An ambulance makes steady progress down 110th St, car-free for the day thanks to #summerstreets #bikenyc

it's funny how americans don't like subsidized groceries like this because that is big scary socialism, but turn around and clamor for businesses to provide them free parking... when the cost of that parking is being subsidized by everyone, including non drivers, as they'll just rise prices

USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 2d ago

Opinion: Mamdani's idea may sound appealing, but it's NYC taxpayers who will take the hit, subsidizing discounts they may never even use.

Dear Australia: fuel prices are not about to jump. What is about to happen is that you will pay something closer to the real price of oil reliance, rather than forcing your fellow taxpayers who either don't drive or drive less to make up the difference.

Prices to jump at the bowser as fuel excise cut ends

The price of unleaded and diesel will climb in the next week as the government's fuel excise cut officially ends. But experts say prices won't go as high as they did due to increased supply.

abc.net.au

Today at Summer Streets, the NYPD blocked every crosswalk that a driver could have approached with a staggering quantity of police and Sanitation vehicles. Someone on Reddit said they were told that it was to prevent ramming attacks. That's a laudable goal, but they could have made more gaps!

Phase 2 of Amtrak's Rhinecliff station upgrade plans (finished in 2030?) includes a high-level platform double the length of the current one. Still no return of bus access. Bonus: the Rhinecliff resident who complained that the open-house format didn't give her an opportunity to grandstand!

Full Steam Ahead for Rhinecliff Station Upgrade with Two New Features, Officials Promise at Community Meeting - The Daily Catch

Amtrak and the New York State Department of Transportation hosted an open house Thursday evening at Morton Memorial Library.

thedailycatch.org

Car free Summer Streets is the best free event in the world, but the city has added some new absurdities this year.

This guy (someone named Matt Shaw) warns that "They will create a permanent wall of garbage that blocks views across the street and hides pedestrians from distracted drivers," but apparently has no problem with the basically permanent walls of cars that line each street.

◥◤Kriston Capps 250@kristoncapps.bsky.social · 4d ago

Finally, someone willing to speak up for throwing your garbage onto nasty streets: "The bins will contribute to the sense of New York becoming more 'sanitized' each day, where it is gentrified and perhaps physically cleaner but losing its character and history." www.archpaper.com/2026/07/litt...

John Snow gentrified SoHo by shutting down the community-serving water pump.

Blaming lack of phone audio jacks for people not using headphones, is like blaming lack of brakes for drivers speeding. What changed is social norms and people watching short form video where garbage audio quality doesn't matter. Phones with audio jacks, BT audio, USB C to 3.5mm converters exist

Notice how he doesn't even mention parking, despite the containers being located along the curb. Other mayors would talk about the tradeoffs and say, "Look, we know New Yorkers like their parking." Not Mamdani. He keeps the focus where it belongs: on cleaner streets.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 5d ago

Now this is the kind of trash talk we can get behind. We’re containerizing neighborhoods by taking trash off our sidewalks and allowing mid-size buildings to trade in their wheelie bins for a bigger, better, cleaner alternative: Empire Bins. It’s time to put a lid on it, New York.

The crowding on Kent Avenue is real. It's not comfortable to ride anymore. But how much of it is due to the fact that it's the only protected connection between North and South Brooklyn that doesn't involve going through Manhattan? What if we had protected lanes on Tompkins, Throop and Union Aves?

Streetsblog NYC@nyc.streetsblog.org · 5d ago

The Kent Avenue bike lane was "cutting edge" in 2010. But 16 years (and a bike boom) later, it's time for the city to do more.

I don't love Gale Brewer. It's not a foot-in-mouth issue. She may support safety, fast buses, clean air and cleanliness over easy driving, but only when she feels she has to. Her instinct is always to side with drivers afraid of losing parking, and taxi riders afraid of losing dropoff space.

Streetsblog NYC@nyc.streetsblog.org · last wk.

Upper West Side Council Member Gale Brewer puts her foot in her mouth again. Plus other news. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/07/29/w...

"The Council is pushing..." Great. The Council, against the loud advice of advocates, created this problem in the first place and can fix it by simply passing a law rather than doing whatever pushing is going on here. Pass the law. Fix it.

New York City Council@council.nyc.gov · last wk.

What if you and your besties could sip Aperol Spritzes outside ALL YEAR-ROUND?🍹 The Council is pushing to bring back year-round outdoor dining, allowing everyone to get more seating at their favorite restaurant –– and small businesses to have more customers in every season.

We are joining with our colleagues to tell Congress “Make no deal on transportation reauthorization until the current administration proves it can follow the law.” americawalks.org/its-just-unh...

