Andrew Bowen (he/him)
@acbowen.bsky.social
KPBS reporter covering housing, transit and local politics in San Diego. Union shop steward. Creator and host of Freeway Exit, a podcast about freeways. Gaily homosexual.
I run @sdtrafficdeaths.bsky.social.
https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/freeway-exit
I run @sdtrafficdeaths.bsky.social.
https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/freeway-exit
Pinned
BONUS: "Life After Cars” (w/ The War on Cars)
What would society look like if people no longer needed their cars? That's the premise of the new book “Life After Cars,” written by Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear.
www.kpbs.org
Really enjoyed talking with @brooklynspoke.bsky.social and @sgoodyear.bsky.social while they were in San Diego promoting "Life After Cars." They met me in Balboa Park (in the pouring rain!) so we could see, hear and discuss the ways cars have impacted our most precious public spaces.
Have a listen!
Have a listen!
Pacific Beach has seen two hit-and-run traffic deaths in the span of three weeks.
A driver in Pacific Beach struck and killed a 41-year-old man who was attempting to cross Garnet Avenue. Driver fled in a white Mercedes SUV.
Victim has been identified as Qwente “Q” Bryant. GoFundMe to support his mother: www.gofundme.com/f/Celebratin...
#VisionZero
Victim has been identified as Qwente “Q” Bryant. GoFundMe to support his mother: www.gofundme.com/f/Celebratin...
#VisionZero
February 12, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Pacific Beach has seen two hit-and-run traffic deaths in the span of three weeks.
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
CHAD MICHAELS !!!!!!!!!!
February 2, 2026 at 4:10 AM
CHAD MICHAELS !!!!!!!!!!
The bike counters on 30th Street logged maybe 1% of the San Diego cyclists who rode in memory of Alex Pretti today.
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
January 31, 2026 at 9:02 PM
The bike counters on 30th Street logged maybe 1% of the San Diego cyclists who rode in memory of Alex Pretti today.
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Cannot emphasize enough how these humble little lanes have transformed my relationship to the neighborhood for the better. I explore the neighborhood so much more, I visit businesses more often because it’s that much easier to get there quickly, I commute by bike more often because it feels safer.
San Diego installed bike lanes on a busy commercial street in North Park in 2021. Ridership jumped 67% the next year.
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
30th Street bike lanes in North Park saw record ridership in 2025
Bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have jumped 15% since the installation of protected bike lanes in 2021. Foot traffic and business activity also appear to be thriving.
www.kpbs.org
January 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Cannot emphasize enough how these humble little lanes have transformed my relationship to the neighborhood for the better. I explore the neighborhood so much more, I visit businesses more often because it’s that much easier to get there quickly, I commute by bike more often because it feels safer.
San Diego installed bike lanes on a busy commercial street in North Park in 2021. Ridership jumped 67% the next year.
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
30th Street bike lanes in North Park saw record ridership in 2025
Bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have jumped 15% since the installation of protected bike lanes in 2021. Foot traffic and business activity also appear to be thriving.
www.kpbs.org
January 31, 2026 at 12:48 AM
San Diego installed bike lanes on a busy commercial street in North Park in 2021. Ridership jumped 67% the next year.
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Now, 4 years later, bike and scooter trips on 30th Street have hit another record high. Foot traffic and business activity is also booming. www.kpbs.org/news/quality...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Protest planned in San Diego on Saturday against Rady Children’s Hospital halting gender-affirming care for minors www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/20/r...
January 24, 2026 at 6:14 AM
Protest planned in San Diego on Saturday against Rady Children’s Hospital halting gender-affirming care for minors www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/20/r...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
January 22, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
The Times went to non urban Minnesota to ask people why they dislike urban Minneapolis. If someone were to ask me to teach a journalism school course on helicopter reporting, this story - so cliche it’s almost hard to believe they really did this - would immediately go on the syllabus.
NYTimes has truly outdone itself with this latest in its "ask white guys in diner" genre. Thank goodness we get a perspective on what's happening in Minneapolis from people in **Nisswa** who probably mean Brainerd when they say they "prefer not to go the city anymore" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
One State, Two Very Different Views of Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The Times went to non urban Minnesota to ask people why they dislike urban Minneapolis. If someone were to ask me to teach a journalism school course on helicopter reporting, this story - so cliche it’s almost hard to believe they really did this - would immediately go on the syllabus.
