Alex Contreras 🍉
@alexbikes.bsky.social
Your local housing & transportation policy expert. Working to end freeway expansions in CA. Trans rights are human rights. They/Them.
Pinned
Alex Contreras 🍉
@alexbikes.bsky.social
· Nov 21
Re-introducing myself 👋🏼 I'm a transit/housing advocate working to end freeway expansions in CA. Transit policy, is housing policy, is climate policy. As a zoning & building design reform missionary, I love Georgism, yet I despise the Georgists. Based in Oakland, biking thru SoCal, fck John Fischer 🤟🏼
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
Melrose was supposed to undergo a complete streets makeover from Highland to Fairfax that would have installed stormwater gardens to mitigate flooding, among other critical safety improvements. The previous councilmember killed the project
February 16, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Melrose was supposed to undergo a complete streets makeover from Highland to Fairfax that would have installed stormwater gardens to mitigate flooding, among other critical safety improvements. The previous councilmember killed the project
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
Then why did BART have a Board meeting last week where staff had to explain potential processes for closing the system and filing for bankruptcy?
I refuse to sit back and watch the climate crisis destroy our planet.
California will keep showing up, pushing forward, and proving that a safer, more sustainable world is possible.
California will keep showing up, pushing forward, and proving that a safer, more sustainable world is possible.
February 16, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Then why did BART have a Board meeting last week where staff had to explain potential processes for closing the system and filing for bankruptcy?
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
I-80 to the Bay Area is completely closed. Heres a photo i took flying by it on Amtrak, sipping on a bev and reclined in my socks.
So much for the superiority and freedom of automobiles and freeways. If only there was a lesson here for planners.
So much for the superiority and freedom of automobiles and freeways. If only there was a lesson here for planners.
February 16, 2026 at 7:43 PM
I-80 to the Bay Area is completely closed. Heres a photo i took flying by it on Amtrak, sipping on a bev and reclined in my socks.
So much for the superiority and freedom of automobiles and freeways. If only there was a lesson here for planners.
So much for the superiority and freedom of automobiles and freeways. If only there was a lesson here for planners.
Pacific Surfliner is stuck at Union Station and I've never seen something like this before. Rain is leaking through the entire observation car. "When it rains it pours.", the conductor said.
February 16, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Pacific Surfliner is stuck at Union Station and I've never seen something like this before. Rain is leaking through the entire observation car. "When it rains it pours.", the conductor said.
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
how does someone mow down a family of four, blame the car (no issue was found), transfer real estate to Nevada LLCs to avoid compensating the victims' families, and then walk away with nothing more than probation?
Do YOU have an aging friend/relative who should stop driving? Tell them this story from San Francisco. Ask how they will feel if they kill an entire family.
But don't tell them that even then, they'll be forgiven and be able to drive again.
This verdict is obscene.
www.ktvu.com/news/woman-a...
But don't tell them that even then, they'll be forgiven and be able to drive again.
This verdict is obscene.
www.ktvu.com/news/woman-a...
Woman accused of wiping out entire family in San Francisco crash likely won't get prison time
An 80-year-old woman accused of driving at a high rate of speed and crashing into a family of four, killing them, at a San Francisco bus stop nearly two years ago, appeared in court on Friday. Mary Fo...
www.ktvu.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:32 PM
how does someone mow down a family of four, blame the car (no issue was found), transfer real estate to Nevada LLCs to avoid compensating the victims' families, and then walk away with nothing more than probation?
I did unfortunately see the "why can't we convert warehouses into housing instead of concentration camps" tweet. Everyone's response to it is exactly why I don't argue with people online.
February 15, 2026 at 11:31 PM
I did unfortunately see the "why can't we convert warehouses into housing instead of concentration camps" tweet. Everyone's response to it is exactly why I don't argue with people online.
God dammit LA. less car more buses please.
February 15, 2026 at 7:55 PM
God dammit LA. less car more buses please.
My sister said do not worry about finding a romantic partner for Valentine's. Be more concerned about finding an op. There is no greater motivator than having an op.
February 14, 2026 at 3:10 AM
My sister said do not worry about finding a romantic partner for Valentine's. Be more concerned about finding an op. There is no greater motivator than having an op.
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
if you're not completely fatigued by Minneapolis articles, I'm proud of how my friend and I represented our community here
"Maybe all we do is frustrate," Star said. "Give someone one more day with their daughter or their dad.
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
"But if you lost your dad, or you lost your daughter, you would give anything to have one more day with them. And that’s what we can do.”
My latest for Slate
Activists Are Fighting ICE Even Though It Could Get Them Killed. Here’s Why.
ICE is still trying to subjugate Minneapolis. It's still failing.
slate.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:50 AM
if you're not completely fatigued by Minneapolis articles, I'm proud of how my friend and I represented our community here
Idk what we have to do as a society but smoking on trains is absolutely unacceptable.
February 12, 2026 at 3:12 AM
Idk what we have to do as a society but smoking on trains is absolutely unacceptable.
