Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 39m

The speed of the setup is what really strikes me. They just… decided to do it. What an exceptional system TfL is.

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

First draft for provincial boundaries in America 2 just dropped

William Hazen @williamhazen.bsky.social · 2d

This is the most accurate depiction of the Midwest to date. Wichita has always felt like the last Midwest city while also being the first plains city.

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

Every way including Halsted itself this close to the Loop has a lot of cars but a little further east gets you a little more peace from them.

All this stems from the Loop’s streets being a motor vehicle distribution system that should be ripped up root and stem and rebuilt as a real city center

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

Franklin is loud, but I like walking by the L tracks. Over to Wells once it ended, the trek through Old Town is lovely. Fair ways to get back to Halsted at this point, but if you’re on a 7km journey north on foot you’re not exactly optimizing for the fastest time

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

Screwing around day by day to find a better route north, sticking east of the Halsted detour. The shortest route seems to be Kingsbury, but I don’t love it down by the Loop there. Perhaps further east, if you’ve the time to spare.

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 4d

Chicago Ave is closed for the Halsted detour. You have to take *pause for swearing* Elston all the way to Division before you can get back to Halsted if you get stuck on the west side of it.

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

I don’t follow discourse about the platform itself. Please deliver a note to my desk when it’s time to go to Mastodon. Thank you for your attention to this matter

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 1d

Calling myself a moderate because I merely plan to push it over on its side so the wheels turn uselessly

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Reposted by Sage

Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 2d

Painted bike lane became wide sidewalk.

Redundant car lane became curb-separated bike lane.

We need to be making 100 small improvements like this per year for decades to get our cities to where they need to be.

EmmanuelSPV @emmanuelspv.bsky.social · 2d

Before (2024) / After (2025) under the aerial subway near Jaurès, Paris 19. The old general traffic lane with a painted strip for bikes became a full bike lane, closed to cars. As it need less space, the sidewalk was widened. Now people walk here, before that, it was a a dead-end trap for them.

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 2d

I gotta get a bike just to do the cool bike events

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 2d

Retesting, too. Haven’t driven since 2021, it’s weird that I could just pick up a much more powerful, heavier vehicle at any time

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 2d

Helmet good in case a passing fed is casually firing less lethals around

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 2d

How many feds will slip on unplowed sidewalks

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 3d

If you’re not a huge dork, a little context — the 1000 series buses are quite old. The CTA claims a bus’ useful service life is ~14 years; the last 1000 series was delivered in 2009. Our agencies are very crafty and that’s good, but you shouldn’t have to ride a museum exhibit to work.

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 3d

**Up to almost half of the 1000 series, at least. Not a lot of ambition here.

Excerpt from IDOT transportation 2025-2030 plan:

Chicago Transit
Purchase Buses - Options Up to 500. The 1000 series New Flyer buses make up approximately 55% of the CTA’s bus fleet. The fleet series replacement is expected to begin with a share of the base order (100 diesel buses) to be followed by future orders through 2030. The scope of this project will include the engineering, purchase and inspection of fully accessible, air-conditioned Clean Diesel buses, including procurement of a spare parts inventory. Engineering includes development of specifications, pre-bid engineering meetings, onsite inspections of prospective budders and/or their vendors’ plants, inspection of buses during production, and acceptance of vehicles after delivery.

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 3d

Proposed IDOT plan includes finally replacing the 1000 series buses. Interestingly, the order intends to get more diesel buses, which would have a service life after 2040, past CTA’s stated deadline to have a 100% electric fleet.

public.powerdms.com

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 4d

Disband the national guard

Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 4d

Civilization! I am returned from my odyssey 🤤

Footpath on Dayton, a tree shaded street quite close to Halsted

Some lovely housing on Dayton, partially obscured by cars and trees

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 4d

And you’ll want to take Division because walking along Elston is a hellscape I wouldn’t wish on anyone

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Sage @sagelikescities.bsky.social · 4d

Chicago Ave is closed for the Halsted detour. You have to take *pause for swearing* Elston all the way to Division before you can get back to Halsted if you get stuck on the west side of it.