George Spies
@georgespies.bsky.social
Safe streets, active transpo, dense urbanism, everybody in, nobody out. I like making stuff. Active member of Traffic Violence Rapid Response as well as Seamless Bay Area.
Reposted by George Spies
Congrats to our friend Eileen Higgins for winning the Miami Mayoral race! A true transit champion and rider.
We chatted with her a few years ago about her advocacy and more! - usa.streetsblog.org/2023/03/09/t...
We chatted with her a few years ago about her advocacy and more! - usa.streetsblog.org/2023/03/09/t...
Talking Headways Podcast: A Miami-Dade Voice for Bus Rapid Transit — Streetsblog USA
We chat with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins about the South Dade Busway, the importance of FTA ratings in getting projects built, and why she thinks it’s important as an elected officia...
usa.streetsblog.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Congrats to our friend Eileen Higgins for winning the Miami Mayoral race! A true transit champion and rider.
We chatted with her a few years ago about her advocacy and more! - usa.streetsblog.org/2023/03/09/t...
We chatted with her a few years ago about her advocacy and more! - usa.streetsblog.org/2023/03/09/t...
OK, now, the other BIG item tomorrow is progress on International Blvd safety project, and future work. Megan Wier, AD at OakDOT, gets a lot of credit for persistently pushing this forward. @tvrr.bsky.social led the outside push for this from late 2022 all through 2023 to end the death toll. 1/x
Tomorrow, Wed at 9AM, the Oakland and AC Transit Interagency Cmte (ILC) will convene after a long hiatus. 2 items of keen interest: updates on the International Blvd safety project, and the more basic question of the ongoing relationship between the two entities. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social
1/x
1/x
December 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM
OK, now, the other BIG item tomorrow is progress on International Blvd safety project, and future work. Megan Wier, AD at OakDOT, gets a lot of credit for persistently pushing this forward. @tvrr.bsky.social led the outside push for this from late 2022 all through 2023 to end the death toll. 1/x
Tomorrow, Wed at 9AM, the Oakland and AC Transit Interagency Cmte (ILC) will convene after a long hiatus. 2 items of keen interest: updates on the International Blvd safety project, and the more basic question of the ongoing relationship between the two entities. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social
1/x
1/x
December 9, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Tomorrow, Wed at 9AM, the Oakland and AC Transit Interagency Cmte (ILC) will convene after a long hiatus. 2 items of keen interest: updates on the International Blvd safety project, and the more basic question of the ongoing relationship between the two entities. @seamlessbayareaca.bsky.social
1/x
1/x
Reposted by George Spies
The recent uptick in high speed e-bikes represents an aversion to spending time with cars. Focusing on them misses the point.
Band-aids and pain killers make you feel better but don’t address the problem.
We need to focus on treating the root cause of poor road design.
Band-aids and pain killers make you feel better but don’t address the problem.
We need to focus on treating the root cause of poor road design.
December 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The recent uptick in high speed e-bikes represents an aversion to spending time with cars. Focusing on them misses the point.
Band-aids and pain killers make you feel better but don’t address the problem.
We need to focus on treating the root cause of poor road design.
Band-aids and pain killers make you feel better but don’t address the problem.
We need to focus on treating the root cause of poor road design.
Seriously, we gotta change this
Until California leaders get serious about subjecting Caltrans to state law, it's hard to conclude California is serious about affordability, or air pollution, or climate change.
Caltrans is a rogue state agency with a $30 billion annual budget, and is accountable to apparently no one.
Caltrans is a rogue state agency with a $30 billion annual budget, and is accountable to apparently no one.
All the policy goals in the world don't mean shit if the money keeps flowing toward widening highways.
