Another mayor makes the same point: Illinois has a housing challenge; I don’t support the proposed solution; I have no alternatives www.facebook.com/615763242001...

Looks like automated vehicles, at least those from top AV firm @waymo.bsky.social, are being programmed to park in bike lanes: "Waymo [says] that expecting it to respect bike lanes is 'too high a bar' because customers expect to be dropped off in them." nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/22/w...

@amtrak.com @illinoisdot.bsky.social The Lincoln Service is an embarrassment. Chronically unreliable.

Historian Peter Norton: “[Automated vehicles are] not revolutionary, like what we experienced a century ago as we became car-dependent. What robot cars are promising is the next generation of car dependency.” @davidzipper.bsky.social interview. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The @ilepa.bsky.social released its draft Comprehensive Climate Action Plan on 4/30/26. The agency is providing the public less than two weeks--through 5/1/26--to review the draft and prepare and submit comments. Information/links here: epa.illinois.gov/topics/clima...

CTA ends security guards program. abc7chicago.com/amp/post/cta...

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.

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...

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...

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. 👇

"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...

"Western Ave. already serves 4.7 million yearly bus riders. A #BRT line would increase speeds by 82% and boost on-time performance by 50%. It also connects to 5 ‘L’ rail stations and 4 Metra lines. This is where the value of NITA might really shine." citythatworks.substack.com/p/its-time-t...

Newly released book entitled "New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies" authored by three former members of LA Metro's Office of Extraordinary Innovation--Joshua Schank, Emma Huang, Marla Westervelt Berg--seems well timed for NITA's revamp of Chicago's transit system. www.newtricksforoldbureaucracies.com

Earlier this week @chicagocta.bsky.social won a TRO requiring USDOT to unfreeze previously awarded funding for the Red & Purple Modernization and Red Line Extension Projects. CTA has submitted invoices and expects to have wrung $114.5M in unfrozen funding soon. www.transitchicago.com/red-line-ext...

Advocate Health plans to launch aerial drone delivery in Chicago using Zipline drones: "The first flight will deploy in 2027 in the Charlotte market, then expand to the Chicago and Milwaukee markets." www.advocatehealth.org/news/advocat...

Good news per DoorDash is that deliveries by two-wheeled vehicles (e.g., bikes) is growing 4x faster than deliveries by car. Bad news is Chicago's share of two-wheeled deliveries lags behind many city peers, despite its high level of auto traffic congestion. assets.ctfassets.net/trvmqu12jq2l...

Great summary of @govpritzker.illinois.gov #BUILD housing plan by @stevevance.net with links to bills and illustrations of examples of key reforms. yimbyaction.org/blog/illinoi...

This is the way.... The I-294 cordon program was a regional tolling program to fund a regional transit system; NITA bill found other funding options. Chicago can achieve many of the benefits of a Loop cordon program w/out tolling through its rideshare congestion fee and Loop parking taxes/fees.

Can congestion pricing pay off for Chicago region? Yes says @davidzipper.bsky.social. Article covers (i) I-294 "urban core" cordon, (ii) Chicago Loop cordon, and (iii) tolled managed lanes on currently untolled urban expressways. Urges State to start prep. work now. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Press release has links to the bills that make up the BUILD legislative package. www.illinois.gov/news/release...

Per @adrianaperez.bsky.social @chicagotribune.com Chicago ranked the third-most polluted major U.S. city in 2025 for fine particulate emissions. Report shows recent decline in #PM2 emissions in Chicago but levels still ~double @who.int PM2 recommendations. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/26/c...

NYC's new ADU for You website has an ADU Guidebook, a growing Pre-Approved Plan Library, and site feasibility analysis and cost estimating tools to help homeowners navigate bureaucratic and financing details when adding an ADU such as a backyard cottage or “in-law unit.” www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...

Per @davidstruett.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com USDOT must dispense more than $3 billion in funding it was withholding from the @chicagocta.bsky.social for the Red Line extension and other projects, a federal district court judge in Chicago ruled Tuesday. chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...

Wrigley Field is special because it's part of a vibrant neighborhood. Building more parking will just incentivize more driving. Do not expand the parking lot. Instead, the Cubs should figure out what else they can do to support people taking Metra/shuttles, buses, biking, walking to the field.

"Through the Transit Innovation Yard, the TTC (Toronto) is opening its system to select start-ups and academics to trial new technologies and ideas – providing the TTC the opportunity to examine emerging solutions and pursue those with clear potential." www.renewcanada.net/ttc-partners...

The @illinoisdot.bsky.social is selecting a consultant who will assist the new Chicago regional transit agency (NITA) and NITA's Transition Committee in implementing major reforms. IDOT has issued the bid solicitation for the role. illinois-department-of-transportation.prezly.com/idot-seeks-f...

"What can American cities learn from how Canada builds public transportation? The answer begins not with megaprojects or billion-dollar tunnels, but with a more basic failure—one that plays out every single day in cities like Chicago." www.mironline.ca/how-canada-i...

“The longer we put off taking care of our water infrastructure, the more expensive it’s going to get, the more... water rates increas[e]...the more people are...not going to have access to safe/clean drinking water,” -Justin Williams @metroplanning.bsky.social. insideclimatenews.org/news/2303202...

The importance of having reliable federal transportation agency funding partners when states and metros try to deliver big infrastructure projects. High institutional risk if Feds can renege on funding commitments means fewer and higher cost projects. www.planetizen.com/features/137...

Human-driven clankers damage things too. abc7chicago.com/post/chicago.... Can AV bots/street vehicles be programmed over time to be significantly safer and cause less damage than human-driven vehicles? If so, do we tolerate such bot mishaps w/out banning like we tolerate human driving mishaps now?

Know some researcher talent? The @metroplanning.bsky.social has four open Research Assistant positions in the following areas: Water; Transportation; Housing; and Research. Applications are due by Friday, April 3, 2026 at 4:00 pm CST. metroplanning.org/about-us/joi...

What makes for a top-notch state DOT: (1) a comprehensive cost-benefit project selection tool; (2) leadership in how it innovates, implements, and maintains bridges; (3) good roadway design and rigorous enforcement; and (4) road usage pricing with P3 project delivery. IL ⬇️ reason.com/2026/03/23/h...

Waymo tracks and periodically publishes the safety performance of its robotaxis against the human-driven vehicle average. The data through December 2025 covering 170.7M rider-only miles without a human driver in SF, PHX, LA, and AUS found here: waymo.com/safety/impac...