UCLA’s funds reinstated after yesterday’s court order! Thanks to the brave researchers and their amazing counsel, including Dean Chemerinsky, who brought suit. This is just another turn in the ongoing fight, but a great result for now.

The latest episode of UCLA Housing Voice is out, with the brilliant @stephenjacobsmith.com interviewed by @shanedphillips.bsky.social and Michael Manville talking about elevators! Please listen to it. www.lewis.ucla.edu/programs/hou...

wait you can just do this? would cost eleventy billion dollars in the US

Models of European metro stations stations.albertguillaumes.cat

The thing I still have not figured out about LA County is that it *definitely was* land use policy influenced by racism that led the county to develop the way it did (the people doing it even said so) but then the county became 75% non-white & no one changed land use (except to be even more NIMBY).

[BILL ALERT] SB 79, which broadly legalizes more homes near high quality transit stops, has passed the Senate floor! The bill is now on the Governor’s desk. Learn more: cayimby.org/legislation/...

SB 79 HAS PASSED!

@scottwiener.bsky.social is a legendary politician. The way that man can keep his cool and win people over is something I'll never be able to do.

My alma mater's ITE chapter racks another credit in that most esteemed application of the statistical arts, the Trip Generation Manual (12th edition)

[BILL ALERT] SB 79, which broadly legalizes more homes near high quality transit stops, has passed the Assembly floor! The bill now goes to the Senate for concurrence, then the Governor’s desk. cayimby.org/legislation/...

LA’s firefighter union has come out with a four-page letter opposing single-stair buildings. I’m going to respond to a few of the points within it. 🧵

The coalition behind Measure ULA just released a report attacking UCLA research on the tax. They’re claiming it “debunks” the research. It doesn’t even come close. 🧵

This is great! (Especially since it probably doesn't change much, these seem to be projects that would have already used union labor, so it's not a new cost barrier.)

Help redesign Garvey Ave in Monterey Park! Share ideas for safer, cooler streets. 👩🏻‍💻 Take the Survey: https://sur-vey.typeform.com/to/xJqVyYNq

Per Sep 2 amendments, my interpretation is that HPOZs will not be exempt, only individually-designated sites.

New #SB79 language is out in print: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTe... Although, it makes reference to Tier 3 TOD that no longer exist. I think it will need to get amended again.

More Art of the Day - Under the Bay 🚃🚃🚃🚃 Come to the BART anime festival on September 6! www.bart.gov/news/article...

🚨 Urban Stats 28.0.0 🚨 The mapper is now completely redesigned by me and @spudwaffle.bsky.social, allowing for much prettier looking maps and way more customization alongside significantly more options for geographies! See below for some of the examples of the maps you can create!

L.A. Metro Weekday Ridership Data June 2025 v. June 2024 Bus ⬇️ 5.6% Rail ⬇️ 6.1% June 2025 ridership % Pre-COVID 91% weekday & Sat. 96% Sunday July 2025 avg. pre-COVID ridership recovery (weekdays only) 74% bus 71% rail 73% systemwide All lower ridership numbers than July 2024 & July 2023

Stunts like this are one reason why it's taking 15 years to build HSR fyi

Will the hated historic zone prevent SB 79 from reaching its full potential in LA? Well, as @cohenhouse.bsky.social says, we should probably temper ourselves until the actual language of the amendment comes out. But until then, we can look at which areas have stations overlapping with HPOZs.

Amendments to SB 79 will be published on Tuesday. This is what I'm hearing: 1) Tier 3 stops (most Metrolink + less-urban areas) have been removed 2) Local government opt-outs around fire zones + historic 3) Clarified language around planned stops

[BILL ALERT] SB 79, which broadly legalizes more homes near high quality transit stops, has passed the Assembly appropriations committee! The bill now goes to the Assembly floor, then back to the Senate for concurrence. Learn more: cayimby.org/legislation/...

Berkeley TIMS has (has had for a little while now) an AV crash and VMT visualization dashboard now

L.A. Metro Chair Fernando Dutra speaks with LAist on Metro hiring police officers, station/stop cleanliness & safety, mental health outreach & resources systemwide, & more: laist.com/news/transpo...

Art of the Day - Bus to BART! 🚌🚃 I'll be at the BART anime festival on September 6! www.bart.gov/news/article...

BIG news: The California Democratic Party just endorsed @scottwiener.bsky.social’s landmark housing bill #SB79, which legalizes multifamily homes near major public transit statewide! This marks a major shift in state politics: California Dems are *finally* embracing a party that builds!

less than 2k subs…buying pennies on the dollar with this channel

Folks, I have spent *so* much time poring over storm sewer plans.

Including the only people who will sit next to me (the NAHB code guys)

July 2025 D Line Extension Phase 3 Project Update Design is 99% done, overall construction 63.5% complete. Main activities are concrete installation and pouring, as well as initial electrical work.

July 2025 Division 20 Portal Widening & Turnback Progress Update Overall project progress is 84% complete. Most work is focused on the tracks, switches and making sure they are safe to operate and test on.

New reports examines clashes between street safety and fire departments sf.streetsblog.org/2025/08/20/s...

This is my favorite contradiction of post-war US planning. The contrast between the hyper regulation of some aspects (like parking minimums, based on p-values ranging from "lol" to "Imao"), while totally abandoning control of minor details like... the entire street network.

So, if you are a person driving a private vehicle, your experience of the neighbourhood is the one on the left, with a circulation pattern not dissimilar to a NA suburb (LEFT), but if you are a person walking or riding a bike, your experience is of a very gridded and porous street network (RIGHT)

Properly bollard-protected intersection in Berlin.

I spent a decade of my life in LA and the place just makes me sad these days. It reminds me of New Orleans where people talk about what "ain't there no more." I swear the only hope is the state finally wrestling control away from its moron political class and forcing them to do the right thing.

It pencils in their heart and mind…whatever, the units will mostly get built.

It’s Gondola Brain taking over her thoughts.

Here's the public comment I wrote opposing this anti-SB 79 resolution. Cowardice is the right word, especially after council opposed similar legislation almost a decade ago and then used that much-vaunted "local control" to turn the housing crisis up to 11. Kudos to the 5 progressives who voted no.

Wrap it a la Christo for 7 bazillion dollars.

Street improvements in Oakland to narrow the streets after a dad and his 4 year old were killed as well as various seniors by cars on dangerous roads

While researching the history of security on LA Metro, I found this fascinating table from 2019 tallying all 14k Code of Conduct citations issued by infraction, and which security force issued it. 14k isn't high, but it's at least 100 times higher than LA Metro's current CoC enforcement rate.

Oh yeah should have been .01–also planting will prob end up being less than that, I would guess. But 40-60 billion is target.

WHEW

WSCCOG staff recommends awarding the BRT network design contract to STV. Nelson\Nygaard and TY Lin also submitted proposals. The goal remains to "ensure at least one quick-build corridor can be implemented before the LA28 Games". Will see anything interesting's in the proposals via PRA request.

Those Who Walk Away From SpeedingNonEnforcementLas about a society where utopia (being able to get places like 5% faster on average) is held together by the suffering of a child (actually, many children, who are hit by speeding cars)

I really hope UCLA is not left to fight this alone. At a minimum, the entire UC system needs to close ranks around UCLA. Better still, the California state government should step up to defend this major institution. We have to fight somewhere. Why not here? Why not now?

In the late ‘00s when I was with Courage Campaign, we worked with the Bay Area Council on a plan to call a state constitutional convention. It never came to fruition, sadly. But I wrote a draft CA constitution that abolished the Senate, tripled the size of the Assembly, and used proportional rep.