"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
Dad. Husband. Urban Planner @ITDP_HQ . Petworth DC. Pro-🚶🚲🚌. Tax the rich. Opinions my own. He/him.
817 followers 107 following 268 posts
view profile on Bluesky
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
This would be big addition to the #bikedc #bikemd #bikemoco network! @washcycle.bsky.social mocoshow.com/2025/09/04/s...
I literally just had a long debate with a local NIMBY who said precisely this. He since deleted his posts and I didn't screenshot them.
It appears he was arrested again from his apartment building today. LOTS of law enforcement. Maybe 20+ FBI, Marshalls, MPD, etc.
Every time someone say no one is using the bike lanes...
National Guard soldiers called into service for President Trump's law enforcement surge in D.C. have been assigned to spread mulch at federal monuments. Normally the Park Service does that, but the administration laid off the workers. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Absolutely. The issue I see is that it doesn't seem like we're able to hire and retain enough bus drivers to operate 95% of scheduled service either. So maybe some sort of combination could help fill gaps between the two?
*don't* (typo, not front)
I front see why would it be harder than a taxi to be viable. Jarrett walker's article doesn't seem to say much other than that they'd be better than automated taxis, but they'd still have some downsides or ambiguous impacts (job loss, surveillance state growth) humantransit.org/2023/09/a-ne...
Where is this?
Same. Time to look into automated buses? Multiple cities have automated taxis already. Buses seem easier?
Sure & I'd love to make every apartment accessible for everyone, but right now there is a massive homeless crisis, and a bigger affordability crisis, so we need a lot of apartments to be built very quickly. We have to prioritize, which means we won't do everything perfectly.
"potential Metro" ? "up to $20 million" ? You wouldn't take a job with salary of "up to $XX" and "potential health care" would you?
We have to decide which is more important. **Doing nothing** favors even more displacement, homelessness, and an increasing gap between the rich and the poor.
Your regular reminder that DC still requires parking for most development. @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social
Also, a lot of the BRTs there run express services using passing lanes at stations. These services are not possible with light rail, so the overall capacity will go down significantly and travel times will go up.
Yes, and I would add that a few big buildings may absorb demand in an area for a number of years, whereas it would take more mid-rises to absorb the same amount of demand. Also, the pace of urban growth in South America is significantly slower than in Africa or Asia.
Very strong contenders are the surface parking lots between Union Station & the Capitol.
Also building more housing in your neighborhood so they can afford to live there when they grow up.
Yes! It's crazy to subsidize billionaires while we cut aid and services to DC families. Literally what Bowser is proposing.
Agree. But it's worth noting that DC traffic deaths appear to be down significantly this year. I think it has more to do with the actions of the council and the AG than the mayor. bsky.app/profile/fake...
DC is doing something right. I personally give a good amount of credit to @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social for championing a law (STEER Act) targeting the most dangerous drivers & @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social for using it against those dangerous drivers in a very public way.
Yes. Cutting money from poor and working class people, while subsidizing billionaires to build a stadium is bad governance.
American values (from Reddit)
The bike path in the video used to be a car lane, and everyone walking and biking had to share the same narrow space against the fence. Many fewer people biked then.
Not to mention billionaire sports team owners...
The median home price for the *entire* county is >$1M and it's going up WAY faster than inflation. You don't think that's a problem?
It sounds like you're confusing opportunity with obligation. I want the next generation to have lots of opportunities within reach. I think more expensive housing means fewer opportunities for the next generation.
Wow. Do your kids know you think this? How do they feel about it? I guess it's a difference in values. I value kids being able to afford to live in the place where they grew up so much more than whatever you mean by "certainty"
An even better question: could you afford to buy a home in your neighborhood just based on your current salary (ignoring home equity or other independent wealth)? Could your kids?
Are you referring to the "legwork" of having your home price nearly triple since 2000 (6x since 1980)? Was that wealth accumulation challenging for you? Do you think it requires more "legwork" to buy a home now than it did 20 years ago? Than 40 years ago?
