losing contact with the earth for 40 minutes sounds nice

Yes! I prefer infrastructure to enforcement - it's proactive rather than reactive; less prone to prejudice (although this must still be considered); need not rely on state power/surveillance; is less vulnerable to changing political whims. But lax state & public response says a lot about attitudes.

Hilarious how for years serious people have said that you can't rely on renewables because they are prone to disruptions in supply www.ft.com/content/19f1...

ABC news does the first even mildly positive story I have seen on e-bikes- the focus was on ppl getting around high petrol prices. Lack of infrastructure was mentioned. Would have been nice to get a bit of a shout out for the effects on environment, health, traffic but beggars can’t be choosers.

Why do some killer motorists get short prison sentences? UK road safety laws are letting them off the hook | Sally Kyd

#ausmedia/ anyone else offering reporting on e-bikes. PLEASE stop saying legal e-bikes cannot go above 25 km/hr. All bicycles go above 25 km/hr unless they are being ridden uphill by a 4 year old. Legal e-bicycles do not give any PEDAL ASSIST once the 🚲 is going over 25 km/hour.

The Murphy report identified two reforms critical to protecting Australians from gambling harm. We need a complete ban on advertising of online gambling, and we need a national regulator. We’ve seen before that half-measures don’t work. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr....

It’s Easter and the US President chose to share this, an unhinged and expletive ridden rant threatening war crimes against the Iranian people. Australians want no part in this and they expect our government to clearly oppose it and organise to prevent it.

My fears about the long-term impact of bike lane bans: "This could lead to a vicious cycle of cycling infrastructure being less-than-optimal, people choosing not to cycle, the infrastructure being perceived as not well-used, and a lack of political support for cycling infrastructure going forward.”

My latest column: Ireland’s data centre policy will drive significantly greater fossil fuel use, contradicting multiple statutory and policy targets which require rapid reductions instead. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Australians might want to read this as it applies here as well, except even worse bc of negative gearing…

Assembly Member Emerita Torres wants to stop highway expansions near public housing and asthma hot spots.

– Urban structures that don’t function without a car. – Public transportation that can’t keep up. – Bike paths that end abruptly or don’t exist at all. This isn’t a force of nature — these are political decisions that have made people car-dependent. medium.com/@Katja_Diehl...

No, once again -- and I'm willing to repeat this as long as people keep cranking out articles & books saying otherwise -- "people being mean to one another online" is not the reason we haven't solved climate change.

Alan Kohler making a case for nationalised childcare on @abcnewsbot.bsky.social tonight! 👏👏👏

This is actually appalling. As Australia has a significant Lebanese community I would expect condemnation from @albomp.bsky.social @tonyburkemp.bsky.social and Penny Wong. #Auspol.

You might like this from @mrmmarsh.bsky.social www.skeptic.org.uk/2024/03/elec...

1/7 I’m a Green Party councillor for City Ward #Sheffield. It’s a densely populated urban ward. I’m going to talk about digital advertising screens, which doesn’t sound exciting, but please bear with me. I want to explain why I spend time objecting to so many of these. Since 2023, I’ve …

Cartoon by Pablo Stanley, on IG: pablostanley

Riding bikes is good for your brain - on top of all the other things that bikes make better. www.sciencealert.com/cycling-link...

Best Star Trek Crew, wrong answers only.

Bike lanes are healthcare. I've always said this.

The victim was taken to Maimonides Hospital, where she died. The driver fled. It turns out, he was driving an ambulance.

I have filed complaints about dangerous and aggressive illegal driving from what I consider professional drivers, mostly without reply. If you drive a bus, police car, ambulance etc you should be trained that you have a higher responsibility to make the roads safe, including for pedestrians.

Wow. Some interesting thoughts here.