December 9, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Seriously, we gotta change this
Everyone is dealing with the dang fire department
The untold story of the ruling in which Justice Chereé Buggs kills the 31st St. bike lane is that FDNY sabotaged it by deciding, inexplicably, that they can’t stage ladder trucks in a bike lane that was designed for them to be wide enough for exactly that s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
s3.documentcloud.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Everyone is dealing with the dang fire department
People discover unknown joys even amidst hardship
It's time once again for my annual #treebybike post. This is the 12/19/42 cover of @newyorker.com, so one full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would be the first real Christmas alone, or without a family member, for millions in the US. Gas and tire rationing had begun earlier that year.🗃️
December 9, 2025 at 6:21 AM
People discover unknown joys even amidst hardship
Reposted by George Spies
We have the proven technology to address many of the externalities of driving:
-Speed cameras
-Congestion pricing
-Demand based parking pricing
Failure to implement these policies is no longer a shortcoming of knowledge, but rather political will.
-Speed cameras
-Congestion pricing
-Demand based parking pricing
Failure to implement these policies is no longer a shortcoming of knowledge, but rather political will.
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Can speed cameras make streets safer? Quasi-experimental evidence from New York City | PNAS
Each year, approximately 40,000 people die in vehicle collisions in the United States,
generating $340 billion in economic costs. To make roads saf...
www.pnas.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:50 AM
We have the proven technology to address many of the externalities of driving:
-Speed cameras
-Congestion pricing
-Demand based parking pricing
Failure to implement these policies is no longer a shortcoming of knowledge, but rather political will.
-Speed cameras
-Congestion pricing
-Demand based parking pricing
Failure to implement these policies is no longer a shortcoming of knowledge, but rather political will.
Reposted by George Spies
I was just on the phone for 30 MINUTES trying to get a refund for the lousy “excursion fare” I paid on BART.
DO BETTER CLIPPER.
DO BETTER CLIPPER.
December 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I was just on the phone for 30 MINUTES trying to get a refund for the lousy “excursion fare” I paid on BART.
DO BETTER CLIPPER.
DO BETTER CLIPPER.
Destroy the filibuster
Expand the court to 18
Purge all trumpists at all levels
Pass immediate benefits to working people, brand it democratic
Eliminate ICE
Move CBP to Justice, on a very tight leash
Start the truth commissions and tribunals
Send leadership to jail, including for capital crimes.
Expand the court to 18
Purge all trumpists at all levels
Pass immediate benefits to working people, brand it democratic
Eliminate ICE
Move CBP to Justice, on a very tight leash
Start the truth commissions and tribunals
Send leadership to jail, including for capital crimes.
December 8, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Destroy the filibuster
Expand the court to 18
Purge all trumpists at all levels
Pass immediate benefits to working people, brand it democratic
Eliminate ICE
Move CBP to Justice, on a very tight leash
Start the truth commissions and tribunals
Send leadership to jail, including for capital crimes.
Expand the court to 18
Purge all trumpists at all levels
Pass immediate benefits to working people, brand it democratic
Eliminate ICE
Move CBP to Justice, on a very tight leash
Start the truth commissions and tribunals
Send leadership to jail, including for capital crimes.
Good stuff here! Transit priority and safe streets go together!
Great discussions happening today about what makes for effective transit priority.
I'm struck by how important the basics of urban design are for making it work - refuge islands, tight turns, and limited turn lanes produce short pedestrian crossings that let you insert a transit phase at any time.
I'm struck by how important the basics of urban design are for making it work - refuge islands, tight turns, and limited turn lanes produce short pedestrian crossings that let you insert a transit phase at any time.
The absurdity is that there is space here! But they shaped the island to provide super wide turning radiuses for left turning cars! It's just that everything in the current road design practices is engineered to make TSP or anything that is not the 3-4 phase vanilla suburban traffic cycle impossible
December 8, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Good stuff here! Transit priority and safe streets go together!
Reposted by George Spies
There should be a law that whenever a vehicle hits a pedestrian or bicyclist, the street should be reduced to two lanes, narrowed to 20 feet, and have speed bumps installed so that the maximum realistic speed one can drive on it is 15 mph.
Husband, father of 3 killed by motorist while biking to work in L.A.
Husband, father of 3 killed by motorist while biking to work in L.A.
