching up with SB2111. parkingreform.org/resources/ma...

Note that the IL law does not ban parking around transit-served areas. It just prohibits local governments from requiring developers to build more parking than the developer determines the development needs. Right-sizing parking can facilitate more, and more affordable, housing/business development.

IL transit reform law bars local governments from imposing minimum parking requirements around public transit rail stations (1/2 mi.) and in corridors w/frequent bus service (1/8 mi.). Such minimums are major barrier to transit-accessible housing/job site development. Suburbs want barrier back. 🧵

The Transportation Choices Act has been reintroduced in the Illinois General Assembly. (HB2629-Rep. Canty; SB1680-Sen. Aquino). The Act would put GHG limits on the Illinois surface transportation sector, preventing non-compliant regions from adding highway capacity. www.ilga.gov/Documents/le...

Black, Hispanic Drivers Get Majority Of Chicago's Traffic Tickets — Including In Mostly White Areas The study comes as the Police Department negotiates a new policy around traffic stops, which reform advocates say has been widely abused by officers fishing for evidence of more serious crimes, leadin...

Thanks. Good point re: intermittent reinforcement. Note, however, there are deep equity concerns about traffic stops/cameras. These concerns will be exacerbated if the police have discretion as to which mobile cameras to turn on and when. A traffic stop sample: blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/12/b...

Sometimes Chicago seems to try to shoehorn in Texas-style transportation methods--bigger highways, more cars, more parking spaces, less transit/bikes/peds = better--into a cityscape ill-suited for such. Instead of playing to our walkable/transit-rich strengths we embrace what weakens us in the end.

EPA Renounces Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases - The Eno Center for Transportation February 12, 2026 - EPA’s decision to repeal the motor vehicle greenhouse gas endangerment finding revives a legal fight over climate regulation, setting up major litigation and raising the prospect o...

Quick overview of US EPA's repeal of its GHG endangerment finding by #EnoTransportation. Predicts that rescission will be heavily litigated and some states will try to step up GHG regulatory efforts in the transportation sector as a result. enotrans.org/article/epa-...

Mayor Johnson faces criticism for unfilled positions at major city agencies for over a year After a year of searching, Mayor Brandon Johnson has yet to find the right people to head Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Transit Authority, something government ...

Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority, and Chicago Transit Authority have been under interim leadership over a year. With NITA Act becoming effective on June 1st what are prospects for @chicagocta.bsky.social appointment before then? abc7chicago.com/post/mayor-j...

The Lost BART of the Midwest: Detroit’s 1974 Radical Transit Dream 100 minutes saved, a Woodward Avenue subway, and the world’s largest BRT, the "too ambitious" plan that Detroit still deserves today.

When the Midwest thought big: A look at an ambitious Detroit region transit plan that was proposed (and rejected by USDOT as too ambitious) some decades ago. Author says plan could be realized today w/20% of the Michigan DOT budget. open.substack.com/pub/thetrans...

Breaking down SANDAG’s $125 billion spending plan The new plan retreats from some ambitious projects but aims to deliver tangible improvements in the near term.

The new #SANDAG (metropolitan planning organization #MPO for San Diego) long-range plan allocates 58% of total funding for transit, ~$5B for the region's bicycle network. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...

@rmchase.bsky.social What are examples of "other measures" to achieve the same goals that are of comparable efficacy and cost but avoid adding to "surveillance infrastructure"?

NYC commits to $1B expansion of its automated traffic safety enforcement program The New York City Department of Transportation will quadruple the number of red-light camera installations across the five boroughs and upgrade older equipment.

The $998 million, five-year contract quadruples number of NYC red light cameras; also includes speed safety cameras, automated bus lane enforcement and cameras to detect overweight vehicles on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/nyc-1b-...

Strike “suburban” from this idea. City resident drivers could use lesson in non-auto travel challenges too.