It's Just Unhinged: A Federal Transportation Policy Update - America Walks

Our latest update on what's going on with federal transportation policy—and how we can let our representatives know it's unacceptable.

americawalks.org

This is framed as a feel-good story, but it should scare the wits out of anybody on the road. Tesla's deceptive marketing is convincing seniors that the cars drive themselves. In reality, a human must always be ready to intervene. If someone lacks the ability to do that, they shouldn't be driving!

Forget rideshare. How seniors are using Teslas for transportation

As Waymo and Tesla robotaxi services promise more rides for more cities, seniors are taking matters into their own hands and self-driving Teslas.

detroitnews.com

Alt text: Stop endless highway expansion OPPOSE the Build 250 Act America Walks

America Walks@americawalks.bsky.social · 2w ago

Before we build more roads, let's take care of the ones we already have. Across the country, roads, bridges, sidewalks, and transit systems need repairs. But this bill prioritizes highway expansion instead. ‼️Congress should fix what we have first. Tell them ➡️ buff.ly/JJBoCJH

I saw this and hit that "Subscribe" button so fast. Beth's combination of deep knowledge and clear thinking means you don't want to miss a post!

@bethosborne.bsky.social · last wk.

Y’all, I just wrote my first full post. My Substack is launched! Is your home big enough for you to deserve a safe road? open.substack.com/pub/bethosbo...

It's long past time to turn enforcement of fake and obscured license plates up to 11. "MTA data also shows a marked increase in unreadable plates on cars blocking bus routes citywide." gothamist.com/news/the-mta...

The MTA bus routes that slowed down after cameras began ticketing double-parked drivers

The cameras have sped up 67 bus routes by 5% on average. But certain routes show buses have actually slowed.

gothamist.com

i think people look at homelessness as a relatively new phenomenon and reason backwards to think that in the Before Times, poor people must've all been able to afford houses/their own apartments etc. Most of the housing types the poor used were actually just outlawed (boarding houses, SROs etc)

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 2w ago

The two hardest and most unforgiving facts in housing policy are that it actually costs a lot of money to build new homes and that the rents that poor people can afford are not enough to pay off the cost of construction.

If we had a VAT people would scream it’s not progressive even if the funding disproportionately went to the poor. They learned regressive taxation as a term for why they shouldn’t pay taxes first and foremost. Not good.

A century ago, five different railroads stopped in downtown Suffolk, VA - and now it's been nearly 50 years since they have had even a single train. City officials are hoping to end that. https://twp.ai/E5DGvB

We did fine with taxis/Lyfts (regular and then wheelchair-accessible) and buses. The taxis cost a lot more than Access-a-Ride, but a lot less than a car. I didn't even bother signing my mom up for Access-a-Ride, because I'd heard so many stories about unreliable service.

Anxious Rage@anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 3w ago

I’m a car-hater but I’m skeptical that people who are arguing that disabled folks should *just* take paratransit instead of driving have ever interacted with that system

I wonder what it does to FSD when these chuds add a ton of armor to their cybertrucks More importantly, these people are emotionally unfit to drive. ~Ban cars. “It started during Covid, with the riots,” he said. “These people are looking for peace of mind.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/s...

Some of these deaths were caused by the thousands of paramilitary goons zooming around our streets doing Kavanaugh stops. Funny how Trump's ~10,000 National Guard and federal LEOs aren't actually making our streets safer

Road deaths up sharply in the nation’s capital, despite goal of reaching zero

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser pledged to eliminate traffic deaths in the city. More than a decade later, they still haven’t gone down.

washingtonpost.com

I'm confused. So now pollution *is* bad? bbc.com/news/article...

Trump threatens new Canada tariffs over wildfire smoke in US cities

Canadian leader Mark Carney says both the US and Canada have an equal responsibility to fight climate change, which experts say are worsening wildfire conditions.

bbc.com

When planners defend parking mandates, I think of T. Paine: “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, & raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.” ― Thomas Paine

Geoff Green@geoffgreen.org · 2w ago

Some planners on the NC planning listserv are strategizing ways to get around the restriction.

this shot is so bleak lmao

This is on Amtrak for having the Acelas/Airos so delayed and train lengths so short

BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport@bwiairport.bsky.social · 3w ago

The newest pin on our destination map is... Philadelphia! Southwest Airlines will begin twice daily nonstops to Philadelphia next March.

After decades of talking, planning, and more talking (and probably a little more planning)… the "Memorandum of Understanding" between Amtrak and the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority brings the project closer to reality.

patch.com

Amtrak Signs Agreement To Restore Schuylkill River Passenger Rail

twp.ai

The air quality in much of the northeastern US is unhealthy, largely because of too much driving. Those who care should be pushing for a moratorium on new roads. At a minimum, Democrats should not support any transportation reauthorization. Don't tell me this is too wonky for your DSA chapter.

@bethosborne.bsky.social · last mo.

Supporting a transportation reauthorization without getting rescinded grants back for their districts is foolish. t4america.org/2026/06/23/t...