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
December 23, 2025 at 1:28 AM
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
BTW. While we're making a big deal about the censored 60 minutes report, worth noting the PBS Frontline report on CECOT is online and can be watched free. Trump *tried* to destroy PBS as he did 60 minutes, & did manage to kill the 58-year-old CPB, but PBS so far survives. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
Surviving CECOT | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series
The story of three Venezuelan men branded as gang members and deported to CECOT.
www.pbs.org
December 22, 2025 at 10:50 PM
BTW. While we're making a big deal about the censored 60 minutes report, worth noting the PBS Frontline report on CECOT is online and can be watched free. Trump *tried* to destroy PBS as he did 60 minutes, & did manage to kill the 58-year-old CPB, but PBS so far survives. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
really cannot be emphasized enough that bari weiss has literally never done journalism. i don’t mean that in the pejorative sense. i mean that in the “has never performed the job she was hired to do” sense
One explanation for Bari killing the story is that she did so as a public act of fealty to the administration. But another is that, as an inexperienced journalist, she doesn’t understand that a refusal to go on the record is a kind of comment in and of itself
December 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM
really cannot be emphasized enough that bari weiss has literally never done journalism. i don’t mean that in the pejorative sense. i mean that in the “has never performed the job she was hired to do” sense
I’m pretty sure free replacement bins are built into the new system!
December 20, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I’m pretty sure free replacement bins are built into the new system!
Incredible work by San Diego’s Department of Environmental Services. No notes.
#trashlanes
#trashlanes
December 19, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Incredible work by San Diego’s Department of Environmental Services. No notes.
#trashlanes
#trashlanes
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
They updated the website today to remove the word "independent"
Before (left), after (right)
Before (left), after (right)
December 17, 2025 at 8:25 PM
They updated the website today to remove the word "independent"
Before (left), after (right)
Before (left), after (right)
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
SUV driver struck and killed a 15-year-old boy who was attempting to cross Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa. The intersection is a lawful crossing but has no marked crosswalk. #VisionZero
December 15, 2025 at 5:54 PM
SUV driver struck and killed a 15-year-old boy who was attempting to cross Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa. The intersection is a lawful crossing but has no marked crosswalk. #VisionZero
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Interesting, thanks for correcting the record!
December 14, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Interesting, thanks for correcting the record!
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Sorry I'm 2 years late to this!!! Listen to this interview with Hasan Ikhrata, the head of San Diego's regional transportation agency.
This is what transportation leadership in the public sector sounds like!!
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/fre... @acbowen.bsky.social
This is what transportation leadership in the public sector sounds like!!
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/fre... @acbowen.bsky.social
BONUS: Hasan Ikhrata
As the CEO of San Diego County's transportation planning agency, SANDAG, Hasan Ikhrata has done more than anyone else to shake up the conversation around our freeways. Ikhrata has pushed his own board...
www.kpbs.org
December 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Sorry I'm 2 years late to this!!! Listen to this interview with Hasan Ikhrata, the head of San Diego's regional transportation agency.
This is what transportation leadership in the public sector sounds like!!
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/fre... @acbowen.bsky.social
This is what transportation leadership in the public sector sounds like!!
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/fre... @acbowen.bsky.social
*former head, he announced his resignation shortly after the episode came out…
Thanks for listening!!
Thanks for listening!!
December 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
*former head, he announced his resignation shortly after the episode came out…
Thanks for listening!!
Thanks for listening!!
Smoking rates seem relatively high in the Netherlands, I have to assume that counteracts the health benefits from cycling to some extent.
December 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Smoking rates seem relatively high in the Netherlands, I have to assume that counteracts the health benefits from cycling to some extent.
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
An astonishing percentage of Americans are open to car-free living.
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
Many Americans Are Open to Car-Free Living — Human Transit
Is Americans a “car culture” or are they “car dependent”? Do they drive because they love driving, or are they in an unhealthy relationship with a substance it would be happy to do without? Obviousl...
humantransit.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:55 PM
An astonishing percentage of Americans are open to car-free living.
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Consultants contracted by Minnesota found that an eight-story single-stair building with 6,000 sq. ft. per floor (building 4) has dramatically lower fire risk than a same-height code-compliant two-stair building with a larger floor plate (building 1) www.dli.mn.gov/sites/defaul...
December 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Consultants contracted by Minnesota found that an eight-story single-stair building with 6,000 sq. ft. per floor (building 4) has dramatically lower fire risk than a same-height code-compliant two-stair building with a larger floor plate (building 1) www.dli.mn.gov/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Andrew Bowen (he/him)
Driver struck and killed a 60-year-old cyclist who was riding on a neighborhood street in Rancho Peñasquitos. #VisionZero
December 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Driver struck and killed a 60-year-old cyclist who was riding on a neighborhood street in Rancho Peñasquitos. #VisionZero