kyle tear down that highway lucas 🏳️🌈
@itskylelucas.com
Love people, drink good coffee, and bike everywhere. I care a lot about cities (and 🎢s) | HIV+ | fighting for better streets @betterstreetschicago.org | My posts are mine
So let me get this straight….a Brandon Johnson affiliated creator is going after Alexi from the *right* on a minimum wage increase, using all the typical right-wing arguments against….and it’s being amplified by CTU leaders? What is going on? MBJ’s camp better get his ship tight on messaging quick.
You just described the promise of Uber and Lyft that never materialized! The ONLY difference in that equation is the driver.
Ken from Chicago@kenfromchicago.bsky.social · last wk.No. Waymos break the vicegrip people in the US have on steering wheels. Refills oil changes & tune ups aren't delayed cuz folk don't like waiting. Elderly are driving dangerously. You're not blinded by bright headlights. Waymos go to your door unlike trains & buses. They can be private--eventually.
Waymo is not a last-mile solution, nor a transit solution. And most certainly should not benefit from any of the transit funding we won in fighting for NITA. It is a car-centric proposal that offers no real systems change, shares all the same geometry, capacity, and environmental ills of cars.
Things Gavin Newsom has vetoed this week: -A ban on secretly recording people with smart glasses -A ban on ICE agents working for the state government -A ban on websites selling your data -A bill giving native tribes more say over water rights -A bill protecting transgender healthcare providers
In our latest for @unraveledpress.com, @peoplesfabric.bsky.social and I tracked months of ICE using Chicago police parking lots, in defiance of a mayoral executive order barring immigration enforcement operations in city-owned lots. Some of these incidents happened in full view of CPD officers:
In plain sight: a year of ICE using Chicago police parking lots for its operations
Videos and witness testimony show immigration agents continue using Chicago police station parking lots despite a ban on their access to city property. Records obtained from the Civilian Office of Pol...
unraveledpress.com
The Google Earth images of Rafah are just… Holy hell, the total devastation is abundantly clear.
Today, I, along with @daniellaspata.bsky.social and an overwhelming number of our colleagues, introduced the expansion of the Smart Streets pilot! When this passes, the map with be citywide, and it will be an ongoing program, not a pilot! We will also partner with the Mayor’s office to budget it out
To be fair, this is exactly what people said about Uber and Lyft. And there have been studies about how much more people drive when they don't have to worry about parking on one or both ends of their trip. There's little reason to think driverless cars won't lead to an explosion in VMT in cities.
niraliberalism@niral.bsky.social · 3w agoDriverless cars would both reduce car ownership and motivate use of non-car alternatives, imo. Having to call, wait, and pay per use will tip some people towards biking, especially.
One clarification is this article makes it seem like the contract extension has already been done, but this is a proposed contract extension that was introduced to City Council today. It will need to be voted on and approved in both the Committee on Pedestrian & Traffic Safety then full council.
Better Streets Chicago@betterstreetschicago.org · 3w agoDivvy is a critical transportation resource for our city, and we fully support its continued growth and expansion across our region. Every Divvy trip is one less car trip, to the benefit of everyone! Stay tune for more ways you can support bike share coming soon!
Oy. In a world where most US cities have barely scratched the surface of what bikes and transit can do — and where the federal government is actively hostile to such projects — we're a long way from driverless cars being a nice little "missing middle" of urban mobility.
David Zipper@davidzipper.bsky.social · 3w agoWaymo is all over NYC Climate Week, sponsoring a slew of events. I just watched Adam Lenz, Waymo's sustainability head, field softball questions from Heatmap's CEO (nothing re: added VMT). Waymo clearly hopes to piggyback on YIMBYism. Lenz described Waymo as the "missing middle" of city mobility.
At City Hall and a landlord providing public comment just had the nerve to refer to the Protecting Renters Oridnance as Trumpian....
NEW ANALYSIS: Which Chicago city departments stayed within budget? 💵 Most stayed within budget in 2025. 💵 One big exception: Chicago Police Department, which outspent its nearly $2 billion budget by roughly $146 million.
