I put the camera down so I could get a photo of the sheath with its bollard missing, and the SUV that is now able to get beyond it because UC Davis driving employees take these bollards out and (in this case) make them go missing. #UCAccessNow#CarCentrism#Urbanism#Cycling@fedibikes@mastobikes
Just saw someone recommending cycling/urbanism accounts to follow and every one was a white (presumably abled) dude, with the exception of a podcast that has a white woman.
I know we're somewhat limited in recommendations by who joined Mastodon & participates here, but try to recommend more diverse follows. The most famous accts are not necessarily the ones doing the work. I've seen some scrape & re-brand the work of white women & BIPOC without credit.
A huge congratulations to @philipthalis on his well-deserved award.
Philip is undeniably both one of Australia's most respected architects and a tireless advocate for good urban design.
More importantly, he's not afraid to speak up publicly against bad state government planning decisions, as he did with Barangaroo, even when there's a personal cost.
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
@nerd4cities Nebula is great, but my subscription is coming to an end soon and I would love to see you start posting to PeerTube. Even if it’s a delayed option, I am generally happy to wait.
Please consider making https://urbanists.video your home for videos on the Fediverse. My dollar or two a month via Patreon is just a drop in the bucket, but I’m confident I’m not the only person who prioritize support for those who repost to PeerTube
@nerd4cities
Great video (20 min.) now on the YouTubes examining the travesty that was and is I94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and what this area could become. https://youtu.be/iCoKySjY_ug?si=ddx_i6Tn49Ce9mME (sorry Ray, I’m not nebulized…yet)
So the RTA's own modelling showed the Rozelle Interchange would be a traffic disaster—but generating more toll road trips for Transurban was more important.
"The [NSW Roads and Traffic Authority] finalised the first business case for the WestConnex tunnel project in June 2013, with the help of road designers from around the world.
"[Paul Forward, a former CEO of the RTA] said the initial concept did not include the Rozelle Interchange.
...
"In 2014, an expert review group was formed to assess these plans.
"Mr Forward said it was at this point that TfNSW bureaucrats began to question the connectivity provided by the design.
"The RTA's former director of traffic Chris Ford told the inquiry that 15 alternative designs were modelled.
"Mr Ford said the modelling found that another motorway leading to the Anzac Bridge would cause congestion.
"'The issues that we see today were very clearly established in the modelling in 2014,' he said.
"In November 2015, after Mr Forward and Mr Ford were dismissed, TfNSW updated the WestConnex business case to include the tunnel to the Anzac Bridge, despite the congestion concerns raised by the modelling.
"In 2016, Transport for NSW updated the business case a second time ... creating a tunnel linking the Iron Cove Bridge to the Anzac Bridge."
...
"In 2018, the NSW government sold its 51 per cent stake in the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the body responsible for operating WestConnex, to Transurban for $9 billion.
"Mr Forward said the final design would generate a larger number of toll trips than previous options."
The decision to build freeways instead of rail in the post-war years, along with the low-rise single-zoned suburbs it promoted, has been an absolute planning disaster.
But the mistake can be fixed, and freeways can be removed.
City Beautiful's Dave Amos @citybeautiful has an interesting look at some of America's endangered freeways, and how communities can get them removed:
🧵 A phenomenon keeps happening both online & in person that angers, saddens, & devalues me. So I'm attempting to explain why it has this effect & what I'd hope people would do instead.
When I arrived at UC Davis to prepare to start grad school in summer 2019, I found the first of many damaging ableisms - the cycle racks were not accessible to the types of cycles I ride. Yet I'd be cited & my bike impounded if I didn't park there. 1/? #Cycling#UCAccessNow#BikeTooter#Urbanism
Like many disabled people, I have a very limited low income, I'm policed around how I can earn, I have elevated expenses due to my disabilities, and medical insurance largely does not cover those expenses. I cannot afford to have my paid-for recumbent bike cited, impounded, and sold.
So I did what we're trained to do - assume that the UC Davis Student Disability Center is there to help disabled students. 2/? #Cycling#UCAccessNow#BikeTooter#Urbanism
"That sign doesn't apply to me because I'm seeking profit" strikes again.
I've emailed in flagrante delicto photos of businesses flouting the law, but our business-owner city councilman (and now mayor) does not feel like holding business people to the same standards as poor people.
@glightly Same overall corporation to blame here. They were already there blocking the way for cyclists & pedestrians when I rode around them at 11:30am and they were still blocking visibility and egress when I finished my shopping at 11:54am.
City of Davis has still not replied to my email nor has anyone who was cc'd.
This is why I think we need a higher standard than just "Yay! Street closed to cars! Yay, parklets!"
The Space Syntax Lab at the #BartlettSchoolOfArchitecture#UCL is holding a bi-weekly online seminar on zoom to present latest research findings on the relationship between configurations of space and social outcomes, curated by my colleague @kimonkrenz
Previous seminars are on our Youtube channel - they're a treasure trove full of interesting research approaches
The saga of Waverley Park — Melbourne's car-dependent suburban AFL stadium with a planned seated capacity of over 150,000 (not a typo!)
A really good run down by @philip on the plans by the AFL (and its predecessor, the VFL) to build the world's largest stadium in outer-suburban Melbourne.
Unfortunately, a planned railway line past the stadium to Rowville was never built. That meant a massive 25,000-spot car park as the only real means to get there.
While most of it has been demolished and redeveloped for housing, the oval itself still used by Hawthorn Football Club as a training and administration centre.
@nictea@philip@fuck_cars Pretty much the whole City of Knox (a large chunk of outer-eastern Melbourne) is 1970s and 1980s car-centric suburbia at its worst.
The only rail in the whole area is basically Bayswater and Boronia stations on the Belgrave line. And trains only run every 30 minutes, aside from the morning and evening peak.
Other than that, you have the SmartBus from Ringwood to Frankston, the Rowville SmartBus, and a bunch of infrequent suburban busses.
And the stroads! There's literally a stroad called High Street Road (which is quite possibly the stroadiest name ever invented).
And all of them — Boronia Rd, Stud Rd, Wellington Rd, Burwood Hwy, Wellington Rd, Dorset Rd — are a nightmare during peak hour.
There's whole housing estates with detached residential homes where the only practical way to get anything is to drive.
If anyone says Melbourne does planning well, take them out to Knox (you'll need to drive) and they'll come away with a different opinion.
So WestConnex was totally going to solve traffic in Sydney by adding more lanes for cars. Just a few teething problems on the Rozelle Interchange and it'll all clear up, they said.
I wonder how it's going?
"Gladesville and Drummoyne locals say gridlock is worsening in their suburbs following changes to improve traffic flow through the notorious Rozelle Interchange, with drivers using local streets as “rat runs” to dodge congestion."
The one-year MSc / MRes programme I teach on at the #BartlettSchoolOfArchitecture#UCL called 'Space Syntax: Architecture and Cities' is holding an online open event for prospective students on 27 March, 1-2pm UK time.
Students from a non-architectural background are very welcome!
So they moved my Portland event to the Aladdin and opened up a bunch more tickets a couple days ago and…it’s sold out again. If you missed out (or even if you’re going), stay tuned for possible afterparty/other Portland event. Info on other upcoming cities in reply