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I'm disappointed in the anti-bikeway lean of this article.

Like when the late Donald Shoup looked into where all the specific rules for minimum parking requirements came from and the answer was some dudes just made them up out of whole cloth

It's odd that such an incoherent policy is so widespread. Building with no elevator and no lay-flat stretcher elevator? A-ok. But a building with an elevator and no lay-flat stretcher elevator? A crime against EMS access.

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

There were no abstentions on these motions: 3-6 on O'Keefe's, 4-5 on Blackaby's.

I don't think I would build a Potrero line before Geary to enable yard construction in a PDR area instead of a golf course, but I think the line has merit. I would probably first choose bus pads on 101 for more stops on the 8X buses, crosstown rapid transit on 16th, and rapid transit along Caltrain.

I think this is an original not-bad idea! I like that you're figuring for rapid transit everywhere on a ~1km spacing; we should be planning that vision and driving down costs to enable it. "We're building one megaproject this generation and therefore it must be all things" leads to bad outcomes.

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...

Thanks to @scottwiener.bsky.social's landmark Senate Bill 35, this project skipped San Francisco’s famously Byzantine permit process and got approved in a matter of weeks, not years. Without SB 35, these 160 affordable homes would still be an abandoned McDonald’s tied up in NIMBY lawsuits.

(I'm pleased with "CAR Board")

A lot of folks are going to Sacramento on Monday the 10th to ask the state legislature to restore the $2 billion in cap and trade funding that Governor Newsom's CAR Board cut. Join here if you can!

Huge congrats & thank you to Walk Bike Berkeley, North Berkeley Now, and everyone who spoke, emailed or sent postcards! Despite the lopsided vote, it was not a sure thing. Councilmembers struggled with this decision, and effective advocacy made the difference. This hard fought win will save lives.

The house on the right was demolished last year to build a 3,500 sf mansion + ADU The house on the left just filed plans to be replaced with five starter homes under SB 1123 CA state housing laws are delivering results.

Thanks to everyone who supported safe biking along Hopkins! The plan passed 7-2! While we wait for more official records, the below is a good summary of the key motions and votes.

I'd conjecture that Bartlett opposed the bikeway but went with the winning side once the alternatives lost. The "true" vote was 5-4. We're very lucky to have CM Kesarwani and Mayor Ishii, and could have had bikeways to Stannage had Kesarwani supported them.

I much appreciated @taplinterry.bsky.social's comments before the vote, about implementing the plans we commit to, acknowledging that there will not be consensus. City council approved a low-stress Hopkins bikeway in 2017, 2022, and 2026 already; Walk Bike Berkeley said they count 10 council votes.

I was frustrated by the comments claiming that bikes will be unsafe in a curb lane with driveway backing. Compared with the current door zone lanes, the curb-protected lanes will be daylighted and more visible from driveways.

I burned 7 hours on this; Geary Part 3 will come when it's done. Goodnight!

I was in the block of speakers unable to comment for meeting time. I would have talked about the important narrower 10.5 and 11ft lanes in the bikeway option, which protect all users by preventing speeding and shortening crosswalks. Great thanks to the fire department for coming around on this.

O'Keefe requests reducing bikeway from The Alameda to McGee, doing unbuffered Class II instead. Not friendly amendment to Kesarwani; no call for vote. Main Kesarwani motion: O'Keefe, Blackaby no; passes 7-2.