We cannot celebrate tinkering when it comes to gambling reform. Labor’s response falls tragically short | David Pocock

you, a naive fool: i do believe there are some things the nytimes won’t both sides the nytimes:

A 2021 Terner Center study found parking requirements add an average of $36,000 per unit to affordable housing costs. 67% of California jurisdictions required two spaces per multifamily unit. cayimby.org/blog/afforda...

the amount of money that we have poured into making the automotive industry profitable is really staggering when you look at it

It’s been months and I can’t figure out what the issue is that ppl have with the new BOM website aside from not liking change and a bit of a rocky implementation, as is the norm. As a not terribly weather affected person aside from an active commute, it seems to be fine?

Some Maths Average new car costs $50k does some $1000 in road damage each year... assuming 6.25% sales tax pre-pays for ~3 years of road usage. Say a bicycle costs $1k, does a $1 in road damage a year, at 6.25% sales taxs pre-pays for 62 years of road usage. I know "BUT GAS TAXES!" 1/3

4/ It´s disheartening to see how adultism—ageism directed at minors—shapes children’s mobility. Only 45 percent of them are even outside every day because they are shuttled from one place to another. By adults who are pressing them into their car-centric world. Because it is “so dangerous” outside.

1/ The mobility transition is a project aimed at promoting fairness—and that is precisely why it isn't happening. Let´s have a deep dive into the situation in my country: Germany - some call it CARmany.

Because they know it would be the absolute end of them if they bent on this. If only they carried that attitude to everything else and used this latest batshit fuckery of harm from Trump to say no to everything. The US alliance is actively against our interests and the AUKUS Iran attack proves it

My daughter is trying to connect her Medicare to her myGov account so that she can get a refund for her recent visits to the hospital. Total rubbish.

This 💯

Crash on Alexander Street, an All Ages and Abilities bike route and a 30km/h zone. To our knowledge no cyclist or pedestrian was hit, and we hope all involved will be ok. Not a comforting sight to see on our "AAA" bike routes. More info: www.reddit.com/r/vancouverc...

Australia Institute research shows that every week the federal government delays implementing a 25% gas export tax costs the Australian public around $350 million in revenue. That's $577 per Second! "Australians are sick of the delay." @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Having food production, the entire transport system and almost the entire economy completely wedded to burning planet killing fossil fuels that are produced overseas is not such a great idea as it turns out. Who knew?

reminder that the number one issue that the press covered in 2016, the one they told voters was THE MOST IMPORTANT thing in the election, was Hillary Clinton's compliance with Presidential Records Act record-keeping

I have been saying this since January 6, 2021, and this is inevitably going to have to become the main stream position. You cannot have a government with a party that is trying to overthrow the government

One of the biggest disinformation campaigns ever applied to cities involves the constant claims that “driving pays its way.” It’s actually MASSIVELY subsidized, while things like walking, biking, public transit & supportive housing for the unhoused actually SAVE PUBLIC MONEY. #UrbanTruth

The normalisation of hatred for anyone daring to cycle is *a bit of a problem*

If you're serious, stop pouring money into bigger roads. Build public transport that actually works and streets people can safely walk and ride. The Dutch didn't solve this by asking nicely after the 1970s oil crisis, they changed the system. Laws, infrastructure and culture all radically changed.

Australia could do this too. But it would require governments at all levels being willing to admit they have helped cause the problem in the first place. It would require making tough choices, and communicating this clearly, and not giving in to short-term populism. It requires leadership.

And despite all of the available evidence on how to design thriving modern cities, we've somehow also ended up subsidising the rise of American wankpanzers on our city streets. Bigger, heavier, more dangerous, more fuel-hungry, perfect for hauling one bloke and his fragile ego.

Albanese telling people to reconsider driving is incredible optics. Mate, you built a country where driving is mandatory. A country where cyclists, pedestrians, and anyone not using a car is treated as a second-class citizen. Car-dependence is baked into every major policy you have architected.

Season 2 of Deadloch does not dissappoint. 😂

Have you heard of “The Populist Playbook?” A few years ago, I posted what I still consider one of my most important messages. It was about “The Populist Playbook” that I’ve watched play out often over my 33+ years of city planning. Since then, it’s only gotten worse. Do the steps sound familiar?