Opinion | This Is the Real Reason to Make Bus Rides Free

A lawyer makes the case for not charging fares on public transit buses. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...

In 2022 the MPO for the Chicago

In 2022 the MPO for the Chicago region updated its long range plan to set TSP targets:
--2025: 1,000 signals or more with TSP and/or queue jumping;
--2050: 2,400 signals or more with TSP and/or queue jumping

Did the Chicago region meet the 2025 TSP target?

cmap.illinois.gov/regional-pla...

How one city increased transit bus speeds by 20% San José, California, employs AI traffic signaling to favor buses, helping keep them on schedule.

Transit signal priority--the potential: "The city of San José, California, increased transit bus speeds 20% on 24 routes citywide using AI-powered transit signal prioritization." System provided by #Lyt. #TSP www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/san-jos...

Against small plans Chicago has a housing crisis. Let's act like it.

Fulton Market high-rise apartment building replacing a parking lot and containing both affordable and family-sized units reportedly being opposed by the Chicago Department of Planning as inconsistent w/DPD's plans for neighborhood per @rsday.bsky.social. citythatworks.substack.com/p/against-sm...

IL State Climatologist: “By the end of the 21st century, avg. daily IL temperatures are projected to increase between 4 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit under the lower emissions scenario and between 8 and 14 degrees under the higher emissions scenario.” stateclimatologist.isws.illinois.edu/climate-chan...

Illinois proposal makes businesses financially liable for climate change (The Center Square) – A proposal to create an Illinois Climate Change Superfund is drawing sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers who warn it would hand sweeping authority to unelected regulators,

Illinois Republicans oppose the climate superfund bill: “The only real climate disadvantage we see in Chicago and across Illinois is that the business climate is under attack,” -Rep. Chris Miller. www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/art...

States target oil giants’ wealth as climate damages rise Legislators aim to use climate superfund programs to force oil companies to help cover the cost of global warming. A member of Congress wants to stop them.

Background on climate superfund laws. www.eenews.net/articles/sta...

With US EPA’s repeal of the GHG endangerment finding, keep an eye on the Illinois Climate Change Superfund Act (SB2981/HB4773). Sponsors Rep. Gabel and Sen. Guzman.

Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change

What Illinois law(s)—if any—regulate GHGs now that the EPA “has repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being”? If none, then what state regulation is needed/politically feasible? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...

A mall gets congestion pricing before the city does

The Best Tactics for Tackling Speeders Drivers who exceed speed limits are the cause of about one-third of all crash deaths in the US. To slow them down and save lives, cities have several effective tools.

"Strategies to reduce speeding [speed humps, automatic traffic cameras, conversions to make one-way arterials bidirectional] are effective, often to a striking degree. And contrary to common perceptions, residents generally support them." @davidzipper.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

More information about BASICS Act here. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e4ce...

This Bill Would Give Your Community More Money To Build Its Own Transportation Future — Streetsblog USA States monopolize federal transportation funding even though local and regional governments oversee most of our nation's roads. It's time for that to change, a new bill argues.

The newly-introduced bipartisan Bridges And Safety Infrastructure for Community Success Act (H.R. 7437) would change federal transportation formula funding, ensuring that metros get back more money and can fund more human-centered infrastructure projects. usa.streetsblog.org/2026/02/10/t...

Chicago transit deal attracts investor cash flooding muni market The Chicago Transit Authority sold about $530 million in sales-tax-backed bonds, which will finance projects such as the Red Line extension and refund old debt for savings.

"Moody’s Ratings’ credit upgrade @chicagocta.bsky.social ... was rooted in the state’s approval of a revenue increase for transit in the region and that it expects the new funding to exceed the budget shortfall the transit authority previously projected." www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chi...

Interview with #HaydenAI, the supplier of the tech for the @chicagocta.bsky.social bus lane enforcement pilot. Has anyone published a study of the bus speed/reliability impact of the tech in the Chicago pilot area zone?