A family is reeling and demanding justice after a 59-year-old husband and father of three was struck and killed while riding his bike to work last month. The deadly crash played out on Nov. …
ktla.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:16 AM
There should be a law that whenever a vehicle hits a pedestrian or bicyclist, the street should be reduced to two lanes, narrowed to 20 feet, and have speed bumps installed so that the maximum realistic speed one can drive on it is 15 mph.
Reposted by George Spies
Reposted by George Spies
“Between 2010 and 2022, structural fires in Berkeley injured an average of 2 people per year, while between just 2017 and 2022, traffic accidents injured or killed an average of 694 people annually.”
New post: a week of hectic back and forth with fire officials and city council over Berkeley street festivals brings out into the open a conflict in city halls across USA. Fire depts opposition to traffic calming and safety measures. Is there a solution?
darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-fire-d...
darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-fire-d...
The Fire Department vs. Traffic Safety Advocates
Street safety advocates are butting heads with fire officials. Swift fire response does not have to come at the cost of lives on the roadway.
darrellowens.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:31 PM
“Between 2010 and 2022, structural fires in Berkeley injured an average of 2 people per year, while between just 2017 and 2022, traffic accidents injured or killed an average of 694 people annually.”
Always the best happy hour for connecting with fellow car-frees! Come in!
Join us for a holiday East Bay Car Free Happy Hour at:
Cornerstone Berkeley
Wednesday, December 17, 5:30pm
2367 Shattuck Ave
AC Transit lines F, 18, 51B, 6, 7, 36, Downtown Berkeley BART
Spread the word! Bring a friend! Wear your transit finery!
Cornerstone Berkeley
Wednesday, December 17, 5:30pm
2367 Shattuck Ave
AC Transit lines F, 18, 51B, 6, 7, 36, Downtown Berkeley BART
Spread the word! Bring a friend! Wear your transit finery!
December 7, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Always the best happy hour for connecting with fellow car-frees! Come in!
Reposted by George Spies
“An ICE agent lured Wilmer out of his home under false pretenses, posing as a construction worker who claimed to have hit Wilmer’s car and needed him to step outside to verify. Another agent, accompanied by a dog, was hiding nearby and released the dog on Wilmer shortly after he stepped outside.”
My constituent, Wilmer, was mauled by an ICE attack dog despite the fact that, as he has consistently explained, he was not resisting arrest or trying to flee—his wife and young children, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as Wilmer was violently attacked and dragged away.
December 6, 2025 at 1:09 PM
“An ICE agent lured Wilmer out of his home under false pretenses, posing as a construction worker who claimed to have hit Wilmer’s car and needed him to step outside to verify. Another agent, accompanied by a dog, was hiding nearby and released the dog on Wilmer shortly after he stepped outside.”
Reposted by George Spies
I say this as someone who uses Ai at work and basically was told I had to:
Ai is the new car
We should have regulated the shit out of their use in some places but we didn't and now we struggle to roll it back
Guess what stupid shit we're going to do with Ai?
Ai is the new car
We should have regulated the shit out of their use in some places but we didn't and now we struggle to roll it back
Guess what stupid shit we're going to do with Ai?
December 5, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I say this as someone who uses Ai at work and basically was told I had to:
Ai is the new car
We should have regulated the shit out of their use in some places but we didn't and now we struggle to roll it back
Guess what stupid shit we're going to do with Ai?
Ai is the new car
We should have regulated the shit out of their use in some places but we didn't and now we struggle to roll it back
Guess what stupid shit we're going to do with Ai?
Reposted by George Spies
Starting Dec 10, most Bay Area transit transfers will be free for two hours. If you take AC Transit to BART then transfer to Muni, your fare today is $9.10. With Clipper 2, the free AC and Muni transfers mean your fare will be just $3.90
1/
1/
December 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Starting Dec 10, most Bay Area transit transfers will be free for two hours. If you take AC Transit to BART then transfer to Muni, your fare today is $9.10. With Clipper 2, the free AC and Muni transfers mean your fare will be just $3.90
1/
1/
Reposted by George Spies
The metric should not be whether drivers hate it. The metric should be whether it makes our streets safer for everyone. And by all accounts this accomplished that. That’s more than worth a few seconds of all of our time
Despite the anger, San Francisco’s new piece of street infrastructure decreased injury collisions and dropped average speeds at that location to 11 miles per hour.