Excellent summary of why young people are so angry with the older generation.
And have you and your neighbors made a lot of money off that certainty? Are young people able to afford homes with that certainty?
Are you arguing that dense urban development causes more sprawl than low-density development?
You don't think a more obvious answer is that the median home costs > $1M?
next up: debtors prisons
Sure, of course some people won't like change. Are you suggesting that because some people might not like change we should never make any changes? Do you honestly think that this small change in a small part of Montgomery County will destroy property values anywhere in the county?
No one is arguing that some people don't want a low-density environment. And with this bill, the overwhelming majority of land will be exactly the same density as it has been for the past 50 years, and a tiny fraction will slowly change to become slightly more dense.
to be clear, your argument is: 1) If we make places denser, people won't want to live there AND 2) there is so much demand for dense housing that the overall density will increase significantly If no one wants to live in dense areas, why are you worried?
The lower the density of development, the more space is consumed per person, leaving less land for open space.
I think more important than the type of wheels, is that it should run on a dedicated ROW, have a rapid fare collection system, well-designed intersections, and high quality stations with platform-level boarding.
Wasn't this already done before and then shut down? It was essentially a black market for parking, since it's currently massively underpriced. www.wired.com/2014/06/app-...
Great point!
My point is that an order of magnitude more people die on regular roads each year than trains, but the Miami Herald isn't running breathless headlines about it.
Since 2017, that is equal to 23,159 deaths. Year Fatalities 2017 3,116 2018 3,135 2019 3,185 2020 3,332 2021 3,419 2022 3,553 2023 3,419 TOTAL 23,159 182 deaths since 2017 is bad, but 23,159 is a catastrophe!
We should absolutely fix this, but PLEASE don't forget about how deadly roads are. 3,396 people died on Florida roads in 2023 alone.
We're watching US competitiveness decline in real time
4-flats are starter homes. Triple-deckers are starter homes. Duplexes and townhouses are starter homes. Condos are starter homes (yes, even “luxury” condos). Legalize them all, everywhere.
Connecticut Ave streetscape construction is underway as of June 23, 2025! Project will (nearly) link Columbia Rd #bikedc lanes to 20th st bike lanes. Construction should last 24-27 months. cc: @washcycle.bsky.social connave-streetscape.ddot.dc.gov/pages/53d409...
It's wild that the National Parks Service gets a say over what gets built in DC.
Thanks. that would be nice!
Do you know if this will connect to any other trails?
This is about funding for medical research, but I think it's relevant to most development/aid funding as well. It's rare to see funding that doesn't do at least one of these.
Haha, just discovered this gem from 1840.
Fully automated metro trains support almost unthinkable headways.
And I bet if you disaggregated the data further into block groups, the development would look even more concentrated in a few small areas. For example, the Takoma development is largely in the area wedged between the metro tracks and Eastern Ave.
Been saying this for years. Especially at Columbia Heights. Zero reason it needs to be a through street for cars.
Very curious to hear @mattyglesias.bsky.social or @ezraklein.bsky.social take on this housing platform. It focuses on housing outcomes via a strong, centralized, but quite socialist power structure. Leftist-abundance? www.zohranfornyc.com/policies/hou...
While true, commercially-zoned lands typically have better public transit access, which usually follows major arterials. This land is thus better suited for higher densities. If SB-79 & SB 840 were in the same state, I imagine the actual land covered by them would be pretty similar.
Hospital highway (Irving St NE) driver destruction. #bikedc @ddotdc.bsky.social @cmzparker5.bsky.social @washcycle.bsky.social
Sorry, I don't think I understand. It sounds like they want Dems to support popular positions in order to win more elections. Why would that make you angry?
I wonder if stuff like this makes it expensive and difficult to open and operate a restaurant... bsky.app/profile/scot...
In DC, it seems like the current status is as follows: 1. Microapartments - no 2. Accessory Dwelling Units - sort of 3. Single-Stair Buildings - no 4. Modern Manufactured Housing - no 5. Small-unit Financing - no Is my reading correct @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social ?
