Policymakers need to be internalizing the costs of inaction/delay via escalation much earlier in the life cycle of infrastructure development, imo.

Indeed this Franklin St road diet & concrete protected bikeway in Downtown Oakland was constructed in a few months w no CEQA, no council approval, no long series of community meetings required. Our bike/walk infra committee reviewed some early designs but that’s it! bsky.app/profile/prin...

Robert Prinz@prinzrob.bsky.social · 3w ago

It’s still in construction, but I think this is the furthest I’ve ever biked on Franklin Street without having to leave the bike lane to avoid a parked vehicle. Painted to protected conversions FTW!

In case y'all don't know the back story, in May, CARB voted to give $2B/year in carbon allowances to oil companies that they would normally have to pay for. And yes, it is the same oil companies that are raking in billions of extra profits because of high oil prices.

Carter Lavin@carterlavin.bsky.social · 2d ago

South Carolina is now the first state in the nation for the Democratic Primary and this just ran in The State, the newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina. Come out to the rally and lobby day next week in Sac and help get our legislators to undo the cuts! actionnetwork.org/events/emerg...

Anyone know (and can site a source) if during the design of the PCC spec was there a consideration to include air conditioning? I know it didn’t make it into the final options but we were already seeing it on mainline railcars during the design phase

BREAKING: Jason Gibbs doesn’t get ratified for the Metro board, the issue is sent back to the region. Thank you to everyone who called and wrote in. We need a transit champion on the Metro board — not a lover of expanding highways.

Wow! Repeat: Full L.A. County City Selection Committee has failed to ratify Santa Clarita Councilmember Jason Gibbs for the Metro board.

Meanwhile OCTA's just-released coastal resiliency study has 0 mention of realignment and only considers various ways of reinforcing the existing, soon-to-be underwater alignment. Why are they allowed veto power over the US's 2nd busiest rail corridor again? octa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...

Josh Fruhlinger@jfruh.bsky.social · last wk.

if i were the state in charge of the second most used passenger rail corridor in the US, connecting two of the largest cities in the country, i would have simply started building a new route 10 years ago when it was obvious this was going to happen

if i were the state in charge of the second most used passenger rail corridor in the US, connecting two of the largest cities in the country, i would have simply started building a new route 10 years ago when it was obvious this was going to happen

alex davis@alexdavistransit.bsky.social · last wk.

This is crazy. The Surfliner is operating dark through San Clemente because the salt water crashing over the tracks is triggering all the block signals.

I won't do it tonight but I think I'm going to make another batch of waffles to freeze. I ate though my last 2 over the weekend. Super easy to nuke them for 20-30s each and then into the toaster and they are just as good as if they came out of the waffle iron.

If LA Metro's old system was belt-and-suspenders, this is the graph of Metro's pants falling down. www.enforcethefares.org

Alon (they/them)@alonlevy.bsky.social · last wk.

LA installed faregates in the 2010s even while maintaining POP, even though the fare evasion rate was low. Very belts-and-suspenders. There's a case study here: ssti.us/wp-content/u... PDF-pp. 48-55.

Bay Area transit advocates are leading the charge to save BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit from dire service cuts. To hone your advocacy skills join this free training Aug 5 at @spur-urbanist.bsky.social @transitcenter.bsky.social luma.com/m78g9xyz

Storytelling for Transit Advocates: A Hands-on Training · Luma

Two important ballot measures will be on the ballot this November: Connect Bay Area and Stronger Muni for All. Both of these were voter initiatives, and we…

luma.com

In America, mass transit is widely considered to be an alternative of last resort for the extremely poor rather than a safer, cheaper, cleaner and more efficient means of moving people around a metropolitan area.

CAHSR's Strongest Soldier@emoscientist.bsky.social · last wk.

One thing that stands out about the Metrolink fight is how much pressure there is to center transit-dependent riders. That's the only demo journalists or board members want to hear from, which is pretty hard to do for a commuter rail line. Nobody cares about giving people options or reducing VMT

USC engineering professor Lucio Soibelman appears to have really low standards. www.latimes.com/california/s...

As I watch both Samtrans and VTA provide extra buses for this bus bridge between Union City and Warm Springs I'm reminded how they should be members of BART and Caltrain should be folded into BART I suspect just like housing the state legislator is going to have to force this over local politicians

For all its talk, the State of California still spends 5/6 of its transpo funding on cars www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/arti...