S.F. installed an experimental street design called a ‘neckdown.’ Drivers hated it
Despite the anger, San Francisco’s new piece of street infrastructure decreased injury collisions and dropped average speeds at that location to 11 miles per hour.
bit.ly
December 5, 2025 at 4:08 AM
The metric should not be whether drivers hate it. The metric should be whether it makes our streets safer for everyone. And by all accounts this accomplished that. That’s more than worth a few seconds of all of our time
Jesus Fucking Christ.
What we need are for consequences to flow uphill, rather than down.
What we need are for consequences to flow uphill, rather than down.
L.A. redesigned a road to slow traffic. People fought to reverse the safety improvements and won. Then one of the advocates hit and killed a woman walking her dog (the dog died too).
This should be a lawsuit. The city is liable along with the driver.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
This should be a lawsuit. The city is liable along with the driver.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
America’s plan to protect pedestrians failed. A young woman’s death reveals why.
U.S. officials adopted Europe's Vision Zero initiative, but many cities have seen an increase in pedestrian fatalities despite efforts to improve road safety.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Jesus Fucking Christ.
What we need are for consequences to flow uphill, rather than down.
What we need are for consequences to flow uphill, rather than down.
Reposted by George Spies
And this is very much *not* an artifact of history.
There is a large, master planned redevelopment of a commercial block (demolition is happening currently) where the multi-family housing is *clearly* being used as a buffer between the townhomes/single family houses and the freeway.
There is a large, master planned redevelopment of a commercial block (demolition is happening currently) where the multi-family housing is *clearly* being used as a buffer between the townhomes/single family houses and the freeway.
December 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
And this is very much *not* an artifact of history.
There is a large, master planned redevelopment of a commercial block (demolition is happening currently) where the multi-family housing is *clearly* being used as a buffer between the townhomes/single family houses and the freeway.
There is a large, master planned redevelopment of a commercial block (demolition is happening currently) where the multi-family housing is *clearly* being used as a buffer between the townhomes/single family houses and the freeway.
Reposted by George Spies
I'm sorry, I just have to pop off again on that NYT e-bike piece.
The fatality rate for e-bike injuries is 11%?? You're saying that one out of every 9 times someone hurts themselves on an e-bike, they die?
That is just so mind-blowingly incorrect, I don't know where to start.
The fatality rate for e-bike injuries is 11%?? You're saying that one out of every 9 times someone hurts themselves on an e-bike, they die?
That is just so mind-blowingly incorrect, I don't know where to start.
December 4, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I'm sorry, I just have to pop off again on that NYT e-bike piece.
The fatality rate for e-bike injuries is 11%?? You're saying that one out of every 9 times someone hurts themselves on an e-bike, they die?
That is just so mind-blowingly incorrect, I don't know where to start.
The fatality rate for e-bike injuries is 11%?? You're saying that one out of every 9 times someone hurts themselves on an e-bike, they die?
That is just so mind-blowingly incorrect, I don't know where to start.
Reposted by George Spies
Tell me: if your politicians do not ride public transit, then why do you expect public transit to improve?
December 4, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Tell me: if your politicians do not ride public transit, then why do you expect public transit to improve?
Entirely valid. Waymo may improve on safety (as long as they are programmed that way), but they don’t solve the basic geometry problem and they may well worsen it as they scale. Urban density, mixed use neighborhoods, and high transit service levels are tried, true, and better.
Waymo is a very wealthy company. And I don’t even necessarily think they are sinister or anything.
But they are doing a serious PR blitz right now, which is their prerogative. People need to be cautious to distinguish company PR and talking points from objective assessments
But they are doing a serious PR blitz right now, which is their prerogative. People need to be cautious to distinguish company PR and talking points from objective assessments
December 4, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Entirely valid. Waymo may improve on safety (as long as they are programmed that way), but they don’t solve the basic geometry problem and they may well worsen it as they scale. Urban density, mixed use neighborhoods, and high transit service levels are tried, true, and better.