Forget the old woman who lived in a shoe: A Michigander in her mid-thirties made a home in a Family Fare supermarket sign for nearly a year, local outlet MLive reported. The unnamed woman lived rent-free and went unnoticed by shoppers and workers until a construction crew working on repairs to the building’s roof stumbled upon her humble abode two weeks ago, Midland Police Officer Brennon Warren told the outlet. “She essentially made it home,” Warren said, describing how officers discovered a cozy apartment complete with desk, houseplant, computer printer, coffeemaker, and a cubbyhole of food. It’s unclear why and how the woman chose to build her nest there; police said she’s employed and turned down housing assistance when offered. When she was discovered, some of the store workers said they recognized her from around the property and that she occasionally seemed to vanish into thin air. They now have a new name for the legendary eave-dweller: “The Roof Ninja.” Authorities and Family Fare are working to help her find a new home.
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
North America is wierd when it comes to transportation. It’s important to remember when reading things about #urbanism and #mobility that American baselines about how things work are not the same as yours.
Filing this one away for the next time I hear someone say “you could never fit LRT on this street!” (side note: #Brussels has a brilliant tram system). #transit#urbanism#cities
How To Start Strengthening Your Town With Incremental Development
Will Gardner May 6, 2024
"...And incremental doesn’t have to mean slow. Incremental growth is potentially the fastest way to grow housing stock, revitalize downtown areas and fill town coffers. Large greenfield projects, despite their promise of hundreds or thousands of housing units, take years of work to come to fruition — usually with large political fights along the way. These are large, often long-shot bets that may not come through... Conversely, small infill projects can be initiated in a matter of weeks and months. As these projects happen, they attract further attention and resources to the town and create momentum for growth..."
Small infill includes accessory dwelling units, too - so called "granny flats" and remodeled garages or outbuildings. These could easily create a lot of new affordable housing.
@nerd4cities Nebula is great, but my subscription is coming to an end soon and I would love to see you start posting to PeerTube. Even if it’s a delayed option, I am generally happy to wait.
Please consider making https://urbanists.video your home for videos on the Fediverse. My dollar or two a month via Patreon is just a drop in the bucket, but I’m confident I’m not the only person who prioritize support for those who repost to PeerTube
My student (8 years old) is thinking of “bad ideas that sound good” (we’re working on ideas for that and “good ideas that sound bad” (controlled burns for forest fires).
After watching the latest, excellent @notjustbikes video about the introduction of even more 30 km/h streets in Amsterdam, this one by Chris Cox from Brisbane, feels like it could be an addendum.
The Brisbane Times reporter Felicity Caldwell is a legend.
So the RTA's own modelling showed the Rozelle Interchange would be a traffic disaster—but generating more toll road trips for Transurban was more important.
"The [NSW Roads and Traffic Authority] finalised the first business case for the WestConnex tunnel project in June 2013, with the help of road designers from around the world.
"[Paul Forward, a former CEO of the RTA] said the initial concept did not include the Rozelle Interchange.
...
"In 2014, an expert review group was formed to assess these plans.
"Mr Forward said it was at this point that TfNSW bureaucrats began to question the connectivity provided by the design.
"The RTA's former director of traffic Chris Ford told the inquiry that 15 alternative designs were modelled.
"Mr Ford said the modelling found that another motorway leading to the Anzac Bridge would cause congestion.
"'The issues that we see today were very clearly established in the modelling in 2014,' he said.
"In November 2015, after Mr Forward and Mr Ford were dismissed, TfNSW updated the WestConnex business case to include the tunnel to the Anzac Bridge, despite the congestion concerns raised by the modelling.
"In 2016, Transport for NSW updated the business case a second time ... creating a tunnel linking the Iron Cove Bridge to the Anzac Bridge."
...
"In 2018, the NSW government sold its 51 per cent stake in the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the body responsible for operating WestConnex, to Transurban for $9 billion.
"Mr Forward said the final design would generate a larger number of toll trips than previous options."
13 #European mayors wrote the Financial Times to highlight the worrying trends of central governments restricting local authorities from setting speed limits.
"National policies like there, based not on science but political expediency, harm the ability of local authorities to take decisions on improving the safety and health of their citizens.
A modest proposal for keeping people outside of #cars alive by Dan Marshall @streetsmn
"I’d start with installing Great Big #Bollards at all bus shelters. The fact that we don’t protect #transit shelters tells us everything we need to know about modern American morality... Streetlights, signs and stoplights are all built w breakaway bolts to protect drivers and minimize vehicle damage when hit"
This week I enjoyed the interviews with Hazel Weakley and Melinda French Gates.
For some reason, I also have a few clubbing related links. If you like electronic music and play around with it yourself, I recommend the podcast with Alex McLean about live coding.
The first meeting tonight intersecting urban growth with historic preservation was filled with angry uninformed people blurting out half baked rants. The meeting right after across town on the same topic was filled with insightful and curious people asking thoughtful questions about growth strategies. Guess which meeting had the NIMBYs? #Urbanism#Housing#Preservation#Petaluma
Housing isn't meant to be affordable
Michel Durand-Wood April 25, 2024
"...According to data from the US Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, indexed home prices in the US are 88.1% higher than they were in 2005, near the peak of the “housing bubble,” making it the second highest of the G7 countries. [Literature fans will recognize that as “foreshadowing.”]
...Turns out that a return to Victorian-era practices of locking out an entire class of people from land ownership tends to lead to civil unrest and revolt...
...We’re screwed if housing prices keep going up. We’re also screwed if they go down. That’s the trap..."
> The thing about the signals being removed is that the driver is no longer being given a green light. And what the green light does is to communicate to the driver that you’ve got priority here – you should be going ahead and you should be angry if grandma is on the road in front of you.