Policymakers need to be internalizing the costs of inaction/delay via escalation much earlier in the life cycle of infrastructure development, imo.
dereksagehorn.bsky.social
@dereksagehorn.bsky.social
Interested in figuring out how to build better housing, transit and cities. Construction lawyer; advocate for East Bay for Everyone. Oakland.
Interesting to go back to 2018 and look at what Livermore leadership was saying about their ability to locally deliver a 5 mile freeway median extension connection to BART via ValleyLink. www.danvillesanramon.com/news/2018/05...
Questions as to how passenger and freight service interacted in terms of scheduling for the SF&D.
The Larkspur Ferry / SMART timings (north & southbound) still suck and need to be fixed. This level of schedule coordination -- regular 30 and 40 minutes waits between ferry arrival and SMART departure -- isn't excusable. Golden Gate Transit's 101 in San Rafael does significantly better.
And now they're trying to save the 7-11 in the Elmwood.
The Hopkins discourse prompted me to look back at some of the hagiography of the neighborhood movement. berkhistory.org/berkeley-in-...
a huge missed opportunity in the post war era due to the influx of european architects who would have been very familiar with foreign building codes/construction and single stair mies. gropius. breuer. albert kahn. neutra. etc.
“In the [1971] speech, he offered support for a new bill that would form a National Institute of Building Sciences to develop standard criteria for building codes,” Incorporating Architects, Aaron Cayer
Very cool project on the Geary Subway from @infrastructureweak.bsky.social, doing the kind of public analysis that gov should be doing. The public ought to be able to understand the tradeoffs of transit planning so they can push politicians to pursue the best ideas. medium.com/@infrastruc...
Geary metro, purpose-built for SF
Part 2: East Bay connection, downtown alignment, and the yard
medium.com
Alameda County: meet your candidates Join us in downtown Oakland on Thursday Aug 20th at 6pm for a mixer to meet candidates and elected officials running for office across Alameda County this fall. RSVP required. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social
Meet Your 2026 Alameda County Candidates!
An informal mixer to meet candidates running across Alameda County this fall. Grab a drink, ask questions, and get a feel for who's on your ballot.
events.humanitix.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...
Millbrae City Council’s opposition to BART’s formation circa 1959-1960.
With the proposed Rockridge, Marina, Palo Alto et al towers proposed under various recent housing laws, has there been any re-appraisal of the arguments of supply skeptical people that developers would ignore these communities to chase rent gaps in low income communities?
AC Transit should keep the focus on what matters to bus riders, not on recommendations from out of state consultants who fail to understand California law, elected boards, or governance. This embarrassing report never should’ve seen the light of day. Thank you for showing up to call out the BS!
The Oaklandside@oaklandside.org · 2w agoAfter years of contentious relations between board members, a consulting group recommended changes to the transit agency’s meetings. The response was overwhelmingly negative.
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...
If you actually look into these local funding crises, a common theme is that previously-sustainable local funding measures fall short of rising structural costs in labor, maintenance, capital renewal, fare evasion etc. Abundance writers could use more industry experience but the direction is correct
David Zipper@davidzipper.bsky.social · 2w agoI'll get some flak for this, but IMO the Abundance transit stuff is a dangerous distraction. Portland, the Bay Area, Miami etc face draconian service cuts that would drive away riders— for good. If that happens "I don't really care how much a [new] bus costs because you'll have nobody riding it."
Somehow EH Harriman has returned.
Michael Pettis@michaelpettis.bsky.social · 2w ago"China will pivot its transport infrastructure investment in 2026 to 2030 from large-scale expansion to upgrading existing facilities. The shift marks the end of simply rolling out new projects and reflects a push to promote more balanced regional development." www.caixinglobal.com/2026-07-22/c...
The focus of the coming alternatives analysis should therefore be on a downtown alignment which provides convenient transfers. Among many options that should be studied, a shallow crossing of the Market Street subway is promising for its ease of station access.
Now out! Part 2 on the Geary metro, discussing its East Bay connection, downtown alignment, and yard location.
Geary metro, purpose-built for SF
Part 2: East Bay connection, downtown alignment, and the yard
medium.com
Infrastructure Weak@infrastructureweak.bsky.social · 2w agoI've just published this article, Part 1 of 4 about the choices that will enable San Francisco to finally build a Geary metro. medium.com/@infrastruct...
Kinda messed up that AC Transit's board consultants call for "obedience" from the board actransit.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...
actransit.legistar.com
The Capitol Corridor service vision refresh ahead of their 7/23 webinar frames four choices for Corridor ID prioritization. www.capitolcorridor.org/wp-content/u...
I love transit advocate crayon drawings. But @infrastructureweak.bsky.social's work on Geary is next level, synthesizing 91 years of subway planning thinking. Great thinking on stations and analysis supporting automated light metro.
Infrastructure Weak@infrastructureweak.bsky.social · 2w agoI've just published this article, Part 1 of 4 about the choices that will enable San Francisco to finally build a Geary metro. medium.com/@infrastruct...
What I appreciate about @infrastructureweak.bsky.social’s piece here is that it articulates a positive service goal (high capacity and frequency service to allow for N-S bus integration in Western Addition and Westside) and works from there to define service concept, station spacing and tech.
Infrastructure Weak@infrastructureweak.bsky.social · 2w agoI've just published this article, Part 1 of 4 about the choices that will enable San Francisco to finally build a Geary metro. medium.com/@infrastruct...
This planning phase is critical. The Geary metro's feasibility and usefulness depend on how we conceptualize it now. Money is limited, even for public goods. If we innovate with pragmatic design, we can afford more stations, build the line all at once, and fund construction without waiting decades.
dereksagehorn.bsky.social@dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 3w agoImportant graphic for why people should attend this meeting.
A Geary metro is among the highest-ridership projects available to build in the US. Rapid transit on this route has been planned for 95 years but has never been built, as plans have repeatedly failed to secure funding.