California is demanding more housing near transit, even as it starves its transit systems to death

OPINION: We can’t have a land-use policy that says “build around transit,” with a budget policy that says, “good luck funding it,” columnist Allison Arieff writes.

sfchronicle.com

There is no incentive to buy a ticket if there is no enforcement. The same argument applies to income taxes, fwiw.

alex davis@alexdavistransit.bsky.social · last wk.

Yeah. There's actually no regular fare checking to even observe in the first place anymore. But yes, before 2018/2019, they were fare checking on buses.

As always, 90% of the 'crowding' issues in California is really an issue with cars. www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

This is dumb slopulist policy that would make transit worse and encourage more people to drive. Vote for Nithya.

Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w ago

As Chair, I’ll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free. I’ve fought for a world-class transit system my entire career because public transit should create opportunity for everyone.

I would simply have the general counsel review a proposed policy to limit board or public participation prior to placing it on the agenda. oaklandside.org/2026/07/24/a...

Very exciting news - 30 minute service on the San Bernardino Line should be possible by 2028. But will Metrolink have enough money to fund the service?

Californians for Electric Rail@calelectricrail.org · 2w ago

7E Construction contract for SCORE Marengo and Rancho Siding Extension projects. Kettle says he's very excited about this one. They are approving Granite Construction to deliver this SBL siding project - now expected to be complete before 2028!

230 Anza was approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission yesterday, and I don't think I've ever seen a set of floor plans that would benefit more from a code that allowed single stair sfyimby.com/2026/07/rend...

It brings me absolute joy to share that the City of San Mateo has received our first SB79 project, and it's a beaut! - 20 units - 5 stories - Replacing a single family home - 4,400 sq ft lot - 198 units/acre - No parking included We absolutely love to see it!

A good first step towards what?

American Public Transportation Association@apta-info.bsky.social · 2w ago

The BUILD America 250 Act is a good first step, but Congress needs to maintain and build upon guaranteed funding. Greater investment is critically important to our public transit industry and generates enormous long-term economic returns for the nation. > www.apta.com/advocacy-mat...

"Yay, we weren't entirely defunded"? A bill that is clearly atrocious for public transit gets labeled a "good first step." I know you have to work Congress, no matter who's in charge, but I don't think this kind of glazing is the way.

American Public Transportation Association@apta-info.bsky.social · 2w ago

The BUILD America 250 Act is a good first step, but Congress needs to maintain and build upon guaranteed funding. Greater investment is critically important to our public transit industry and generates enormous long-term economic returns for the nation. > www.apta.com/advocacy-mat...

Deeply frustrating to see the Dumbarton rail bridge every day knowing there’s no political interest to get passenger rail service running or even improve the existing bus significantly Buses at peak times are running with 30+ people but only come every 30-35 mins

Interesting reading that if muni could have found a funding source they would have bought at least 80 of the 186 PCC from Detroit in the early 50s I assume if they had enough funding or a financing setup they would have got all 186 units

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a CA publication speak plainly about both the stakes (and the basic distributional politics involved) The FAIR plan is a ticking time bomb and the primary problem is it promises to insure uninsurable property for rich people. www.latimes.com/business/sto...

Californians are subsidizing mansion wildfire insurance as FAIR risk explodes

As commercial insurers have fled California in the wake of wildfires, FAIR has become the insurer of first resort for owners of multimillion-dollar properties in exclusive but fire-prone communities.

latimes.com

Polanyi calls knowledge that isn't written down in texts or drawings but that exist within people and groups of people as "implicit/tacit knowledge". The loss of this unwritten, often unspoken, knowledge is often considered to be one of the reasons why institutions lose the capacity of doing stuff.

Nina Metz@ninametz.bsky.social · 2w ago

Why Aren’t There More Imax 70mm Screens for ‘The Odyssey’? variety.com/2026/film/ne...

When a NIMBY says they would support a project if it was affordable housing, they are lying.

Jordan Grimes@cafedujord.bsky.social · 2w ago

For the last 4 (!) years, I've been chronicling the journey of a 40 unit 100% affordable housing project for senior farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, California. Despite being approved in May, the journey sadly isn't over: a measure has qualified for the ballot this November to stop the project. 🧵

Imagine having not secured any funding for SEPTA and sponsoring legislation to lock in labor costs you haven’t paid for. Good, serious country.

Ben S@bensh3.bsky.social · 2w ago

PA state house rep Ben Waxman (D) proposes banning the use of AVs for public transit, even rail. Even setting the (faulty) principles of the bill aside why are our reps restricting the ability of SEPTA to provide transit before securing SEPTA dedicated funding? www.palegis.us/house/co-spo...