What an incredible weekend to be outdoors in Charlottesville! Every Saturday morning there’s a casual bike ride that starts at the City Market (wear a silly shirt), and this time Mayor Juandiego Wade joined on a ebike! 🚲 Www.bikecville.com

Could you go a week without driving?

Look at how many bikes can fit in one car parking spot. P.S. Join Bike Cville every Saturday morning at 9 am for a casual ride around the city (we also often stop for a snack/coffee break). Meet at the City Market downtown! 🚲 Schedule and more info here: bikecville.com/rides-and-ev...

New mixed-use building on Broadway in Lakeview that retained some ornament and design elements from its much-smaller predecessor. Turned out well!

People oppose bike infrastructure because “not everyone can bike”, but you don’t have to bike to use it. I commonly see mobility scooters on bike infrastructure here too. It’s typically smoother and wider than the sidewalk. As long as there’s enough room for everyone, it works fine.

Always good to rewatch and share the @livablecville.bsky.social webinar about missing middle housing and density. All of it is worth watching but especially the convo starting around min 17 about how building housing at any level helps demand at every level. youtu.be/ydCDxAWbKcU?...

Natalie says public housing isn't enough. Says rent control isn't enough. Says we have to let the market build. Allowing developers to build takes that off the city and contributes to the tax base. She gives examples of developments that would increase revenue.

If we truly want to build affordable housing, to build any housing, to prevent displacement, to meet the housing and budgetary needs of our community, then we have to be enthusiastic about new homes being built.” 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

We didn’t run out of space [after 20th c building booms], instead the city limited options with restrictive down zoning and tore down homes….. [nice little bit about the SF skyline not changing and how that’s contributed to their housing issues]

“We can’t be meek about buildings taking up space. With more space inside, then more people can be on the inside……We are not used to seeing change because there hasn’t been enough built to meet demands in a lot of our adult memories….

actually I’m uncomfortable putting clips of other people on the internet 😅 but if you want to watch a really great defense of housing @nat4cville.bsky.social starts at 1:54:30 I really appreciated the part about memory and why people are uncomfortable with change: www.youtube.com/live/-odt5GL...

Councilmember Oschrin, part 3/3.

Councilmember Oschrin, part 2/3.

@nat4cville.bsky.social spent 10min during the discussion about demolition of a historic house on Wertland Street to talk about the urgent need for affordable housing. I clipped 6min of it. This is part 1/3.

Full video and transcript of the City Council meeting last night: meetings.cvilledata.org/meetings/cha...

Very illuminating clip here: Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla criticizes SB 79 because it limits local elected officials’ power to block new housing, then @jonlovett.bsky.social reminds her that we have a massive housing shortage that is strangling our state’s growth.

*Gesturing to the scrolling parent to roll down the window on their idling Chevy Tahoe.

Riding bikes is 10X more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities. And that’s just the climate emissions. Doesn’t include the massive public & personal cost difference, the air & noise pollution difference, the massive space difference, etc, etc. Via @theconversation.bsky.social

The evidence is clear - 20mph zones save lives. In London, they’ve cut deaths and serious injuries by 34% and child fatalities by 75%. That's why we need to see more 20mph areas. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Here’s some pics of the under construction roundabout at Lisbon and 92nd, which is going to be the first Dutch style roundabout in Milwaukee, with a fairly narrow turning radius, only one lane, and protected bike lanes around the outside. Can’t wait to try it out (as a driver and cyclist)!

This is Carmel, Indiana. More bikes-for-transportation. More people moving here every year. Not perfect, but trying, which is something many cities can’t say.

Rent control is a very effective way to destroy your local housing market. Yet no matter how many times we witness this in action - most recently in Montgomery County, MD - some refuse to learn from it. If we want more affordable housing, we've got to build more. indyweek.com/news/opinion...

Simple Boxes with Ornamentation are better than One Box Pretending To Be Lots of Boxes

“But real tenant power doesn’t come from rationing or blocking development—it comes from abundance.” indyweek.com/news/opinion...

Helsinki hasn't had a traffic fatality in a year: "Helsinki's current traffic safety strategy, covering 2022–2026, is nearing completion. It has focused on improving safety for children, youth, pedestrians and cyclists with safer crosswalks and smarter intersection design."

Bus riders at one Charlottesville apartment complex have finally had their requests answered.

Violet Crown will host a cat video fest to benefit the CASPCA

i got to try @nat4cville.bsky.social's new velotric e-bike at sounds of summer yesterday. it's a solid entry-level bike with a low frame that makes it easy to get on and off. it's also $80 off with discount code AC50TJVJ6XN3, which makes it one of the best deals i've seen in a while.

