Make driving suck less
@drivingsucks.bsky.social
Philly / obsessed with how cities actually work. Writing about Philly's streets and how to make getting around suck less. Data > vibes, but metaphors > jargon. Building cities where anyone can thrive without needing a $40k metal box to participate.
Pinned
Make Driving Suck Less | Substack
A practical guide to making Philadelphia's streets work better for everyone - yes, even drivers. Click to read Make Driving Suck Less, a Substack publication. Launched a month ago.
makedrivingsuckless.com
Giving it the ol’ pin-post to get that sweet plug on the board
makedrivingsuckless.com
makedrivingsuckless.com
why are septa buses the quietest motorized vehicles on the road
July 2, 2025 at 9:55 PM
why are septa buses the quietest motorized vehicles on the road
To the FOPS fops, have we considered offering modal filtering?
Shut down Pine and Spruce as thru streets for cars, so they don’t need to worry about blocking the car travel lane?
Could even put the bike lane down the middle so they wouldn’t need to fear death by bike
Shut down Pine and Spruce as thru streets for cars, so they don’t need to worry about blocking the car travel lane?
Could even put the bike lane down the middle so they wouldn’t need to fear death by bike
June 6, 2025 at 11:12 PM
To the FOPS fops, have we considered offering modal filtering?
Shut down Pine and Spruce as thru streets for cars, so they don’t need to worry about blocking the car travel lane?
Could even put the bike lane down the middle so they wouldn’t need to fear death by bike
Shut down Pine and Spruce as thru streets for cars, so they don’t need to worry about blocking the car travel lane?
Could even put the bike lane down the middle so they wouldn’t need to fear death by bike
Hey now, exactly what Angelo’s should be doing 😍🥳
It's #TransitTuesday! Flash your SEPTA Key card at Federal Donuts 🐔 for a 12oz. coffee ☕ for JUST $1 (+ appl. tax): wwww.septa.org/perks/federa...! #ISEPTAPHILLY #HowWeRoll
June 3, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Hey now, exactly what Angelo’s should be doing 😍🥳
When you're stuck in traffic, think of me
May 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
When you're stuck in traffic, think of me
Density is the solution for traffic, actually
May 17, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Density is the solution for traffic, actually
“They call me Claritin *D* because the benefits of *deez* policies can’t get any clearer”
Call it decongestion pricing.
NYC’s congestion pricing is a policy miracle: Less traffic, less noise, faster transit, more business sales, more transit revenue. And it hasn’t produced the negative effects outside the cordon zone we were afraid of.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
May 12, 2025 at 2:23 PM
“They call me Claritin *D* because the benefits of *deez* policies can’t get any clearer”
Reposted by Make driving suck less
Philadelphia's desirability keeps increasing. It's very hard to imagine that long term the best use of its central waterfront is a major highway with existing alternative routes.
May 12, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Philadelphia's desirability keeps increasing. It's very hard to imagine that long term the best use of its central waterfront is a major highway with existing alternative routes.
Picture this: a world with cargo bikes instead of delivery trucks
That’s it, that’s the tweet
That’s it, that’s the tweet
May 5, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Picture this: a world with cargo bikes instead of delivery trucks
That’s it, that’s the tweet
That’s it, that’s the tweet
May 5, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Anyone have a list of Philly CM blue sky accounts? Search is killing me tbh
May 2, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Anyone have a list of Philly CM blue sky accounts? Search is killing me tbh
Reposted by Make driving suck less
its spreading! huge news, cant wait to see it in more places and maybe made to be full time instead of just 1 day every so often.
Open Streets is expanding into Midtown Village! Mark your calendars to join us for four Sundays from June 8 to June 29, where you can shop, dine, and stroll through one of Center City's vibrant neighborhoods.
Details➡️ bit.ly/4jYmyxq
Details➡️ bit.ly/4jYmyxq
May 1, 2025 at 6:16 PM
its spreading! huge news, cant wait to see it in more places and maybe made to be full time instead of just 1 day every so often.
Reposted by Make driving suck less
Wrote about this many years ago on Twitter, but your actual goal should be 5 trains/buses an hour - so a 12 minute interval.
