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Ariel Méndez

@amendez.bsky.social

1.4K followers 530 following 1.6K posts

City of Bend Councilor building walkable, bikeable, kid-friendly communities. Associated Faculty, Poli Sci @ OSU-Cascades.

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Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 41m

Do you have experience walking or biking through the two-lane roundabout at Butler Market and Empire/27th? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences! Drop a comment or send me a message. Thank you!

A screenshot of a satellite view of a 2-lane roundabout at NE 27th and Butler Market in Bend.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 8h

Interesting thought!

My impression is the biggest source of backup on Reed Mkt is the railroad crossing. One we build the overpass, I would expect congestion to be greatly relieved at locations like 15th.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 9h

Staff is looking for support to widen 15th and Reed Mkt to a full 2 lanes.

Also whether Bond and Reed Mkt should be widened to partial multi-lane (some are asking for full 2 lanes), and whether we should switch with the Chase/Brosterhous roundabout project to accomplish it sooner.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 10h

Preparing for tonight's Bend city council discussion about widening roundabouts

The "it might work for us meme" from Arrested Development. The text reads, "LOTS OF CITIES ADD LANES TO FIGHT CONGESTION. WELL DID IT WORK FOR THOSE CITIES? NO, IT NEVER DOES, I MEAN, THESE CITIES SOMEHOW DELUDE THEMSELVES INTO THINKING IT MIGHT, BUT... ...BUT IT MIGHT WORK FOR US."

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 11h

You can either have safe streets where kids walk and ride to school, or you can have slightly shorter driving commute times.

Unless you're building entirely separated facilities, you can't have both.

Moth @walkingminnesota.com · 11h

A little frost can’t stop these bikers on walk, bike, roll day at Minneapolis Public Schools

Way to go, kiddos

🙌

A full bike rack

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 11h

Minneapolis has colder winters, gets twice as much snow, and rains 8x more in the summer than Bend, OR.

We can do this, Bend!

Moth @walkingminnesota.com · 11h

A little frost can’t stop these bikers on walk, bike, roll day at Minneapolis Public Schools

Way to go, kiddos

🙌

A full bike rack

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 12h

Polls routinely show people think foreign aid is 25% of the federal budget and that’s too much. Really it was around 1% and it used to save a lot of lives.

For all the hand-wringing about how did we get Trump again, let’s not forget people are not omniscient and we make mistakes!

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12h

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting to hear! Might be an area to adjust the restrictions for paratransit (ie Dial-A-Ride) that kick in when fixed route service is available.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

Alternatives to building more parking are often overlooked, incl. things like valet parking which are cheaper and typically not controversial.

It's generally better to make alternatives to driving alone safe and convenient than to build more parking.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

100% agreed - good parking policy aims to meet a diverse set of needs. Local context and a clear problem definition are paramount.

Qs like: Can people who would walk, bike, roll, take transit actually do that easily? Is there a way to pay them their share of the subsidy provided to drivers?

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

"You are very intelligent and good, but not as intelligent and good as my social media sources!"

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

Woah!! Lots of thoughts on this but 1) So many people mistakenly equate a hospital trip with driving

2) Hospital decision-makers are not well-versed in transportation policies. Local gov't can help with incentives for good policy (e.g. transportation fee discount for policies reducing VMTs)

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 1d

Klein's self-reflection seems to be based on how many people disagree with him.

But the thing is, a majority of voters can be mistaken. And it doesn't take many to realize their mistake to change an electoral outcome. No deep exercise about who and where to draw moral lines needed.

Reposted by Ariel Méndez

cyclesixmile @cyclesixmile.bsky.social · 2d

The city of Rochester, NY, just as an example, one of the snowiest "big" cities in the country, clears all city sidewalks (878mi) using private contractors after every snowfall of 4"+ using a property tax embellishment fee based on property frontage. It is possible for cities to do this.

Scared Bootecki (but really Jared Rutecki) 🎃 @jaredrutecki.bsky.social · 2d

A scaled-back effort to test the ability of city crews to clear not just Chicago’s roads but also its sidewalks of snow and ice during winter storms was rejected by a joint session of two City Council committees.

Key Panel Rejects Scaled-Back Effort to Have City Crews Clear Sidewalks of Snow and Ice

Even though Chicago’s 2025 budget included $500,000 for the program, the effort will not move forward after the City Council’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, meeting in a joint session with ...

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 2d

Which platform helped make this happen? Pretty sure it wasn't Bsky... I'm guessing Insta?

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 2d

I first thought you were posting about the Benson Boone Bike Bus! I was wondering what platform people tagged Benson Boone on - probably Insta as well!

Not sure Bsky will ever play that kind of role but maybe that's ok!

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 2d

Well this is a great way to start the week!

coachbalto.bsky.social @coachbalto.bsky.social · 2d

To the millions of people who tagged Benson Boone to join our #BikeBus, thank you. You helped make something truly magical happen.

To #BensonBoone and his team, your energy and kindness gave our kids and community a memory we’ll never forget. 💛

Learn more about the movement at BikeBusWorld.org

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 2d

Increasing electric costs? Thank a Big Tech data center.

Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 2d

$16 billion. That's how much the PJM market monitor estimates that electricity ratepayers will pay via increased utility bills to subsidize interconnection of data centers owned by Big Tech. A massive give-away to some of the most profitable companies in the world.

www.eenews.net/articles/dat...

Data center boom sparks sticker shock for PJM ratepayers

New analyses show that costs passed on to utility customers to guarantee future electricity demand are rising rapidly.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 3d

Another “Kavanaugh Stop”

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 3d

"[A]gents engulfed my car in tear gas, smashed my driver-side window, and pepper-sprayed my face.... I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. No explanation. No charges. No apology. One day, I was just told, 'you’re free to go.'" #KavanaughStop

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 3d

It was so good to get together with people of all ages for a community tour of new bike infrastructure #inBend on Friday afternoon.

We have 60 days to go until Dec 4, 2025 when it will be a full 12 months since the last fatal crash on a public roadway in Bend.

A group of people on bikes gather at a construction site in Bend, OR to hear a staff person speak. Traffic signals are visible overhead, as is the white-striped pedestrian and green-striped bike crossings. A blue sky fringed with white clouds is visible above.

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 3d

Yes! I remember seeing BTTF3 in the theater and when the train went over the cliff the kid sitting next to me leaned over and said, “This oughta be good.”

And it was!

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 3d

“Do you think, in retrospect, this was a wise idea?”

Just say, “No, no I do not.”

Reposted by Ariel Méndez

Alex Baumhardt @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social · 4d

Motion granted. Guard blocked from activation in Portland. Story to come @oregoncapitalchronicle.com

Alex Baumhardt @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social · 4d

Cannot believe we are still waiting for Judge Immergut to make a decision here. Especially given what we heard in court yesterday. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/03/f...

Ariel Méndez @amendez.bsky.social · 4d

I can relate! My phone is full of infrastructure photos 😝

Reposted by Ariel Méndez

Goldeen "Rhondi" Ogawa @goldeenogawa.com · 4d

My mother said I had to post this and tag #bikesky and @thewaroncars.bsky.social and @amendez.bsky.social

The price we pay to accommodate cars is huge. Literally.

A cartood of a cyclist riding on a path above a parking lot filled with cars as far as the artist could stand to draw them. Handwritten text reads: "Yesterday I rode to "Car Island" It is accessible now thanks to a dedicated bike/ped path. But still… … it is mostly parking lot, covered in cars. GO 10.2.25