Horrifying, heartbreaking, and something everyone who counts themselves as a member of the Safe Routes to School movement should absolutely be speaking out about.

"Frankly, it's the book the transportation reform movement has been waiting for." -- @keawilson.bsky.social , Senior Editor, @usa.streetsblog.org Check out the book and other reviews here www.amazon.com/You-Want-You... and via @islandpress.bsky.social at islandpress.org/books/if-you...

Thrilled that someone finally made a documentary about the rail trail movement that treats that history for what it is: a fascinating and shockingly controversial story about the right to public space, which is every bit as epic as the battle against the highway movement (which sometimes overlaps).

Reflections on last week's #WeekWithoutDriving in a city that still refuses to acknowledge the existence of its nondrivers — which a comprehensive new report claims make up one-third of LA's population

If you saw a headline about NYC potentially losing two big transit projects "because of the government shutdown," know this: 1) it's bullshit, and 2) ending the shutdown on the Trump administration's terms would be terrible for transit *all across the country*, and very likely in your community. 🧵

It's one thing to talk about the 1 in 20 Americans who live in households without cars. But it's another to talk about all the people who live in households with fewer cars than people who need to drive to participate in an autocentric society, particularly kids, elders, and people w/disabilities.

Today's the last day to claim the federal EV tax credit. I’ve written a ton about why EVs aren’t the solution to our transportation problems, but I’ll admit: my household bought one two months ago. And I want to do a short thread about why.

Few days late but wanted to be sure to shout out this great convo I had with Ashton Rohmer, who points out that all the deaths and damage that flows from car culture isn't dissimilar from the horrors of war, and what it would mean to apply "peace building" strategies to urbanism.

Curious if anyone is doing work on the shortcomings of telematics as a tool in predicting road safety trends + guiding investments...? I just signed up for one of those safe driver apps to get a car insurance discount, and I'm kind of shocked by how easy it is to game.

We'll have a lot more on this soon but for now, the big takeaway is this: the mask is fully off, and USDOT is straight up telling grantees that they are taking their bike trail money back and using it to "promote vehicle travel" instead. Wild, unprecedented shit.

If I am a little quiet on here, it's because we recently found out my dad has terminal cancer and I am taking care of him. Not a lot of overlap with this + what I write about every day, except that light walking is one of the only things that helps his pain and he lives in a place without sidewalks.

Thinking of New Orleans this week. Amazed by its assets but also its inequities that many "rebuilding" efforts deepened. @keawilson.bsky.social wrote about our research @annalivia.bsky.social on NOLA inequity via streetcars for (exclusionary) economic development usa.streetsblog.org/2020/10/26/s...

*Loved* this breakdown from BanksRail on why the urbanism YouTube universe is so overwhelmingly white, male, and gen X, why that's a problem (with zero shade to the folks who fit that profile doing great work!), and a low-lift experiment he did to try to give new voices a platform.

Comment period extended until September 8!

Fascinated by the idea of evaluating city streets not just based on car crash hot spots, but also how bored, joyful, stimulated, depressed, valued, or safe people *feel* when they move through them, and how radically that might change them way transportation planners operate.

Did not think I would ever have to research nuclear power plants on the moon for my job reporting on (*checks notes*) sidewalks and bike lanes and stuff, but this administration is full of surprises

Just watched the Biggest Loser docu series and gotta say: it is wild how little we STILL talk about the structural drivers of the obesity epidemic in this country like car dependency and food/medical deserts, even when we're (rightly) critiquing awful, masochistic shows like this.

Last day to do this, transportation advocates!

Did you know that you can weigh in *right now* on what our next big federal transportation bill should look like? You've got until August 20 — and if you're struggling to figure out what to say, these orgs have some great ideas you're welcome to steal.

Yes, this Washington Post opinion piece was particularly bad (and just factually wrong at a few points) but also: I think there's a lot of misunderstanding even in the street safety community about driver's ed and how much of a difference it can realistically make in an ultra car-dependent country.

Appreciate seeing senators like @edmarkey.bsky.social pursue bold transportation policies even in times like these. Because at the end of the day, things like complete streets, unpolluted air, affordable buses and lots of trains aren't really radical propositions — the deadly, dirty status quo is.

"Weird" moment might be more accurate than "big" moment, but I really enjoyed talking to Jim Mathews of @railpassengers.org about this super pivotal and confusing moment for train travel in America and what it will take to bring this mode into the 21st century.

this part 👇

I don't think it's a coincidence that so many mayoral candidates are running on platforms that unapologetically promise to give people great mobility options besides driving — and they're winning their primaries by *massive* margins. Wrote about urbanism as a campaign issue in Seattle & beyond.

Wrote about a company that's trying to give folks who want to buy used e-bikes an alternative to the sketchy craigslist ad or the local bike shop that has two bikes in stock, and how this whole market could become a lot bigger as trump's trade policy reshapes the industry.

