Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

RJ Sheperd

@rjsheperd.com

820 followers 2.7K following 780 posts

Sentient human interested in all things Cycling / Transit / Cities / Decentralized Web / Lisp / Clojure / Geospatial. 📍 Portland, OR Check out: #RailSky #WalkNRoll #PDXBikes #BikeBus #Transit #YIMBY #DWeb #Clojure #GIS #maps

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · Jun 27

#HB2025 funding for roads, transit & rail needs your help! If you or people you know live in the Oregon Coast or Eastern Oregon, please ask contact these legislators: Sen. Todd Nash, Sen Suzanne Weber, and Sen. Dick Anderson.

1 3 5

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 1d

Ah, damn.

CA transit agencies will be continue to be doomed to use regressive sales taxes to expand rail.

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 1d

For more info, check out this World Bank report: documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/4...

documents1.worldbank.org

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 1d

The real question we should be asking: can we get the Purple Line to be funded through a Land-Value Capture scheme now that SB 79 is law?

MTS needs to think like Japan Rail:
1. Buy land around station
2. Builds stations
3. Lease the land for income-generation to fund the build-out
4. Repeat

2 6

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Andrew Bowen (he/him) @acbowen.bsky.social · 1d

San Diego is preparing 2 community plan updates impacted by SB79: Clairemont and College. These are my rough sketches of the half-mile radii around trolley stops. Yellow is where the city wanted to keep single-family zoning.

Past coverage:
www.kpbs.org/news/local/2...
www.kpbs.org/news/quality...

1 3 24

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

George was just trying to get to work.

ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.

This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."

@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized

390 7.2K 14K

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 1d

Also, when can we get self-permitting authority for Transit agencies (similar to the UC campuses)?

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 1d

@scottwiener.bsky.social is a gift to CA.

Any thoughts on whether SB 79 allows BART/SFMTA/LA Metro/MTS to become self-sufficient through LVT/land leases?

2 8

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 1d

California legalizes life near public transit! Governor Newsom has signed SB 79. My thoughts: humantransit.org/2025/10/cali...

California Legalizes Life Near Public Transit — Human Transit

OK, the headline is a little exaggerated, but California’s Senate Bill 79, authored by Senator Scott Wiener and just signed by Governor Newsom, is a game-changer. It prohibits most cities from forbid...

humantransit.org

7 46 240

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

pumpkin spice amb 🎃 @amb.fyi · 2d

Rep Hoa Nguyen was a wonderful person with a truly remarkable life story and a dogged persistance for the causes she championed especially in the realm of education, among her many accomplishments was the chief sponsorship of 2023's bike bus bill #orleg

bikeportland.org/2023/08/02/o...

Oregon Governor signs 'Bike Bus Bill' into law

On its four month journey through committees and the House and Senate chambers, the bipartisan bill garnered only one "no" vote.

bikeportland.org

1 2 18

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 2d

since denver launched its e-bike rebate program - the have sold 10,000 e-bikes and reduced an estimated 1,000,000 car trips - replacing millions of VMTs and reducing air pollution

there are no climate silver bullets... but damn - e-bikes and e-cargo bikes are close

denvergov.org/Government/A...

Denver Celebrates 10,000 E-Bike Rebates

Since its inception in April 2022, Denver has distributed over 10,000 electric bikes (e-bikes) to community members through its pioneering e-bike rebate program. As the first U.S. city to implement su...

denvergov.org

10 72 270

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

California YIMBY @cayimby.bsky.social · 1d

[VICTORY ALERT] Governor Newsom has signed SB 79, which will make it legal to build multi-family housing near high quality transit!

Our statement:
cayimby.org/news-events/...

cayimby.org

9 140 740

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 1d

Caltrain’s new electric trains are designed to recuperate energy when breaking. The agency made a deal to sell that energy back to the local power supplier, which will net the agency millions of dollars in annual revenues.