This breaks a couple of important psychological barriers for people, based on research by TfL (London's transport operator). Will explain. 🧵 /1
This breaks a couple of important psychological barriers for people, based on research by TfL (London's transport operator). Will explain. 🧵 /1
If it’s not more convenient than driving, it will always be your second option.
May 1, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Wrote about this many years ago on Twitter, but your actual goal should be 5 trains/buses an hour - so a 12 minute interval.
This breaks a couple of important psychological barriers for people, based on research by TfL (London's transport operator). Will explain. 🧵 /1
This breaks a couple of important psychological barriers for people, based on research by TfL (London's transport operator). Will explain. 🧵 /1
I'm ..still going on about LVT. And the People's Budget.
If anyone has the ear of folks in CM KB's office or API PA, have them give it a look.
I am very pro-A-Budget-For-The-People, but it's gotta be one that.. actually is for the people.
If anyone has the ear of folks in CM KB's office or API PA, have them give it a look.
I am very pro-A-Budget-For-The-People, but it's gotta be one that.. actually is for the people.
Why the "People's Budget" Misses the Mark: The Case for Land Value Tax Over Wealth Taxes
National wealth tax? Hell yeah. City wealth tax? Too easy to get around.
open.substack.com
April 30, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I'm ..still going on about LVT. And the People's Budget.
If anyone has the ear of folks in CM KB's office or API PA, have them give it a look.
I am very pro-A-Budget-For-The-People, but it's gotta be one that.. actually is for the people.
If anyone has the ear of folks in CM KB's office or API PA, have them give it a look.
I am very pro-A-Budget-For-The-People, but it's gotta be one that.. actually is for the people.
..has anyone told CM Brooks about LVT yet
A wealth tax will only hurt Philly residents, not help the city, and continue to let nonresidents exploit the city while extracting its wealth
#LVT #theRealPeoplesBudget
ajustphiladelphia.org
A wealth tax will only hurt Philly residents, not help the city, and continue to let nonresidents exploit the city while extracting its wealth
#LVT #theRealPeoplesBudget
ajustphiladelphia.org
Be About Us: A People's Budget for Philly - Alliance for a Just Philadelphia
On March 13th, Mayor Parker announced her budget proposal for the City with a dangerous plan to cut business taxes and let the largest corporations off the hook for paying what they owe, while increas...
ajustphiladelphia.org
April 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
..has anyone told CM Brooks about LVT yet
A wealth tax will only hurt Philly residents, not help the city, and continue to let nonresidents exploit the city while extracting its wealth
#LVT #theRealPeoplesBudget
ajustphiladelphia.org
A wealth tax will only hurt Philly residents, not help the city, and continue to let nonresidents exploit the city while extracting its wealth
#LVT #theRealPeoplesBudget
ajustphiladelphia.org
TIL Philly has an amusement tax? “Why is it so hard for artists and venues to thrive in Philly I don’t get it!!” 🙄
Yes, this relates to driving and urban design
(Tax on events = higher price = prioritize rich suburbanites = parking lots, among other things)
www.phila.gov/services/bus...
Yes, this relates to driving and urban design
(Tax on events = higher price = prioritize rich suburbanites = parking lots, among other things)
www.phila.gov/services/bus...
Amusement Tax | Services
Information about taxes that are imposed on admission fees for attending any amusement in Philadelphia.
www.phila.gov
April 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
TIL Philly has an amusement tax? “Why is it so hard for artists and venues to thrive in Philly I don’t get it!!” 🙄
Yes, this relates to driving and urban design
(Tax on events = higher price = prioritize rich suburbanites = parking lots, among other things)
www.phila.gov/services/bus...
Yes, this relates to driving and urban design
(Tax on events = higher price = prioritize rich suburbanites = parking lots, among other things)
www.phila.gov/services/bus...