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
One single local BRT line in Oakland (AC Transit Tempo) serves more riders than the entire VTA Light Rail system, and has a Cost Effectiveness that rivals our top *regional* transit services
Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
February 9, 2026 at 10:25 PM
One single local BRT line in Oakland (AC Transit Tempo) serves more riders than the entire VTA Light Rail system, and has a Cost Effectiveness that rivals our top *regional* transit services
Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
A backgrounder is someone who conducts background checks.
Bloomington police announce arrests in sex trafficking bust: "Rashad Johnson out of Maple Grove. This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies."
February 10, 2026 at 9:40 PM
A backgrounder is someone who conducts background checks.
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
Dumb-dumb question:
When a driver kills a bicyclist by hitting them from behind, why is it not standard practice to check the data use of the driver's phone at the time of the crash?
When a driver kills a bicyclist by hitting them from behind, why is it not standard practice to check the data use of the driver's phone at the time of the crash?
February 10, 2026 at 11:32 PM
Dumb-dumb question:
When a driver kills a bicyclist by hitting them from behind, why is it not standard practice to check the data use of the driver's phone at the time of the crash?
When a driver kills a bicyclist by hitting them from behind, why is it not standard practice to check the data use of the driver's phone at the time of the crash?
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
Big research effort from @ternerhousing.bsky.social showing that California's byzantine process for financing low-income housing is a major outlier nationally that delays new affordable developments and makes them more expensive to build ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/the-cos...
The Cost of Fragmentation: A Comparison of State Affordable Housing Finance Governance Systems - Terner Center
To finance and build affordable housing, developers across the United States need to assemble multiple funding sources at the federal, state, and local levels. Public funding sources can be administer...
ternercenter.berkeley.edu
February 10, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Big research effort from @ternerhousing.bsky.social showing that California's byzantine process for financing low-income housing is a major outlier nationally that delays new affordable developments and makes them more expensive to build ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/the-cos...
Not a single word, I love that man 🥰
I hope Bad Bunny doesn't speak a lick of English tomorrow
February 9, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Not a single word, I love that man 🥰
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
Downtown Atlanta: 1919 versus 2022. Ouch!
February 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Downtown Atlanta: 1919 versus 2022. Ouch!
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
This is why I moved off Substack to Ghost. The Nazis will migrate to any big platform but when a platform actively promotes them, that is a choice
for the terminally online this is *far* from a revalation and also, i *really* hope that it will push more people to jump to another platform. there are places that will help you migrate your newsletter and don't profit off hate speech.
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:24 PM
This is why I moved off Substack to Ghost. The Nazis will migrate to any big platform but when a platform actively promotes them, that is a choice
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
jfc
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:26 AM
jfc
I hope Bad Bunny doesn't speak a lick of English tomorrow
February 8, 2026 at 6:34 AM
I hope Bad Bunny doesn't speak a lick of English tomorrow
People who vape and blow smoke into the crowd should be jailed 😤
a man in a military uniform stands at a podium in front of a group of people
ALT: a man in a military uniform stands at a podium in front of a group of people
media.tenor.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:45 AM
People who vape and blow smoke into the crowd should be jailed 😤
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
New — I spoke to eight people who were present at the ICE protest on Saturday in Portland, Oregon when federal agents deployed tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of families, children, elderly and disabled people, and their pets.
These are their stories:
These are their stories:
What it's like to see ICE tear gas kids
Attendees at a Portland, OR protest describe a vicious, unprovoked and sudden attack
www.thehandbasket.co
February 3, 2026 at 1:25 AM
New — I spoke to eight people who were present at the ICE protest on Saturday in Portland, Oregon when federal agents deployed tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of families, children, elderly and disabled people, and their pets.
These are their stories:
These are their stories:
Reposted by Alex Contreras 🍉
I'm going to take this clear hallucination from Google's AI as a sign that....
It is absurd that Matt Mahan didn't actually endorse sb79, he should have.
Pictured, hallucination and irrelevant linked "evidence" it relied on.
It is absurd that Matt Mahan didn't actually endorse sb79, he should have.
Pictured, hallucination and irrelevant linked "evidence" it relied on.
February 3, 2026 at 4:46 PM
I'm going to take this clear hallucination from Google's AI as a sign that....
It is absurd that Matt Mahan didn't actually endorse sb79, he should have.
Pictured, hallucination and irrelevant linked "evidence" it relied on.
It is absurd that Matt Mahan didn't actually endorse sb79, he should have.
Pictured, hallucination and irrelevant linked "evidence" it relied on.
I fucking hate SharePoint. It is not easy to share.
February 3, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I fucking hate SharePoint. It is not easy to share.
First bike ride of the year was from the train station to my home. I am so back bby.
February 2, 2026 at 4:35 AM
First bike ride of the year was from the train station to my home. I am so back bby.
Just found out that Emily Bronte died at 30 from tuberculosis, am I glad to be born during a time when vaccines exist cause what in the hell
February 2, 2026 at 12:08 AM
Just found out that Emily Bronte died at 30 from tuberculosis, am I glad to be born during a time when vaccines exist cause what in the hell