Colin Parent

CA: How a generation of permitting requirements slows down California's transit projects A new report from a San Diego nonprofit points to third-party permitting requirements as another culprit to the project's long delays, and a reason for the slowdown on transit...

"The Powerless Brokers" in Mass Transit Magazine.

Just in case you're not getting the reference... www.circulatesd.org/powerlessbro...

This is why we have grand juries.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/u...

La Mesa is now accepting applications for our Youth Advisory Commission. Please share with a young person who has an interest in community service. www.cityoflamesa.gov/civicalerts....

Lots of important transit projects in the Bay Area and lots of notes in this report that could be applied to build more of them, more quickly, for less money bsky.app/profile/coli...

California getting in its own way when it comes to building mass transit: Report – NBC 7 San Diego www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/c...

On Friday I will be speaking on a free online panel to discuss Circulate's latest report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit." Join us! www.spur.org/events/2025-...

Want more on this topic? Read Circulate's latest report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit" www.circulatesd.org/powerlessbro...

Great report. Transit projects go through extensive public outreach and democratic approval. After the public is on board, unaccountable 3rd parties slow them to a crawl with bad faith demands, subjective standards, and unclear or ad-hoc process. Transit agencies need more control over permitting.

Obviously you should read from cover-to-cover Circulate's latest report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit." www.circulatesd.org/powerlessbro...

But, you can also just read the executive summary and pretend you read the whole thing.

Obviously you should read from cover-to-cover Circulate's latest report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit." www.circulatesd.org/powerlessbro...

But, you can also just read the executive summary and pretend you read the whole thing.

You've really made it in California when you're on Rough & Tumble rtumble.com

Really good paper from Circulate SD.

The current 3rd party system encourages opaque, lengthy bilateral negotiations with no objective standards for designs or approvals.

Unsurprisingly democratic places with low construction costs don’t do it this way.

www.circulatesd.org/powerlessbro...

Reporting live from @circulatesd.bsky.social's press conference about their new whitepaper, The Powerless Brokers - about 3rd party issues slow down transit projects. @colinparent.bsky.social is talking about #SB445 and the need to invest in the LOSSAN corridor.

Hoy en El Latino! ellatinoonline.com/2025/08/04/d...

How a generation of permitting requirements slows down California's transit projects Why do transit projects like California's high-speed rail train take so long to complete? A new report examines that question with a focus on challenges posed by third-party permitting requirements.

The Los Angeles Times covers our report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit." www.latimes.com/california/s...

Great podcast on the challenges of building high-speed rail in the US.

Circulate's upcoming report "The Powerless Brokers" will provide recommendations to get things moving.

You can be among the first to read Circulate's latest report "The Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit." Sign up here: www.circulatesd.org/get_involved

This week I was on KPBS talking about how we need more homes near where people work. youtu.be/OsXr_4Doruo?...

This week I was on KPBS talking about how we need more homes near where people work. youtu.be/OsXr_4Doruo?...

I am always surprised when people are surprised that I text in complete sentences with proper punctuation.

Thanks to KPBS for asking me about how we can allow more homes near transit and jobs centers. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...

See you at Comic-Con this year?

Great to catch up with our friends at the @sdbikecoalition!

@colinparent.bsky.social doing an awesome job as usual standing up for common sense.

Safe streets are good, actually. www.cbs8.com/article/news...

Work with Us - Policy Manager or Director of Policy Circulate San Diego is one of San Diego County's leading organizations dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place to live, work, learn, and play.

Circulate is hiring for our policy team. Please share with the smart housing and transportation professionals in your network. www.circulatesd.org/policy2025

We often hire people already in our network, but we are eager to find candidates we don't already know.

I like to return from a trip at least a day before returning to work and "the real world." It helps to ease the transition.

(Which basically just means a day of laundry.)

Visited Carmel by the Sea today. It's famous for its cutesy houses and shops, but I found myself taking pictures of the cutesy municipal infrastructure.

How to Predict the Future Jason Matheny on IARPA, originally published November 2023

This was an especially good episode of Statecraft, about "How to Predict the Future."

I was especially interested to learn how prediction markets (wisdom of crowds) can provide more accurate forecasts because they mitigate for random errors and biases. www.statecraft.pub/p/how-to-pre...