What data did you base your decision on?
What's stopping us from passing something similar in DC? @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social @robertwhitedc.bsky.social Unaffordable housing is the #1 issue for DC voters
Why no mention of these costs? land give-away: ~$600 million Waived property tax: ~$429 million Redirected sales taxes: ~$300 million Bond interest: $623 million Opportunity cost of not building a neighborhood: ~$3.3 billion We need to talk about ALL the costs ggwash.org/view/99327/a...
Thanks! It's kind of like a spur then, since the rest of the trail goes through Takoma to piney Branch and then silver spring. Cool.
Anyone in #bikedc know what this refers to? Vine St NW doesn't seem to be adjacent to any Met branch plans I'm aware of. @washcycle.bsky.social
oh wow. So no money budgeted for it until 2030! I see what you mean. Thanks!
Thanks. But how can you tell the money was moved from near term to long term?
How can you tell this is what's happening? Is there a document where such moves are more obvious?
That's sneaky and disappointing
Wait, I see the NoMa entrance in the Mayor's budget. Am I not reading this right? mayor.dc.gov/sites/defaul...
Go along to get along?
Yeah, I think someone else posted that. The elevator requirements are a different regulation. My point was that there are plenty of shorter walk-ups that people regularly move in and out of. Yes, movers may not prefer them, but it's a way to build affordable housing which we desperately need.
Agree. Not trying to say the bus is better. Just trying to think through what is most helpful to get people from A to B.
In my opinion, the level of priority is more important than the wheels. Mixed traffic buses and streetcars both get stuck in traffic. Trains have the added misfortune of not being able to deviate from a fixed line. See chart from the great @humantransit.bsky.social
Indeed. And apartment buildings can have accessible units on the first floor.
Seems like a strong YIMBY move from Bowser. cc: @dcyimbys.bsky.social
Most 2-story houses don't have elevators and even one-story houses typically have some stairs in the front.
Amazing! Is there a link to this?
NYC actually has a pretty effective AM bus lane allowing buses to bypass traffic going through the Lincoln tunnel to the port authority bus terminal.
Trains work well because we made a policy decision to give them their own right of way and create a grade separation between them and car traffic. In places we didn't do that (e.g. mixed-traffic streetcars) the trains are slow. We could do the same for buses, but we choose not to.
It was just painted white last night. I was wondering what was happening.
While Broadway in NYC breaks the grid, the city used to try to funnel cars down it. They then diverted those cars and the street is thriving.
I don't disagree, but I think it's a function of those streets not being traffic sewers because they naturally divert traffic to other corridors. You can divert through-traffic around commercial centers on the grid to create the same effect. We just choose not to.
90% of people going to the Manhattan CBD don't drive there. And that was *before* congestion pricing. And most people driving there *like* congestion pricing, including Republicans. www.nyc.gov/html/dot/dow... pfnyc.org/news/new-pol...
The #bikedc lanes are working! Time to connect and expand them. @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social @cmnadeauoffice.bsky.social @cmzparker5.bsky.social @chenderson.bsky.social @robertwhitedc.bsky.social @mayorbowser.bsky.social
Amazing! I'm excited for the 11th St protected #bikedc lane to finally arrive. Also, we desperately need a link between Columbia Rd and Kenyon St
Seems like you've found a platform that repels both NIMBYs and YIMBYs
#bikedc traffic on nice protected lane.
Or just add/request some bike parking?
And the new capital crescent trail will also help with connections to the North & West!
I wonder what the poll numbers are in DC. These regional issues need regional solutions, and it looks like those solutions are *very* popular
Same goes for good schools, but where teachers have an hour commute because they can't afford to live nearby Certainly the case here in DC.
Is anyone working on an automated bus? That would be truly revolutionary. www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-rob...
Politicians are already citing the $6B number. If WaPo doesn't think it right, let's have that debate. Ignoring it, though, seems misleading at best
Yet they somehow failed to mention of the @ggwash.org cost estimate of $6 billion. Seems quite relevant. ggwash.org/view/99327/a...
