The system Italy had for 3rd party issues prior to Bribesville and Conference of Services sounds exactly like the US today.

One off, opaque and iterative negotiations that increase veto points, delay and opportunities for exactions.

Add in the fact that Italy only developed its Conference of Services to manage 3rd party issues in the early 90s in response to the Bribesville corruption scandal.

Italy recently had many similar afflictions as US transit. They reformed them and have seen results.

Imagine if the US simply tried.

Also, in 2017 the Italian national government decided to cover 80% of design costs for transit service development - bc locals didn't have in-house capacity and struggled to develop good transit projects

FTA doesn't appear to follow this but FRA recently developed something similar with Corridor ID

The SUMP is a planning tool wider than just transit service -- it includes metro level planning for all modes focused on accessibility.

It certainly seems preferable to siloing transit, active transport and road planning.
urban-mobility-observatory.transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files...

The Staple Job, or Grocery List, funding regime creates an expenditure plan without reference to regional or national planning -- just geographic, interest group salami slicing.

SUMPs by contrast provide vertical integration of planning with investment.

Per the Italian Case Study, Italy has shifted from a "staple job" project funding regime for transit to one based on service-led planning via metro-level Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).

National level construction funding is available at 100% for projects that comply with an approved SUMP

Same here

Fair lol

Conversely, if there’s a good deal on the market and where long term rent savings outweigh foregone property tax revenue, and there’s no outrageous fees, then it might be a good time for a non-Catalyst JPA deal.

Theodore Judah respecting this weekend.

True - the SFH home builders just claim to speak on behalf of all developers when trashing potential condo defect and financing reform, which would primarily benefit infill developers.

Unfortunately many of the centrist interest groups I mentioned are 1) untethered from their “members” and unaccountable; 2) advocating for bad policy that hurts their members or people they claim to speak for

This is a great essay! As one of those "non-professional" activists, I've found it frustrating that so much of our society's civic leadership is locked into organizations you can't join and meaningfully particupate. It pushed me to move involvement with smaller groups. Just paying an org sucks.

Haha true — we’re currently 30 minutes late at the end of pool stage.

Yeah I believe in the OmniCause

Is the fact that more Metro’s stations were in DC proper (with presumably looser land use rules relative to suburbs) a confounding variable here?

BART has a much higher share of stations in exclusionary suburbs (afaict)

I confess I don’t understand the political or substantive opposition to subdivision map act reform.

Realizing today that rugby 7s tournaments run on a takt just like Swiss railroads.

Metrolink electrification (plus road diets) is the ticket to turning IE cities into proper, urban streetcar suburbs.

The Groups versus The Groups The interminable fight over who gets to rule the void

A reply to Matthew Yglesias regarding "Big Ass Truck Abundance" publiccomment.blog/p/the-groups...

At odds* rather

In the housing space The Groups are treated as a uniquely progressive rot, but centrists have their own Groups they reflexively defer to: realtors, large SFH builders, landlords, and utilities.

Many of these centrist Groups have positions that are odds with climate-friendly housing abundance.

🥴

Transit, Labor, and the Transition to Public Ownership in Oakland By Jordan Patty Mass Transit After World War II In an era when labor expected generous wages and benefits, how could an urban bus company expect to operate at a profit, regularly raise pay, and pay…

East Bay public officials and civic orgs wanted to buy it -- but the regional politics around BARTC prevented AC Transit or another regional transit agency from being created in time to make the acquisition prior to closure of rail service.
themetropole.blog/2020/04/15/t...

Sacramento will be sending a delegation to this btw

MFW Georgists from Sacramento, SF, Santa Cruz, San Jose and Berkeley converge on Lake Merritt

So true

Invite to Henry George Day picnic 9/1 3pm at Lake Merritt Labyrinth in Oakland with Georgist org Common Ground CA.

I’ll be hosting the 2nd annual Henry George Day picnic at Lake Merritt on 9/1 with @cacommonground.bsky.social.

Come thru to celebrate.

The technical and regulatory infeasibility of a through-running BART station next to the SFO terminals is recognized in 1993, not 1996. State Sen. Quentin Kopp does not flip his support from Caltrain DTX to BART SFO, or put Measure I on the 1994 SF primary ballot. Caltrain DTX opens in 2003.