A bit surprising that the cars-first folks opposing the Complete Streets makeover of Grand Avenue appear to be holding their weekly protests on foot rather than via a car caravan. Maybe some hours of experiencing Grand Ave. as a pedestrian will be eye-opening. chi.streetsblog.org/2026/04/16/a...
🎯 Really condensed version of @starlinechicago.bsky.social vision for revamped rail system(s) in the Chicago region.
The latest “small plan” for revamping and integrating the public transit rail system(s) in the Chicago region @starlinechicago.bsky.social. Entry in the #HorizonLines design competition hosted by World Business Chicago. In the running for 🥇? open.substack.com/pub/starline...
Atlanta’s first bus rapid transit #BRT five-mile route w/14 stations will connect downtown Atlanta to the BeltLine’s Southside Trail. $123M cost (~$ 25M/mile) even after big cost overruns. www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-mar...
Three months after Ottawa removed its automatic safety cameras, the share of drivers following the speed limit plunged from 87% to 41%(!). "High-end speeding" is up 10x.
Automatic enforcement saves lives. If you remove it, people will die.
As @waymo.bsky.social ramps up its efforts in the Illinois General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing it to deploy automated vehicles in the state, @betterstreetschicago.org is doing a survey of public opinion about AVs: betterstreetschicago.typeform.com/av-survey-2026
The Spokane City Council approved a one-year moratorium for drive-through facilities along major arterial roads to protect future transit-oriented growth. They're doing BRT too. www.thecentersquare.com/washington/a...
"The US situation is a perfect storm, with high-speed arterials, distraction from phones, and big SUVs. In Europe, roadways are much slower, which provides a level of protection." @davidzipper.bsky.social interviews bike/ped safety expert Prof. Nick Ferenchak. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"Anti-immigration policy poses a material risk to the economic growth potential of the nation’s largest metropolitan economies, and risks dampening or reversing the significant economic progress that these regions have achieved over the past decade." www.brookings.edu/articles/met...
The news is not good on the Chicago housing affordability front. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Illinois is moving to legalize attached and detached courtyard housing in every residential zone across the state, as part of a middle housing reform package backed by @govpritzker.illinois.gov. Is this the first domino in a nation-wide movement? courtyardurbanist.com/p/chronicle-...
Whether Chicago steps up and transforms its lakefront from a park bisected by an expressway into a global caliber park and ecological resource will be a key litmus test for @illinoisdot.bsky.social, CDOT, CMAP, and civic organizations, all of whom will be tempted by half-measures at best.
Is the health-and-safety-first #NSPE Code of Ethics something that can be used to hold liable engineers who sign off on removing safety interventions? Do engineers have similar enforcement procedures against ethical violations that lawyers have with state bar actions? www.nspe.org/sites/defaul...
They stressed that the “War on Cars” is really a battle against cars-only street design and operations and not a push to ban cars for everyone/everywhere. Reading “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” @wesmars.bsky.social on the bus to the event was a good warm up.
The speakers pointed out how Chicago has fumbled its lakefront park by running a noisy expressway through it. Contrasted this with quiet of Central and Prospect Parks in NYC. Reclaiming the lakefront park and realizing its potential is a top priority of event organizer @betterstreetschicago.org.
This was an inspiring event. The speakers shared the origin story of the “War on Cars” and that Chicago was once the center of biking and bike manufacturing with a mayor (Carter Harrison IV) who supported multi-modal streets. Said Chicago has ample street space for a true bike network. E-bikes = 👍.
Metra is using the test to help inform how Metra can integrate its fare with CTA and Pace, a goal of the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) launching this year. www.axios.com/local/chicag...
Transport Chicago conference is the place to be June 12. Keynote speakers and more announced. www.transportchicago.org?ss_source=ss...
Rivian has a big Illinois presence. Yet, its vehicle innovation spin-off #Also has its facilities in Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Taiwan, but not Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois. Getting a slice of that kind of vehicle innovation business locally could be long-term boost. ridealso.com/pages/company
EV/AV tech platforms will support new vehicle types--e.g., Rivian spin-off #Also plans to branch out into the autonomous vehicle space. The company will work with DoorDash to develop and deploy self-driving delivery vehicles. insideevs.com/news/791730/...
"If our cities were built with artists’ imaginations, our streets wouldn’t just move people, they would nurture them." -#BiancaPastel @chicagoreader.com. chicagoreader.com/columns-opin...
1. What is a "state-supported Amtrak agreement" and how would such work w/Metra? 2. Is there sufficient population density/ridership potential along the Heritage Corridor to justify spending more for more service?
Feds dismantling protected bike lanes in Washington, DC, to reduce traffic congestion despite cycle track's daily use by 4,000 people and its reduction of bicyclist injuries by 91%. @davidzipper.bsky.social documents Trump administration antipathy toward bicycling. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NITA Act addresses this. 👇
"The city’s air is also measurably cleaner. One 2025 study found that the city’s pollution levels have dropped by 50%. On my visit, my weather app said that the air was clear, with an AQI of 3 out of 500. Instead of the smell of diesel exhaust, I smelled crepes."
"She’s also motivated by climate change, but has talked more about the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a more obvious issue for residents."
“She’s talking about making sure that 10-year-old children can go to school safely without bothering their parents. She’s talking about a different city. She has the intelligence not to talk about technical things. She’s talking about livability.”
"How urban innovation can happen quickly at a large scale; how [Paris Mayor Hidalgo] used political risk-taking and moments of crisis to force change in a legacy system dominated by cars. It’s an example of how streets can begin to be reclaimed for people." www.fastcompany.com/91509506/how...
Per @transportist.org "fuel subsidies are really a way of paying people to keep consuming the thing that has become scarce. An energy crisis is exacerbated by pretending energy is cheap." www.transportist.net/p/transport-...
Chicago study results: "Racial disparities in pedestrian safety are not simply a result of individual racial composition or personal characteristics. Rather, they stem from the environmental and structural conditions present in racially segregated communities." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...