Reposted by Make driving suck less
“We think this is a great pilot program and put us in a position to make sure that young people are traveling to and from school in the safest possible way”
Thank you for your leadership @cmthomasphl.bsky.social
Thank you for your leadership @cmthomasphl.bsky.social
Council passes legislation for speed cameras in Philly school zones
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to bring automated speed cameras to school zones across Philadelphia.
www.phillytrib.com
April 25, 2025 at 12:57 PM
“We think this is a great pilot program and put us in a position to make sure that young people are traveling to and from school in the safest possible way”
Thank you for your leadership @cmthomasphl.bsky.social
Thank you for your leadership @cmthomasphl.bsky.social
Might be a hot take here, but if you think you have to drive over the flex posts to park, you’re the asshole
April 23, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Might be a hot take here, but if you think you have to drive over the flex posts to park, you’re the asshole
With the Angelo’s article in Inky, I'm noodling (ha, except they do pizza, not pasta) on some ideas for a vision for Angelo’s. All ideas being thrown around that operate in the system as it is really don’t feel great to me. So here's a thread
April 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
With the Angelo’s article in Inky, I'm noodling (ha, except they do pizza, not pasta) on some ideas for a vision for Angelo’s. All ideas being thrown around that operate in the system as it is really don’t feel great to me. So here's a thread
If your argument against bike infrastructure is “I drive because I have to”—exactly. The goal is that you won’t have to.
Obviously, there are plenty of socioeconomic reasons you currently have to—but those should be solved *also*, not *instead*.
Obviously, there are plenty of socioeconomic reasons you currently have to—but those should be solved *also*, not *instead*.
April 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
If your argument against bike infrastructure is “I drive because I have to”—exactly. The goal is that you won’t have to.
Obviously, there are plenty of socioeconomic reasons you currently have to—but those should be solved *also*, not *instead*.
Obviously, there are plenty of socioeconomic reasons you currently have to—but those should be solved *also*, not *instead*.
“The [LVT] hits keep coming, and they don’t stop coming” –Smash Mouth, 1999, true visionaries of a better world (and fiscal policy)
The Land Value Tax Revolution: How Philly Could Finance Its Future
Yes, yes—I'm still on my LVT bender.
open.substack.com
April 14, 2025 at 3:06 PM
“The [LVT] hits keep coming, and they don’t stop coming” –Smash Mouth, 1999, true visionaries of a better world (and fiscal policy)
I decided to look a bit more closely at what it would take to replace ALL Philly taxes with LVT (and thus shift financial burden towards landowners, particularly in wealthier parts of the city)
Here’s some napkin math:
Here’s some napkin math:
April 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I decided to look a bit more closely at what it would take to replace ALL Philly taxes with LVT (and thus shift financial burden towards landowners, particularly in wealthier parts of the city)
Here’s some napkin math:
Here’s some napkin math:
Just bumping a decades-old inquirer article about Harrisburg’s SEPTA funding conundrum is self-imposed
Lmk if I blinked and this changed
Lmk if I blinked and this changed
Roads not taken in funding SEPTA?
When Pennsylvania legislators complain that SEPTA already gets more state funding and less local funding than most transit agencies in the United States, they're right.
www.inquirer.com
April 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Just bumping a decades-old inquirer article about Harrisburg’s SEPTA funding conundrum is self-imposed
Lmk if I blinked and this changed
Lmk if I blinked and this changed
Hot toddy karate, how do we feel about the Substack AI-generated video voiceovers? 😵💫
April 9, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Hot toddy karate, how do we feel about the Substack AI-generated video voiceovers? 😵💫
We know what works: daylighting corners (30% fewer crashes), speed cameras (91% less speeding on Roosevelt), raised crosswalks.
What's blocking progress? Not money (well, not only money), but councilmanic prerogative.
Oslo, Helsinki—even Hoboken —didn't get to zero deaths with a patchwork approach
What's blocking progress? Not money (well, not only money), but councilmanic prerogative.
Oslo, Helsinki—even Hoboken —didn't get to zero deaths with a patchwork approach
Vision Zero in Practice: Small Changes That Save Lives
City council, a message from your constituents: get involved or get out of the way
open.substack.com
April 9, 2025 at 12:54 AM
We know what works: daylighting corners (30% fewer crashes), speed cameras (91% less speeding on Roosevelt), raised crosswalks.
What's blocking progress? Not money (well, not only money), but councilmanic prerogative.
Oslo, Helsinki—even Hoboken —didn't get to zero deaths with a patchwork approach
What's blocking progress? Not money (well, not only money), but councilmanic prerogative.
Oslo, Helsinki—even Hoboken —didn't get to zero deaths with a patchwork approach
Tetris and Frogger: fundamental lessons of urban design
April 7, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Tetris and Frogger: fundamental lessons of urban design