Parker Welch
@parkerwelch.bsky.social
810 followers 260 following 1.6K posts
Transportation engineer, urbanist, Austinite, liberal patriot Board Secretary @aura-atx.org Poems & Essays: https://thisfaintfire.substack.com/
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parkerwelch.bsky.social
No kings. No crooks. No surrender.
parkerwelch.bsky.social
This country was born in the town halls of Massachusetts and they ain’t about to let it die on their watch
milesgrant.bsky.social
For most national protest events, I usually have to choose between Boston or Providence

#NoKings October 18 isn’t just more protests than usual - it’s **10 times** more

www.nokings.org#map
Reposted by Parker Welch
doug.city
Doug @doug.city · 14h
The standard—and not totally incorrect—narrative is that the US basically abandoned transit after WWII, but there was a real revival underway in the 1970s that stalled out by the mid-1980s as the political winds shifted. Things have improved since, but we've never fully recovered that ambition.
ndhapple.bsky.social
UMTA R&D spend from 1972-1989. The amounts in the 1980s appear to be overstated as a lot of those projects were commissioned in the 1970s and were finishing up. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation.

New spend by the late 80s was down to $13m/yr, $3m/yr of which went into 'privatization' =>
Tables of new R&D spend between 1985-1989. Spending on research related to train and system design had been entirely zeroed out. Table of R&D spend from 1972-1985. The wind-down begins in 1982.
parkerwelch.bsky.social
“Give me my daughter back”
lagunabeachdems.bsky.social
Northwest Chicago Suburb: ICE Agents Rip 15-Year-Old Girl from Car, Slam Her to Ground She Screams “I’m 15!” as Man Kneels on Her Neck
Reposted by Parker Welch
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Unfortunately it is gated off, still a pretty little street though
Photo peering through the wrought iron fence at Springdale Green Photo of the street trees and protected bike lanes at Springdale Green from the apartment complex across the street Photo of the office & parking garage, with a Cap Metro just entering the frame at left. A pedestrian refuge island is visible on the street in the foreground, with a terra cotta red raised bike lane on the other side Photo taken from a corner entrance to the parking garage, two shaded columns and a raised bike lane in the foreground, a second pedestrian island and a sheltered bus stop on the other side of the street
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Unfortunately it is gated off, still a pretty little street though
Photo peering through the wrought iron fence at Springdale Green Photo of the street trees and protected bike lanes at Springdale Green from the apartment complex across the street Photo of the office & parking garage, with a Cap Metro just entering the frame at left. A pedestrian refuge island is visible on the street in the foreground, with a terra cotta red raised bike lane on the other side Photo taken from a corner entrance to the parking garage, two shaded columns and a raised bike lane in the foreground, a second pedestrian island and a sheltered bus stop on the other side of the street
parkerwelch.bsky.social
I can’t say for sure but just going off satellite view, I think so!

It looks like there’s a route accessible from the public sidewalk, that may be my adventure for the day
Crude drawing of a possible route to the boardwalk at Springdale Green
parkerwelch.bsky.social
They planted more than 4,000 trees for the project

This is the bird blind at the highest point of the boardwalk, where the most red cardinals were seen perching in the elm trees. The wooden slats screen you from the birds, who don’t recognize humans as predators unless they’re standing in the open.
The bird blind, sited at a curve in the boardwalk, with outdoor seating under the pergola and evenly spaced vertical wooden slats partitioning it from the path.
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Some super cool landscaping & native ecology restoration work for these offices in East Austin