Caltrain electrified trains return power to grid, offsetting energy costs

For decades, Caltrain has been known for what it takes off the roads. Now, it's being rewarded for what it puts back into the power grid.

www.cbsnews.com

4 25 110

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 1d

Portland is doing well making clear the ridiculousness of the military takeover.

dr. caitlin m. green @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social · 2d

there are SO many more inflatable costumes tonight. clearly we have settled on a motif

Wide shot of many people in inflatable costumes

39 530 2.6K

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

96 3.2K 11K

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Jeffrey Tumlin 🏳️‍🌈 🌁 @jeffreytumlin.bsky.social · 2d

Vancouver's secret for transit success: frequency + land use

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 2d

Vancouver's TransLink is a rare success story in North American transit, with ridership almost matching pre-Covid levels. It might be the only big 🇺🇸/🇨🇦 agency that has *expanded* total bus service since 2019.

I spoke w/CEO Kevin Quinn about lessons from TransLink's rapid recovery. 🧵

The Secret to Vancouver’s Public Transit Ridership Recovery

The Canadian city’s transit agency, TransLink, bounced back from Covid even as other North American systems have struggled. Its leader explains why riders returned.

www.bloomberg.com

1 6 46

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 2d

Across the US & Canada, cities are replacing aging library complexes with combined apartment + library buildings.

It's a promising way to fund new public facilities while adding housing.

A new database & details of best practices @urbaninstitute.bsky.social: www.urban.org/urban-wire/a...

We have documented several dozen examples of completed, under construction, and planned library + housing complexes across the US & Canada. They include more than 1,800 completed housing units and more on the way.

The Taylor Street Library and apartments in Chicago's Little Italy.

1 17 100

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

escapedexplorer.bsky.social @escapedexplorer.bsky.social · 3d

WWII "Friend" poster series from the Allied Forces, originally demonstrating the various Allied forces (British, Australian, Chinese, French, Dutch, etc.) and their appearances

It reads:

"This man is your FRIEND

He fights for FREEDOM"

The image is a sepia/black and white toned image of the Portland Frog protester, simply labelled FROG

28 1.4K 4.8K

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 2d

By me this week - the happiest thing I've got to report of late, with a glorious trip over the summer to Montreal

"Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport."

www.economist.com/internationa...

Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport

Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war

www.economist.com

13 180 510

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

KFF @kff.org · 5d

Since the enhanced premium tax credits were introduced in 2021, the number of people who receive health coverage through the ACA Marketplaces has more than doubled.

Learn more about who relies on coverage through the ACA ⤵️

KFF graphic titled “Who Relies on Affordable Care Act Marketplace Coverage?” The graphic shows Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) Marketplace enrollees who purchase insurance via HealthCare.gov live in rural counties; At least 1 in 4 (27%) farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers have individual coverage, mostly through ACA Marketplaces; and About half of adults under 65 with individual coverage (48%; mostly via ACA Marketplaces) are small business owners, employees, or self-employed. Below that section, the graphic highlights that more than 90% of enrollees in the individual market get their coverage via ACA Marketplaces, and of those enrollees, 93% receive a tax credit to lower the monthly cost of their premiums.

1 10 17

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 2d

oh my god they are panicking so hard right now

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Mike Johnson: "It's about keeping Congress operating so we can get to healthcare. We always were going to. They're lying to you. Okay? The healthcare issues were always gonna be something discussed, deliberated, contemplated, and debated in October and November."

160 270 1.6K

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Aaron Ross Powell ☸️ @aaronrosspowell.com · 2d

Democrats should demand the firing of Stephen Miller as a condition for reopening the government.

2 230 1.3K

Reposted by RJ Sheperd

Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 3d

my favorite part about this

#Stairpilled.

osse made a video about single stair buildings

2 12 160

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 3d

Is there similar research on elevated rail stations?

1 2

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 3d

@davidzipper.bsky.social please please write your next piece on why we can’t build Metros for less than $2B/mile

City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 3d

Here are the Subway/Metro Station design guidelines that were compiled by UMTA/USDOT in the 1970s in an attempt to prevent WMATA-style cost overruns again.

It got shelved when everyone at UMTA got laid off and we forgot it. But it's prescient about cost drivers -- rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/11352

DOT ROSA P

ROSA P serves as an archival repository of USDOT-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by USDOT ...

rosap.ntl.bts.gov

RJ Sheperd @rjsheperd.com · 3d

All the more reason to have the speeds be capped for ALL vehicles (including autos).

If you’re going 20 MPH in NYC, you’re moving faster than 90% of traffic. You don’t need to be able to go 40 when average speeds are 7 MPH.