It’s pretty cool to be riding into work and see City Councilor @nat4cville.bsky.social biking around town on this beautiful morning!

Following a transformation of St. Denis St., which included reducing vehicle lanes for safer pedestrian crossings & bike lanes, pedestrian traffic increased +65% while bike traffic increased +250%. St. Denis recently hit a single day record of 14,676 cyclists. 📍Montreal 🇨🇦

Our district is hurting. People feel it in their hearts and in their aching backs. We’re not helpless – we’re mad. That’s a fire I understand, because it burns in me too. My name is Mike Pruitt. I’m a Navy veteran, a civil rights lawyer, and now I’m running for Congress.

Charlottesville’s City Market launches seasonal cookbook

Check out this conversion from a painted bike lane to a separated one — in the suburbs! (Yes, lawnmowers suck.)

Come test out e-bikes this weekend at E-bike Demo Day! Saturday, July 12 at Tonsler Park, 6-8pm. 🚲 Bring yourself, bring your bike if you want to share, and bring a friend! Www.bikecville.com

Due to the holiday, instead of a typical Cville Bike & Pedestrian Advisory meeting yesterday, we went out on bikes and on foot to tour some of the city’s Quick Build projects that are improving our local traffic safety and bike/pedestrian infrastructure.

A friend on Druid Ave told me they’ve been waiting 20 years for the city to install traffic calming on their street. It finally happened yesterday and they can already notice a difference in driver behavior.

if you've been thinking about an e-bike and the cost has been holding you back, this closeout sale is worth a look. this might be the lowest price i've seen for a UL-listed e-bike with a dealer network.

It’s been a weird week in the news. But a highlight has been a friend purchasing this, her first ebike, at this unbelievable discount. She bundled the purchase with another friend so they could take advantage of the Ebike Lending Library’s discount! 🚲 www.ebikelibrarycville.org/free-stuff/#...

teachers/students/healthcare workers (i.e. much of charlottesville) get 5% off at www.aventon.com/pages/idme, and for everyone else we have a $50 discount at www.ebikelibrarycville.org/free-stuff.

as of january 2026, two out of five city council members will own this bike, and it's now on a closeout sale. seriously, take a look if you've been thinking of getting an e-bike. www.aventon.com/products/ave....

Construction has started on a train station in Christiansburg, to extend Amtrak's Northeast Regional spur still further south. It reached Lynchburg in 2009, Roanoke in 2017, and it'll reach the New River Valley in two years (a hit among VA Tech students, I'm sure). cardinalnews.org/2025/06/23/h...

Accidentally doing my best Chris Long to remind people to wear hats, cool clothing, drink water, stay inside & check on your neighbors for the first heat wave of the season. Cooling centers are open at the library, Key Rec & Tonsler Park for those in need. ☀️ www.charlottesville.gov/1813/Cooling...

It's the last week of Bike Month, but we're not done yet! We're inviting cyclists of all ages and skill levels to join us THIS Saturday, May 31 at 9 AM for a FREE, family-friendly, all-ages parade through downtown Charlottesville! Read more here >> www.charlottesville.gov/CivicAlerts....

People would foam at the mouth protesting against this, until they get to live with it. Once they’ve felt the boost in tranquility and livability, they’d fight tooth and nail to keep car dominance from ever returning.

I took the Miller Center/Disharoon/Lambeth Bridge quiet route today to bike to an appointment and it was awesome! I probably wouldn’t have thought about that path without the Bike Month weekly rides that Tommy and BPAC have put together: ridewithgps.com/collections/... 🚲

This is such an important project, because it shows how social housing doesn’t have to be boring… it can be crafted, fun and beautiful By Monadnock Architects in Hilversum

Good afternoon

Great story on the E-Bike Lending Library! Thank you @whatthecarp.bsky.social for this amazing public service! www.wvtf.org/news/2025-05...

Quick recap of the list of current city projects that I mentioned during this webinar: • budget increase for new sidewalks from $100k/year -> about $5M over next 5-yr CIP • added a 5-member concrete crew to Public Works to build/repair sidewalks to reduce construction costs & wait times…

Inbox: The great #annazivarts will be joining #cville Councilor Natalie Oschrin for a talk called "When Driving Is Not An Option" on May 12th at 6 PM on the Zoom courtesy of #LivableCville https://substack.com/redirect/bf898dc7-211b-4991-94b3-265a57108ba3