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The Ranty Highwayman

@rantyhighwayman.bsky.social

5.6K followers 930 following 7.4K posts

A highway engineer's adventures in time & space. The street is not too narrow your imagination is too narrow | Independent sustainable mobility design specialist | Better streets & places | Runs @cityinfinity.bsky.social | https://linktr.ee/rantyhighwayman

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · Oct 18

#HelloBluesky, I'm Mark, a civil & highway engineer with nearly 30 years experience, with the last decade as a specialist in sustainable mobility design. I'm a freelancer at @cityinfinity.bsky.social.

I post about highways & transport, often with Opinions.

Also homebrewing, silly films and snark.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 4h

I'm leaving it there.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 4h

Come on. You didn't mention any of that in your first post, you just said they were a prick.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 4h

Even on that image I'm seeing defects; joggers often use the road because it's smooth; we just don't surface footways to the same quality unfortunately.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 5h

As many as they show I will, but not all at once!

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 5h

I see the "it was humour" defence has been deployed *rolls eyes*.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 6h

I had an uncomfortable conversation with someone who asked me to speak (remotely) to the CIHT UAE branch and where I said no because of both of obvious and what's happened to many labourers there. Very easy decision.

Reposted by The Ranty Highwayman

Scarred For Life @scarredforlife.bsky.social · 6h

Two days to go! Join Dave, Andy and John Thomson, and share your scars with the podcast gang!

Scarred For Life @scarredforlife.bsky.social · 4d

The Scarred For Life live podcast is a mere 6 days away! Join our Dave, Andy Bush, and producer Dane at @CPXMCR next Friday, with their special guest, the brilliant John Thomson!

Tickets: cultplex.co.uk/Cultplex.dll/WhatsOn?f=761022

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 6h

😂

Reposted by The Ranty Highwayman

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 12h

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 7h

TBH i'd ban it for over 60s first.

Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 15h

🚨🚨 #Denmark aims to ban #socialmedia for children under 15. PM Mette Frederiksen says "We have unleashed a monster" to Danish lawmakers. 🧵https://www.politico.eu/article/denmark-mette-frederiksen-partially-ban-social-media-children-under-15/

Denmark aims to ban social media for children under 15, PM says

“We have unleashed a monster,” Mette Frederiksen tells Danish lawmakers.

www.politico.eu

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 6h

Gradually working my way through London's Burning from the start (don't worry, this is not going to be a thread).

The action sequences are still astonishing watching today.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 6h

And anyway, the bigger prick is the local authority which has painted narrow lanes on a 40mph road and expects people to feel safe.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 6h

Looking at the state of that footway, I can see why.

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 8h

If you had written this as a fake news headline a year ago, you would be called hysterical.

Reuters today. Fascism.

Reuters story headlines:

Trunp calls for jailing Democratic leaders as troops prepare for Chicago deployment

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 10h

When you could code silly quizzes on Facebook, it was FULL of "what would you be in medieval times?!" etc.

I made one that nearly always answered "died as a child", "died in childbirth", "lived and died as a servant"

People got SUPER mad with it.

Everyone assumes they'll be at the top of the tree

William Carruthers @williamcarruthers.bsky.social · 11h

The subtext of ‘we should be more like Dubai’, beyond the obvious racism, is ‘I should have a servant’.

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Alistair Coleman @alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 8h

This is, Nick, how long-established international copyright laws work, I’m afraid.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Reposted by The Ranty Highwayman

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 8h

My secret evil plot to ‘destroy Britain’ has been unveiled by (checks notes) the same paper that endorsed Liz Truss.

If I don’t know better I’d say we’ve got them entirely rattled.

Join.greenparty.org.uk

Greens who want to save the world by destroying Britain.

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 7h

And we are reminded once again that Reform seem to hate everything about Britain.

They want us to be somewhere else, anywhere else but never the country they puport to love.

They are like creepy errant partners, forever eyeing up other potential mates.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 7h

For those who prefer the format of the original Ranty Highwayman blog, my work post on side road junction design is also there. It's the same piece of course!

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2025/10/what...

What makes side road junctions pedestrian-friendly?

Here is something a little unusual as I am cross-posting a blog post from my City Infinity website , because I think it needs as wide an aud...

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 7h

FWIW I did a deeper dive on my blog which was framing them against UK experience, especially as we have people here that calling something one makes it so!

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2023/05/cycl...

Cycle Streets

I have spoken about cycle streets at the Active Travel Cafe , but it's a subject I think is worth exploring long hand in a blog post. In fac...

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 7h

There are actually three slightly different typologies and lots of detail sitting behind them at the local design level and network organisational level.

I guess it is just the Dutch make it look effortless, although some of the new stuff in Amsterdam gives a user mixed experience.

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 8h

No pros. The con is maybe encourages people to get to close to the door zone!

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 10h

Technically, this is not a prescribed use of the marking - if it is floating alone, it should be for wayfinding with a route number, although having it alone is, I guess, trying to sort of do that.

I know it is often used like this, but it has no real value IMO.

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BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 1d

“You described Reform and other parties across Europe today as among the 'right wing equivalents of the fascists in the 1930s'. Why?”

“Because that’s what they are”

@vicderbyshire.bsky.social asks Lord Heseltine about remarks he made at Conservative Party Conference.

#Newsnight

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 10h

Evergreen.

Hourly Simpsons @hourlysimpsons.bagpuss.org · 10h

[ Screaming ]
17:01
S11E13 Saddlesore Galactica (BABF09) 06/02/2000