Between the co-founder of the transit riders union leading the race for Seattle mayor and Zohran "free buses" Mamdani becoming the clear frontrunner for mayor of NYC, do you think is transportation reform officially becoming a winning campaign issue? What other cities have candidates like this?

Steal photos like this and use them at community meetings. Most of us sharing this content don’t care about credit for those types of usage, we care about change. Leaders need to understand that bike lanes aren’t just for the able-bodied. These are mobility lanes for all.

This 👇 is not normal and represents billions of dollars in important safety projects that are not getting built — and might never get built unless we address the root problem.

Yes, the Trump administration has been illegally withholding key transportation funds for incredibly messed up ideological reasons. And: they are also doing it in perfectly legal ways that expose some serious failures around how we fund transportation in this country that we need to fix.

we knew Chappell Roan was going to be on a train in this, but I am trilled to report that she also rides a citibike

Yes, but also: so many things that could save lives *wouldn't even inconvenience motorists*, people just assume that they will. Giving people a safe option besides driving can often make the driving experience better and safer, too, and we do Vision Zero a real disservice when we don't embrace that.

IDK who still needs to hear this but cities: we really, really can't keep waiting on autocentric federal solutions to deal with the transportation sector's contributions to climate change. And that was true before the White House was actively working to make cars more polluting.

What do YOU want to see in the next federal surface transportation bill? There's a comment period open right now (👇), but let's start the conversation here. I'll start: we need federal funding for transit operations yesterday.

You know how hospitals have a "patient advocate" who helps people navigate the healthcare system + pushes for structural change when a lot of people are running into the same roadblocks? This bill would create something similar for USDOT, and potentially help a lot of victim/survivors.

🚨ICYMI: Until August 20, DOT is accepting public comments on what they want the next reauthorization package to look like, It only has 38 comments right now – a great chance to make your voice heard and uplift policy ideas you want to see included. www.regulations.gov/commenton/DO...

This was a really tough one to write, but I hope what comes through is this: we don't just need to make noise when the Trump administration enacts policies we don't like as a transportation reform advocates. We need to make noise when they do things that DO make sense, but frame it in harmful ways.

"no no, dig up, stupid" is the US's official transportation policy. SEPTA is about to self-destruct a fully functional transit system and strand tens of thousands of people without reliable transportation, but $31 billion to make it easier for dealers to upsell to the next trim level is worth it

It isn't until the end that this story gets to the real problem — "that insects are in the greatest existential crisis in their 400-million-year history" — but this piece treats "splatter" as more of an issue for drivers who want to keep their cars clean.

I suspect at least a few smart people don't really understand what the federal surface transportation reauthorization really is, how it translates to the number of cars vs. buses on the road in their communities, and what they can do to help shape it. So here's a 101-level explainer.

Yes Brightline's safety numbers are shocking and unacceptable. And also: it is really, really weird to talk about that without also discussing 1) how little money we give passenger rail in this country for safety upgrades *or anything else*, 2) how many people drivers kill by contrast.

Small but important thing that we should celebrate: bus drivers are no longer required to basically double as bus mechanics just to get a license. So many would-be drivers said this was their number one barrier to entering the field; this could make a *huge* dent in the hiring crisis.

Lotta wild shit in yesterday's T&I hearing, but the Secretary of Transportation shamelessly saying he doesn't want to fund "racial stuff" in transportation research took the cake for me

honestly, this is the only kind of distracted walking PSA I want to see

Now that we've all had a little time to dig through this megabill, @yonahfreemark.com + @t4america.bsky.social + a lot of other smart people helped me pick through some the policies that will most directly (and, to be frank, negatively) impact our transportation outlook.

I'm sorry but this whole thing makes me feel insane. Let's just be real: we stole basic independence from generations of kids and teenagers by intentionally making our cities deadly + impossible to travel outside a car, and now corporations are selling a worse version of it back to them at a price.

The National Highway System generally is IMO under-appreciated for being a national high injury/death network. It accounts for 7 percent of urban road miles but 49 percent of urban traffic deaths Safety is not part of its mandate, and maybe not part of its aspiration www.datawrapper.de/_/XB4cn/

Good: Sean Duffy is directing states to fix arterials, where more than half of road deaths occur. WTF: ...and then he tweeted about the push by saying that we should focus on safety and not "rainbow crosswalks" Dove into the safety debate about asphalt art + what would really make stroud's safer.

One of the many reasons I was insanely fortunate to get a scholarship to boarding school where I could live a full, independent life without driving: none of my classmates died like this. But more than one did within a couple years of graduation. I still think about Anthony and Alex all the time.

GOP reconciliation bill will affect transportation due to Medicaid cuts & increase in immigration enforcement ⏬ The bill also: —Eliminates electric vehicle credit —Kills reconnecting communities program —Subsidizes car purchasing with car loan tax deductions —Eliminates bike commuting benefit

I haven't seen many transportation reform advocates talking about this mess of a bill, which is wild considering what grave implications things like supercharging ICE and slashing Medicaid will have for our issues. 🧵