At urging of oil company defendants the US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether federal law preempts state law climate accountability lawsuits. State supreme court ruled no preemption so Court’s move may signal different result and end of such lawsuits. www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/f...

A thoughtful and balanced @atalliance.bsky.social summary of policy considerations around deployment of automated vehicles in Illinois. 🧵 on AV regulation. activetrans.org/blog/we-need...

A public comment stood out to me at CMAP's Transportation Committee mtg: In planning DuSable North Lakeshore Drive's future we should ask ourselves if today we had a magnificent lakefront park with no expressway running through it would we think it a good idea to run an expressway through that park?

Bicycling etiquette question: All else being equal should one park parallel with bike rack (first photo) or perpendicular to the bike rack (second photo)?

"The primary thesis underlying this report is simple: Increasing housing availability in existing communities cuts transportation pollution by reducing time people are stuck in car traffic and increasing availability of other modes of transportation including walking, biking, and transit."

From @strongtownschicago.bsky.social re: North DuSable Lakeshore Drive project. strongtownschicago.substack.com/p/urgent-hel...

Here it is. The City of Chicago comes out against HB2454. Equivalent of giving the middle finger to any bicyclist who is hurt on roads that may look as if they meant for them (like having a Divvy station) but will find out after that fact they were not an "intended" use and the city is not liable.

Research: Comparing 2008-2012 with 2018-2022, the annual traffic fatality rate per 100,000 people increased by more than 33% across the 100 largest US cities (from 6.97 to 9.28) but less than 5% in all other parts of the country (from 12.03 to 12.59). US = outlier. findingspress.org/article/1559...

Positive review @rsday.bsky.social of @govpritzker.illinois.gov housing initiative announced with proposed IL budget. Preemption of local restrictions on "missing middle" housing. Local governments/Republicans pushing back already. citythatworks.substack.com/p/governor-p...

Article and commentaries on public transit in the Chicago region published in @crainschicago.bsky.social: www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum...

I'm not sure I completely agree with Thomas on this but it's a really interesting argument.

Depaving initiatives should supplement if not supersede the current prevailing state-level regulatory model of imposing GHG/VMT goals or targets on state DOTs. 🧵 www.latimes.com/environment/...

Proposed ordinance facilitating citizen reporting of commercial vehicles blocking bus/bike lanes decisively rejected by Chicago City Council. chi.streetsblog.org/2026/02/19/w...

The @lakeviewurbanists.bsky.social call on CDOT to do more than add additional signage and paint to address Inner Lake Shore Drive pedestrian safety hazards. chi.streetsblog.org/2026/02/20/a...

Took outbound Metra UP-NW to Woodstock. Station closed on cold day. Observed that Pace feeder buses were scheduled to arrive 4 minutes after inbound train scheduled to leave. My bus didn't arrive as scheduled but bus route serving station inexplicably not in Pace's Bus tracker app so no ETA info. 🧵

Glad that Illinois is not dinking around on transit funding, having passed transit funding/reform bill last Fall. Bay Area transit agencies are betting on passage of regional transit sales tax measure later this year for longer-term solution. www.gov.ca.gov/2026/02/19/g...

In the Chicago region state law enacted as part of a 2008 transit reform package allows 5 "collar" suburban counties to divert 1/3 of the regional transit sales tax revenue raised in their counties to non-transit uses. The NITA Act does not change this approach. usa.streetsblog.org/2026/02/19/w...

Gov. Pritzker: "In many places, local regulations have made it too difficult and costly to build new housing.... It all adds up to bureaucratic red tape that unnecessarily increases costs, delays construction, and frequently kills projects altogether." www.nprillinois.org/government-p...

Gov. Pritzker proposal "drastically limiting" local government control over types of housing structures allowed on land zoned residential might distract those now trying to dilute the IL transit reform bill to allow local gov. parking minimums near transit. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzke...

"Nationwide, the amount of income needed to buy the median-priced home dropped by 4% during the year. That is, [housing] affordability grew by 4%. There's a gap of 7.5 percentage points between the nation's gain in [housing] affordability and Chicago's loss." www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...

EV sales drop in Illinois as federal subsidies dry up. Slowed EV adoption coupled w/federal (in)action on fuel efficiency standards means that vehicle-centric approach to transportation sector GHG reduction less viable. Land use/highway infrastructure now key. www.chicagobusiness.com/manufacturin...

Zoom on over this evening and speak up in support of bike/ped/safety improvements on Grand Avenue in Chicago. Opposition is being led by same fellow who led successful opposition to Ashland Avenue BRT. Details including Zoom link here @atalliance.bsky.social: www2.activetrans.org/webmail/2132...

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...

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.

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-...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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

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...

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...

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.

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

"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...

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...

"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?

"When our government is not just apathetic but an aggressor against our communities,... we need to resist today by creating systems of community care that get people where they need to go right now, even in the most terrible storms." @keawilson.bsky.social usa.streetsblog.org/2026/02/02/s...

The Development on Church Land Act has been filed in Illinois 🏘️ Allows faith based orgs to develop mixed-use housing on their property ❌ Limits local government from enforcing: - Height maximums (below 5 stories) - Parking minimums - Setbacks >10ft - FAR ilga.gov/Legislation/... #SB3187

NYT: “Congress Targets Housing Crisis as Solutions Elude Trump.” (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

A transit-oriented development site near the 95th/Dan Ryan intermodal station in Roseland was made available for redevelopment proposals by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in collaboration with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). 5/4/26 deadline. www.chicago.gov/city/en/dept...

“Commonsense, balanced legislation at the state level that doesn’t add strain on law enforcement will be an effective and prudent path forward for Illinois,” Dave Simmons @rideillinois said. www.wbez.org/transportati...

Auto travel time savings throughout the New York City metro area--not just in Manhattan--attributed to the NYC congestion pricing program. @davidzipper.bsky.social summarizes research. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HB4588 introduced in the ILGA. It would repeal for all but the City of Chicago the People Over Parking Act provisions of the transit reform law that facilitate housing production around transit service corridors/hubs by abolishing parking minimums. ilga.gov/Legislation/...

Bill introduced by Rep. Kam Buckner creating the Illinois Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act. www.ilga.gov/Legislation/...

“Regional rail is a “keystone” vision that would create a unified backbone for a modern regional transit network, with truly-regional benefits.”

The @illinoisdot.bsky.social Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Infrastructure Funding and Policy has released its final report: idot.illinois.gov/content/dam/...