This!!! I keep saying this too

someone should do a story on why the TRAIN commission and DMVMoves (two efforts to figure out how to fund WMATA properly) have both been huge failures @bannermoco.bsky.social

Literally why is the heat on in Wheaton Metro station 😭 or is it simply hotter because it's so much closer to the Earth's core

Even if the true cost would have changed Purple Line supporters' minds back before it started, what does that matter now? They didn't know, and the og merits of the project still stand. The real question now is, how does this experience affect future transit projects?

Montgomery County residents want more leadership on housing, Banner poll suggests

decompressed from an awesome first time at @yimbytown.bsky.social by reprising last night's dinner, the life-changing flank steak pad see ew at Noa I may not be a pizza person, but New Haven delivers on multiple fronts

"What do we want an abundance of in transportation?" is the right question but I'm not sure "access" or "choice" is the right answer, bc what do those things really mean? More trains, buses & bikes is concrete, faster to grasp. What would be interesting to me is leaning into eliminating TRAFFIC.

We’re seeking public feedback on proposed changes to Twinbrook Metrorail Station, and we want to hear from you! 🚇 ➡️ Learn more here: wmata.com/about/news/M...

my mind is spinning from the past 48 hours of @yimbytown.bsky.social and my notebook is nearly filled — signs of a good conference

Many of our land use / building codes are rooted in exclusion + prejudice, even if they are facially anodyne and widely accepted as common sense today Case in point: early 1900 fire safety reforms were primarily designed to ⬆️ the cost of tenements / MF apts (old and new) to reduce immigration

HUGE NEWS!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

also, “so woke you have walked backwards into supporting segregation” is definitely a thing online

the high point of my being denounced as a neoliberal shill on tiktok is when i insisted that gentrification is downstream of housing supply constraints, and isn’t a quality inherently possessed by people you don’t like

When should neighborhoods have stopped changing? The 00s? The 80s? The 50s? The early 20th century when Montgomery County was mostly farmland? The only alternative to evolving is to continually build further out. This is sprawl, which is unsustainable & inequitable for a multitude of reasons.

Join us at @montgomery4all.bsky.social as we keep fighting to expand housing choice!

Montgomery County just opened up single family zoning a little, as a treat. The vote was 8-3: Councilmembers Stewart, Albornoz, Balcombe, Fani-González, Friedson, Glass, Luedtke, and Sayles voted yes, while Jawando, Katz, and Mink voted no.

Thanks to the 8 CMs who supported allowing small multiplex homes along major corridors in MoCo! Esp thx to CMs Friedson & Fani-González for their leadership. I took a celebratory walk around my n'hood where there are 4-story multifam bldgs next to townhouses & single fam homes. It's beautiful!

Early observation from the Better Bus changes is that the M20 Silver Spring stop should be more centrally located at Wheaton station. It's a super popular transfer and people are always running for it, but it's at the far end of the row. @wmata.com

As rents continue to rise across the country, they're falling by ~12% to 16% in Jersey City. Why? The city spent 2019 to 2024 on an absolute building tear. Building more housing works. jerseydigs.com/jersey-city-...

Join us at our June meeting, with @montgomery4all.bsky.social! Who: County Councilmember @natalifg.bsky.social What: More & Better - The Future of Housing & Transit in Montgomery County MD When: Tues, June 10, 7:30 pm Where: Ellsworth East Room, Silver Spring Civic Building Why: To learn stuff!

ICYMI, Ride On will be free in Montgomery County starting June 29! I haven't seen or heard much about it at all, but this will undoubtedly make MoCo one of the few and largest jurisdictions with free bus service. (Metrobus will still charge fares in MoCo, though.)

I'm gonna be sick

Very much related to today's pod: Sightline has just released a guide on persuasive rhetoric for parking reformers. Do not discuss: density, driving, cars Do discuss: more homes, more community, less waste

You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

While everyone was packing onto the Metro train at Gallery Place this morning, I heard someone say, "Still beats traffic."

