Jon Orcutt
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jonorcutt.bsky.social
Jon Orcutt
@jonorcutt.bsky.social
NYC transportation - working now w @bikenewyork.bsky.social, @reinventalbany.bsky.social

Alum @TransitCenter.bsky.social @nyc-dot.bsky.social @tstc.bsky.social @TransAlt.org
It had to be reported, but surprising no one LOL
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
AKA “the city spent $100s of millions & we still got 3,000 plastic sticks”
Along w long time frames, another problem is complacency of design for many capital projects that *are* done

9th Av was dug up for most of the 2010s. The project replaced the street as-is, rather than widen the built sidewalk (as *DOT did AFTER rebuild*) & providing a 100% curb-separated 🚲 lane
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Along w long time frames, another problem is complacency of design for many capital projects that *are* done

9th Av was dug up for most of the 2010s. The project replaced the street as-is, rather than widen the built sidewalk (as *DOT did AFTER rebuild*) & providing a 100% curb-separated 🚲 lane
November 24, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
The pace at which NYC has turned temporary measures for boosting livable streets into more permanent solutions has been incredibly slow. Mayor Adams didn't fully seize the opportunity to turn paint into protection — but Mayor Mamdani might.
'The Permanence Agenda': Paint and Plastic Won’t Deliver Real Street Safety - Streetsblog New York City
Rather than continuing New York's quick-build approach to redesigning streets with temporary materials, Zohran Mamdani should aim for permanent.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
More people bike than drive on the Brooklyn street — and that's before the protected lane was installed!
Most People Don't Drive To Court Street: DOT - Streetsblog New York City
And more people bike than drive on the Brooklyn street!
buff.ly
November 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Wild. We always say on the podcast that owning a car is required for effective full enfranchisement in most places of the USA because we are such a car-dependent society, but this is...next level. They say it like it's disqualifying for office.
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"

It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Trump drooling over Mamdani in the Oval Office the same day Hakeem Jeffries voted to condemn socialism could not be funnier to me
November 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Quiet leadership from the Congressmember while other lesser pols were being noisy and stupid. No coverage of this at all in the major local media outlets whenever they ran anything.

We live with a fair number of good champions in such a stupid environment
November 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
"We owe this slow-roll to mediocrity to the wealthy denizens of the Fifth Avenue Association, who stymied the 2021 plan... The group’s members include Saks Fifth Avenue, the Trump Organization and Bergdorf Goodman."
Memo to Mamdani: Fifth Ave. Belongs to the People — Not the Ultra-Wealthy and Gridlock - Streetsblog New York City
Zohran Mamdani should revive a DOT plan to transform Fifth Avenue shelved by de Blasio and Adams at the behest of powerful corporate interests.
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
When you ride on #bikenyc paths around the Navy Yard, in Red Hook, Sunset Park & now under the Gowanus Expressway, you can thank @velazquez.house.gov for laying their foundation
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
“Parking is one of the areas where New York City is a bad joke. De Blasio didn’t have the heart to do anything about it and Adams embodied the bad joke” @nyc.streetsblog.org nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/20/a...
AGENDA 2026: Mamdani Must Reduce, Digitize Parking Placards - Streetsblog New York City
Mayor-elect Mamdani must face down the placard class to regain control of New York City streets.
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Public conversations about street changes have become so absurd that city government essentially has to prove to people in NYC neighborhoods that they live in a big city @nyc.streetsblog.org nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/19/m...
Most People Don't Drive To Court Street: DOT - Streetsblog New York City
And more people bike than drive on the Brooklyn street!
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Yes. Veto this bill.
November 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Testimony to MTA Board: Gov. Hochul Must Veto Two-Person Train Operator Bill

Misguided bill will do nothing to improve subway service, and instead add costs that will ultimately be paid by transit riders.

Read it here:
buff.ly
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
it is almost as if accommodating and conceding to far right ideas legitimizes them and signals to voters that the far right is a legitimate choice for governance
The Danish Social Democrats are currently on course for their worst election result since at least the Second World War, despite their brand of far-right accommodationism being touted as a blueprint for other centre-left parties.
November 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Ridership on Paris region transit systems is now generally at or higher than pre-pandemic levels. Bike use is much higher than pre-pandemic.

At the same time, car traffic in Paris and on its ring highway is substantially lower than it was pre-pandemic. www.institutparisregion.fr/mobilite-et-...
November 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
I think it's possible for Dems to delay the next transportation bill for a while, but it won't matter if they don't win Congress back in the midterms @usa.streetsblog.org usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/18/b...
Breaking: Trump Admin Seeks To Decimate Federal Transit Funding — Streetsblog USA
"When you're talking about taking away money from transit, your proposal is flawed from the get-go," said one expert.
usa.streetsblog.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Why *does* the mayor of Subway City always end up in the back of a Suburban? There are good reasons: Security, productivity, travel to non-Manhattan destinations. And a bad reason: Habit.

The politics/practicalities of mayoral mobility from Lindsay thru now — nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/18/s...
Security Blanket: Will NYPD Smother Mamdani’s Love of Transit and Bikes? - Streetsblog New York City
Zohran Mamdani spent his mayoral campaign riding the subway and biking around — but the demands of City Hall may test his transit habit.
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Join us for one final meal at Hell Gate's Eric Adams Table of Success. As the Eric Adams era reaches its conclusion, we're gathering everyone who's made it to the bitter end.

You can make your haters your waiters, but you can't escape…The Last Supper.

tableofsuccess.hellgatenyc.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
"Council Member Mercedes Narcisse (D-Canarsie), for instance, pushed a bill to permit the city [to] issue just one ticket per hour to drivers who park or drive in the bus lane."

What's next? One speeding or red-light ticket per hour? It boggles the mind.
nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/14/c...
Council Members Put Everything But Riders First at 'Bus Oversight' Hearing - Streetsblog New York City
The Council spent its last bus oversight hearing of its term asking the MTA and city to pull back on bus lane enforcement.
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
The IBX is here! The MTA wants your feedback on what should be studied in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement.

Below are the public meeting dates:
November 19 - 6-8 PM: Trinity Lutheran Church
November 25 - 6-8 PM: Brooklyn Public Library

RSVP at bit.ly/ibxnov
November 14, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
Also even when this was proposed systems as old as/even older than NYC were already starting to implement OPTO en masse, including the Tube. This was outdated even then and now just looks bitterly archaic.
November 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Jon Orcutt
"Running a red is different. It’s a threat powered by gasoline, thousands of pounds of metal, a heavy foot and a desire to cheat the system, even for a microsecond. It’s an active threat. People die."

Take a few minutes to read this @timdonnelly.com piece on all-too-commonplace red-light running.
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It's good people are mad about this and calling it out. But stand and watch traffic for 30 minutes at any NYC corner for the past 30 years and you'd see all manner of dangerous, batshit stuff going on
November 13, 2025 at 3:14 PM