Captive Driver

One of the most consequential things Trump is doing. Deserves as much attention as the Epstein mess. But good luck with that. He is changing the policy so that greenhouse gases cannot be regulated and climate change can’t be addressed. Trump is killing the future.

I'm a broken record preaching to the choir, but I do think it's worth emphasizing that cyclists (and pedestrians) are afraid drivers will kill them. Drivers are annoyed that bicyclists will slow them down or be rude to them.

This graphic alone is like a fucking dissertation. Incredible stuff. Master class.

Blows a massive hole in every govt's excuse that their level of gov't has no control over freeway spending.

The Limits of Sprawl Is Atlanta’s slowdown telling us something?

"What we’re seeing in Atlanta, I’d suggest, are the limits of sprawl." paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-limits...

“A key takeaway from the exhibition is the need for cities to tame cars.”

U.S. automakers are choosing the path to extinction by sticking with fossil fuels & hybrids. And U.S. policies that prop up internal combustion engines & attempt to discourage EV adoption will hasten their demise. The world is going electric while they cling to bygone days. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨🔋

I am really liking the increasing number of beer gardens that have been popping up in Boston over the past couple years. I don’t drink, but it’s nice to see people out enjoying themselves in the evenings. Now we just need more open air cafes.

YIMBYism started as a single-issue movement. It's time to think bigger. New research shows that voters who like cities back denser housing. To make cities more likeable, YIMBYs need to act more like a party.

Two cheers for this, I guess. I can't be the only one to become alienated from YIMBYism as it's morphed from an urbanist movement to whatever "abundance" is. But why frame urban quality of life work as a political strategy vs. a valid end in itself? hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/yimbyism-s...

The real answer is social housing for the middle class, but it’s not allowed under federal law - which caps the total number of publicly controlled housing units to where it was in 1999.

The city of Boston tried to get the citywide speed limit reduced to 20mph but the state legislature wouldn’t allow it.

This is why we need ranked choice. Typically People split between two similar candidates essentially cancel each other out allowing less desirable candidates to move past the gate.

There’s a bill to study single stair working its way through the MA legislature. The bill has $ attached to it, but the legislators who are backing it never showed up to the hearing so It may still get approved but without funding.

New York City intersections see one-third fewer pedestrian injuries with longer head-start intervals Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights—known as Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)—is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New ...

"Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New York City intersections."

Every sidewalk bicyclist is a vote for protected bike lanes.

A bar chart showing four different budget proposals from (from left) Gov. Healey, the House, the Senate, and the final enacted budget, whose bars add up just below the level of a dotted line showing the MBTA's anticipated FY2026 spending levels.

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff - mass.streetsblog.org/2025/07/07/b...
#mapoli

Highway Boondoggles Year after year, state and local governments propose billions of dollars’ worth of new and expanded highways that often do little to reduce congestion or address real transportation challenges, while ...

When we were writing our "Highway Boondoggles" reports, people would sometimes ask if we wanted to make the projects cheaper. Which is not the point. The point is that the projects themselves were pointless. Delivering negative social benefits. Just don't do them. frontiergroup.org/resources/hi...

Speed Cushions and Traffic Calming Speed cushions were among the most polarizing treatments included in the project. Supporters credited them with significantly reducing speeding and making the corridor safer for walking and biking. Some called for more cushions, particularly on the southern segments of the corridor to address persistent speeding issues. However, opponents criticized the speed cushions for causing discomfort and raising the risk of vehicle damage. They also expressed concerns about safety hazards for motorcycles and vans equipped for mobility access. Some noted that the cushions prompted dangerous driving behavior as people attempted to avoid them.

"Speed cushions will damage my vehicle" is actually a telling-on-yourself moment.

Getting Trump's full tax break on car loans may mean buying a $130,000 vehicle Middle-income households that buy luxury cars would be able to claim the full financial benefit of a $10,000 tax deduction on car loan interest.

One of many, many reasons to hate the megabill:

It will make car interest payments tax deductible, a windfall for car dealers that will nudge Americans to buy pricier, bloated models that endanger the planet as well as others on the street.

The rich will benefit most.

I think we have a new worldwide winner for the absolute worst, most ignorantly placed bike parking ever.

It did. Sort of. Not sure how well this can be replicated elsewhere, though.

In Sprawl We Trust How did the US become filled with sprawl? Simplistic debates about "centralized planning" versus "the free market" belie the truth: that a strong coalition of private and public interests helped creat...

The unfortunate truth is that the few places that still have room to sprawl are the places who are producing enough housing to meet demand. Problem in New England is what do you do when you can’t sprawl?
www.currentaffairs.org/news/in-spra...

Searching for realistic ways of reducing housing construction costs that isn’t putting hopes on fanciful tech.

I got a text from the same number tonight about bike lanes. “Kids can’t get to school” and “no one can get to work.” Sure bud.

new district in the mountain west

new district in the EU

my lord US development (left) really is bleak AF.

contrast w/ a new district in the EU (right)

spot the differences!

More data supporting the need to restrict vehicle sizes. Car bloat is killing people, plain and simple.

From US DOT info on speed humps: “The average reduction in the reported daily volumes is 20 percent (the same average as for speed tables), with values ranging from a reduction of 72 percent on the low end to no reduction”

City installed speed humps in my neighborhood and from my observations it appears traffic volume has gone down. I guess it no longer makes sense as a cut through?

What's Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse The concept is called induced demand, which is economist-speak for when increasing the supply of something (like roads) makes people want that thing even more. Though some traffic engineers made note ...

“We found there’s this perfect one-to-one relationship. If a city increased its road capacity by 10% then driving in that city went up by 10%.” Still one of the best articles on why building bigger roads leads to more driving. Understanding #InducedDemand Via @wired.com

While I am loathe to give Jeff Bezos any credit for anything, at any point in time, I have been wondering why no one has done something exactly like this sooner. An all analog electric car with no frills would be a nice antidote to “everything’s a computer”

How Well Is Congestion Pricing Doing? Very. One hundred days in, honking is down; bus speeds are up.

Some stats from 100 days in on congestion pricing:
- Complaints about car-honking are down 70%
- The Holland Tunnel has 65% fewer delays at rush hour; time to get thru it is down 48%
- 6 million fewer cars
- Half as many traffic-related injuries
- 1.5 million more visitors to BIDs year over year