Soooooo many fun conversations at Greenfest today w/ @montgomery4all.bsky.social about sustainable land use, transit + the environment! Highlights included: - @jlyonsraeder.bsky.social rocking a Ride On poncho during a freak downpour - me getting to talk to people about birds + conservation

Led by WNN member @futurewise.bsky.social, Washington state has passed the most ambitious, impactful transit-oriented development law in the country! WA has legalized apartments up to 4 stories on every lot near light rail & 3 stories near bus rapid transit. Absolutely MASSIVE win!

this is such good news. i think it is also an opportunity for democrats to state forthrightly that when they win power again everyone responsible for this crime will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and will face the american people to answer for their lawlessness

Urban expansion isn't inherently bad, but the U.S. has demonstrated an inability to do so in an environmentally sustainable way — although that doesn't mean it's impossible. Housing, land use, and transportation are interconnected & should be treated in order to build great, affordable places.

rapid transit along Route 29 has been discussed in some form since the 1980s and now it’ll finally get the thing that makes buses fast: dedicated lanes with barriers so cars can’t go in them

very excited to learn that the constitution allows the federal government to disappear people to foreign gulags beyond the reach of any judicial remedy

If the Supreme Court decides that the government can "erroneously" disappear you off the street to a foreign torture prison, and that federal courts have no power to do anything about it, that is, in a meaningful way, Pretty Much It www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

more big news from Annapolis: a bill that would legalize accessory dwelling units statewide in Maryland, passed the House of Delegates yesterday 138-1! HB 1466 requires cities and counties to allow ADUs anywhere you can build a single-family house by October 1, 2026–

this man just went up and did a rhyme, and I am not exaggerating, about how it is oppressive to ask homeowners to pay taxes to support programs that help others afford housing. and yes the opponents gathered did give a rousing round of applause!

Chevy Chase Land Company mentioned! A great example of something I am passionate about which is that there are many neighborhoods with positive features people appreciate, but that doesn’t absolve us of confronting inequitable origins. This is not the history we should be protecting

tonight is A Lot but 1) there’s been EXTREMELY moving testimony from folks who support building more of the housing we need including the incomparable @justupthepike.bsky.social! 2) the afternoon hearing had a lot more support and was more chill 3) t-shiiiiirrrtttsssss

I was dreading tonight’s public hearing on more housing now—and ngl it’s brutal—but proud to see my neighbors and friends testifying tonight, including @jlyonsraeder.bsky.social @mocomikee.bsky.social @klm.bsky.social @bnhowe.bsky.social and so many more. community is good

Montgomery for All steering committee member and all-around icon @jlyonsraeder.bsky.social on More Housing NOW:

@jlyonsraeder.bsky.social "if you can't afford a single family detached home 80% of the county is off limits to you. that's exclusionary zoning"

If you live/work/study in Arlington, Virginia and are frustrating about the high cost of housing, spending 30 seconds to submit favorable feedback on this proposal to build 323 homes is an easy and meaningful thing you can about it!

On Wednesday, I tagged along on a volunteer team conducting the Montgomery County's annual homelessness point-in-time survey. I've covered the report every year, but being on the ground, meeting our unhoused neighbors gave me a different perspective. My latest: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/03/i...

More Housing N.O.W. is an encouraging first step towards tackling Montgomery County's housing shortage, and the diverse coalition supporting it proves a thing I have said over and over again: people want things

here's how you can let the Montgomery County Council you support them doing something about housing already secure.everyaction.com/LUob_21Ef0GD...

I genuinely think on any given day the College Park IKEA might be the most diverse singular building on the planet, which is extremely cool.

At a time with a lot of scary, bad news, it's great to have something exciting and good happening! I am so grateful for CM Fani-González and CM Friedson's leadership on this issue. Get ready to turn out to support this package!

Thrilled to introduce today with CM Friedson the More Housing NOW package to build more homes that are affordable to working families. Building housing of different types on corridors - targeting our workforce - is imperative to support working families and local economy.

It was really moving to be at the announcement for the More Housing N.O.W. package this morning standing with so many people from so many different backgrounds knowing we all have the ability to do something good together. TY to lead sponsors CMs Friedson and @natalifg.bsky.social! Let's do this 👊

Key issue relevant to the land use–housing link ⬇️ Building costs are lowest at 3 & 6–7 stories; allowing skyscrapers isn't necessarily producing a more affordable building environment. But allowing 3-story 6-flats in single-family neighborhoods, or 6-story apts in neighborhood centers, can be!

Great job by the Washington National Cathedral Bishop! If you have not watched and listened to the CSPAN clip, be sure to do so: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwwa...

My #MetroRewind! I'm in the top 8% of WMATA customers, nbd. 💁 I love that this is a thing, and that this year it's even better than Spotify Wrapped. Kudos to @wmatagm.bsky.social!