Worth repeating that CTA is not the barrier to bus priority in Chicago, they are very much in favor. We need Mayor Johnson, CDOT, and alders to make it a priority!
Lena G R@lenagr.bsky.social · 3w agoDirector Alvarez asks what you'd do if you could do something bold to improve transit? CTA answers dedicated bus lanes, we're way behind our peer municipalities. A bold goal of 100-150 miles of dedicated lanes would be transformative. Ridership #s showing people want to ride the bus! 🚌👏
Director Alvarez asks what you'd do if you could do something bold to improve transit? CTA answers dedicated bus lanes, we're way behind our peer municipalities. A bold goal of 100-150 miles of dedicated lanes would be transformative. Ridership #s showing people want to ride the bus! 🚌👏
Ed Sheeran’s cowardice and complicity means his entire tour has fallen apart as all of his opening acts AND his tour band have withdrawn from the remaining tour dates. As it should be. He could have taken a stand, but he instead decided to lie and claim he’s “apolitical” to try and save his tour.
Happening now in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park: Community members have gathered to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the death of local resident Silverio Villegas González, whom an as-yet unidentified ICE agent shot and killed on this block at the start of "Operation Midway Blitz."
In the NITA era we need to shoot higher than “RETVRN” but sometimes there is stuff that we “forgot” how to do, or more accurately stuff we still know how to do but no one was held accountable for keeping it going. NITA can’t do everything, but there’s low-hanging fruit already on the ground.
Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · last mo.The tech already existed, this signal used to flash a “T” when a train was pulling in, and then the CTA (or whoever) pulled it down
Apparently there were some board members who came into today not knowing that there was an ED vacancy, despite it being extremely public knowledge, with official press releases and everything.
Chicago 🏳️⚧️🌱@chicagotrans-plant.bsky.social · last mo."one that does not have petty battles between CTA, PACE, and Metra, one with a forward looking vision for what transit should look like. It's important that you take it seriously every single day, being aware of vacancies within agencies, paying attention to the info you're provided..."
After more than 20 years at the agency, including 12 as Executive Director, Leanne Redden is retiring as RTA transitions to NITA. nita.illinois.gov/about-rta/pr... During her time leading the RTA, Leanne secured historic transit funding and helped lay the groundwork for the NITA Act.
We really live on one of the most idiotic timelines.
Oliver Darcy@oliverdarcy.bsky.social · last mo.“Everyone considers it fucking nuts.” Inside Apple, I'm told "not a soul" supports Donald Trump's Lake Ontario rebrand to "Lake America," but the company is also resigned to making such concessions to avoid the White House's rage. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/apple-maps...
I want to reiterate something I saw someone else say: the Democratic Party leadership has not told its voters what exactly their plan is, after getting one or both Houses in November. What exactly, specifically, do they intend to do? Even given a razor-thin lead, what do they intend to *try*?
NEW FROM ME: On a hellish third-country removal flight last month, passengers say ICE-contracted guards got drunk, teased and beat them, tied them up, refused to let them use the lavatory. One says he witnessed an ICE agent admit to illegal chain refoulement. prospect.org/2026/08/31/w...
‘What America Did to Me Is Wrong’: Inside One of the Largest Third-Country Removal Flights So Far - The American Prospect
On July 31, an estimated 71 detainees were expelled to various countries on a hellish flight to Africa. Many were then illegally returned to their home countries.
prospect.org
Planned by who? What is the mechanism? How will the planning process be accountable? What engagement has been done in bordering communities to decide what their “grid” should look like and to get suburban buy-in? Who takes ownership of the results and how are they actionable?
Chicago, Bike Grid Now!@bikegridnow.org · 2mo ago🚨NOT A DRILL🚨 We are thrilled to announce that State @senmikesimmons.bsky.social in partnership with Bike Grid Now, has secured a $300,000 planning grant to design 450 miles of the bike grid in Chicago and on 10% of roads in bordering communities, to be completed by the end of 2028.
I’ve seen some commentary around Zohran recently in comparison with other electeds and folks talking about his upbringing meaning he’s better media-trained than what we’re used to. But I actually find his style to be the antithesis of media-trained. He just talks like a fucking person lol.