This land had been contaminated for more than 70 years by the infamous “tank farms” left by the oil majors, which once stored jet fuel for the old Mueller Airport

www.archpaper.com/2025/10/dwg-...
Aerial drone shot of Springdale Green from above the floodplain, the foreground is dominated by forest with a curving boardwalk running through it. Further back, the red curving corners of the office complex are lit by golden hour sunset rays. Furnished pavilion jutting out into the forest with ceiling fans hung from a timber roofdeck above, supported by the slender white columns that ring the perimeter of the pavilion Photo of an “s” curve been in the fenced .62 mile elevated boardwalk, trees surround the structure Atmospheric shot of a curving top floor outdoor deck, with the downtown skyline visible in the background and the forest rising closer to the view. The deck has its own shaded canopy, supported by round concrete columns, and sits above the glass curtain walls of the office floor below. Chairs, tables, and green plantings are scattered across the deck.
parkerwelch.bsky.social
God it’s gonna be a great day to be an American
parkerwelch.bsky.social
They never tell the crowd to leave, people just sort of slowly filter out until YMCA is playing over a deserted bleacher scene
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Apparently the most innings Detroit has ever played in a postseason game
parkerwelch.bsky.social
At least one of them suggests Vance should continue to title himself Vice-President, out of respect
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Absolutely gorgeous photo
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Cambridge, California, Texas, NYC, Washington—I think this year could really be remembered as the start of a new era
Reposted by Parker Welch
resnikoff.bsky.social
UPDATE: Newsom has signed SB 79 into law!!

This is a great day for anyone who cares about ending California's housing and homelessness crisis, getting the state to net zero emissions, and recovering American democracy.
resnikoff.bsky.social
If you live in California, please call @gavinnewsom.bsky.social at (916) 445-2841 and urge him to sign SB 79. Here's my post about why the bill is so important: publiccomment.blog/p/newsom-s-f...
Newsom's Fateful Choice
Why the governor needs to sign SB 79
publiccomment.blog
Reposted by Parker Welch
princetonyimby.bsky.social
Huge. Congrats to all the California YIMBYs for making SB79 happen. You are a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration to the rest of us around the nation!!!
parkerwelch.bsky.social
And we don’t always get the bad cards. Sometimes you win both Georgia senate seats in a January run-off! We only need so many breaks like that in a row to get out of this mess
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Honestly, I think we have a good shot of fixing it.

We got here through a streak of bad luck & a series of critical people failing to make the right decisions. The world looks very different if Mitch doesn’t fuck the senate trial, or Manchin drops the filibuster, Jones instead of Garland…etc.
parkerwelch.bsky.social
Now I’m no map expert, but I think I spot a difference between the east and west here
dereksagehorn.bsky.social
People Powered Media report on SF housing production 2015-2022

Key Finding 3, p. 6: "developers are building multi-unit throughout SF contrary to the common narrative that SF has not built housing outside of the eastern areas of the City"

Figure 3, p. 13:
www.peoplepowermedia.org/ppm-report
Reposted by Parker Welch
seanjurs.bsky.social
AIA Tennessee Single-Stair Design Competition Finalist:

SEED BLOCK (a prototype for block-scale growth)

proposing a repeatable, flexible, six-story mixed-use protype tailored to grow within Knoxville's typical 50'x100' lot dimensions.
Reposted by Parker Welch
cjciaramella.bsky.social
Huge death penalty and forensic science news: Texas' highest criminal court has stayed the execution of Robert Roberson, who was less than a week away from becoming the first person in the country to be executed based on disputed evidence of shaken baby syndrome reason.com/2025/10/09/t...
Texas court blocks execution of Robert Roberson in landmark 'shaken baby' case
Roberson has been saved again from becoming the first person to be executed based on disputed evidence of Abusive Head Trauma, formerly called "shaken baby syndrome."
reason.com
Reposted by Parker Welch
transportenvironment.org
🚛 The Netherlands is seeing a major shift in urban freight thanks to zero-emission zones for freight in 18 of its cities.

By early 2025, 78% of new vans were electric -- compared to just 9% across the EU.

📑 New @cleancitiescampaign.org briefing: bit.ly/431I7al
Clean Cities Campaign graph with the title: Dutch municipalities with zero-emission zones for freight have a higher share of electric vans.