Carter Rubin
@carterrubin.com
Urban planner in Southern California working to transform transportation. Posting my way to a better world to walk, bike and roll. Talk to me about DOTs, MPOs, RTPs and SCSs. Day job at NRDC.
I remember this slide in Shoup’s lecture. He asked why doesn’t the line event connect the points?
Chapters 2-4 of the late, great UCLA Professor Donald Shoup’s book The High Cost of Free Parking exposed modern parking planning as pseudoscientific nonsense so thoroughly that many states and major cities have thrown out parking requirements entirely.
December 27, 2025 at 4:29 AM
I remember this slide in Shoup’s lecture. He asked why doesn’t the line event connect the points?
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Just about to take off from SFO to SAN and plane turned back to gate for weather
a young boy wearing glasses is sitting on a couch in front of a bookshelf .
ALT: a young boy wearing glasses is sitting on a couch in front of a bookshelf .
media.tenor.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Just about to take off from SFO to SAN and plane turned back to gate for weather
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Bald Mtn Napa, Napa County, CA
🗺38.4263, -122.4903 🧭113° ⛰1775 ft
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/1804
🗺38.4263, -122.4903 🧭113° ⛰1775 ft
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/1804
December 25, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Bald Mtn Napa, Napa County, CA
🗺38.4263, -122.4903 🧭113° ⛰1775 ft
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/1804
🗺38.4263, -122.4903 🧭113° ⛰1775 ft
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/1804
Reposted by Carter Rubin
we rented a chrysler pacifica for our trip down to see my folks after christmas and i now totally get why people like minivans. this thing rules.
December 25, 2025 at 12:45 AM
we rented a chrysler pacifica for our trip down to see my folks after christmas and i now totally get why people like minivans. this thing rules.
Reposted by Carter Rubin
The point I wish got emphasized more is that the big winners from congestion pricing are *people who urgently need to drive*. Because they are ones that travel times really matter for. I always thought that instead of congestion pricing it should be called "free streets" - free from other cars.
this is incredible stuff. most state DOTs would spend tens of billions on highway expansions to try and see numbers like this (that wouldn’t even pan out anyway thanks to induced demand lol)
December 23, 2025 at 3:10 PM
The point I wish got emphasized more is that the big winners from congestion pricing are *people who urgently need to drive*. Because they are ones that travel times really matter for. I always thought that instead of congestion pricing it should be called "free streets" - free from other cars.
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Millions of Californians don’t have access to a car — and our state budget needs to reflect that.
CCA Policy Advocate Sofia Rafikova joined 21 groups urging the Governor to invest in safe walking, biking, and e‑bike access in the 2026 budget.
Read more: ccair.org/activetransportbudgetletter/
CCA Policy Advocate Sofia Rafikova joined 21 groups urging the Governor to invest in safe walking, biking, and e‑bike access in the 2026 budget.
Read more: ccair.org/activetransportbudgetletter/
December 23, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Millions of Californians don’t have access to a car — and our state budget needs to reflect that.
CCA Policy Advocate Sofia Rafikova joined 21 groups urging the Governor to invest in safe walking, biking, and e‑bike access in the 2026 budget.
Read more: ccair.org/activetransportbudgetletter/
CCA Policy Advocate Sofia Rafikova joined 21 groups urging the Governor to invest in safe walking, biking, and e‑bike access in the 2026 budget.
Read more: ccair.org/activetransportbudgetletter/
Reposted by Carter Rubin
‘It’s Just Us’: The Firefighter, His Son and a Treacherous Choice
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Carter Rubin
I refuse to shut up about this: NYC started charging $9 to bring a car into our most transit-rich zone, the haters & trolls predicted doom, but traffic evaporated instantly and here’s Times Square tonite (even after the holiday tourists have left). For a better future, build transit & price driving!
January 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I refuse to shut up about this: NYC started charging $9 to bring a car into our most transit-rich zone, the haters & trolls predicted doom, but traffic evaporated instantly and here’s Times Square tonite (even after the holiday tourists have left). For a better future, build transit & price driving!
Reposted by Carter Rubin
This week the Westlands Water District board approved the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan to develop 21 GW of solar + 21 GW of batteries on 136,000 acres of the west Central Valley into solar farms, with over 400 miles of new transmission lines and substations. ☀️🔌💡 ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/2024020124/3
December 19, 2025 at 7:10 PM
This week the Westlands Water District board approved the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan to develop 21 GW of solar + 21 GW of batteries on 136,000 acres of the west Central Valley into solar farms, with over 400 miles of new transmission lines and substations. ☀️🔌💡 ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/2024020124/3
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Caveats apply, as this data is only through November, but so far, this year, 92% of the new power plants built in the U.S. have been solar/batteries/wind.
92%! In the year Trump tried to destroy clean energy!
More in this week's chart for @canarymedia.com:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
92%! In the year Trump tried to destroy clean energy!
More in this week's chart for @canarymedia.com:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
Chart: Clean energy remains dominant in the US — despite Trump
Trump spent much of 2025 boosting fossil fuels and blocking renewables, but 92% of new power additions through November were solar, wind, or batteries.
www.canarymedia.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Caveats apply, as this data is only through November, but so far, this year, 92% of the new power plants built in the U.S. have been solar/batteries/wind.
92%! In the year Trump tried to destroy clean energy!
More in this week's chart for @canarymedia.com:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
92%! In the year Trump tried to destroy clean energy!
More in this week's chart for @canarymedia.com:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Carter G. Woodson.
Woodson was born December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, 35 miles south of my home.
In my work as a historian, no historian’s example has served me better than Woodson’s. ...
Woodson was born December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, 35 miles south of my home.
In my work as a historian, no historian’s example has served me better than Woodson’s. ...
December 19, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Carter G. Woodson.
Woodson was born December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, 35 miles south of my home.
In my work as a historian, no historian’s example has served me better than Woodson’s. ...
Woodson was born December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, 35 miles south of my home.
In my work as a historian, no historian’s example has served me better than Woodson’s. ...
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Great partnership by Lime and @bikeleague.org showing how bicycle infrastructure gets more people riding and reduces incidents
Baltimore, Nashville, and Phoenix are all Bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities, showing that these effects are not just in the best cities for biking, but in any city
Baltimore, Nashville, and Phoenix are all Bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities, showing that these effects are not just in the best cities for biking, but in any city
December 18, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Great partnership by Lime and @bikeleague.org showing how bicycle infrastructure gets more people riding and reduces incidents
Baltimore, Nashville, and Phoenix are all Bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities, showing that these effects are not just in the best cities for biking, but in any city
Baltimore, Nashville, and Phoenix are all Bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities, showing that these effects are not just in the best cities for biking, but in any city
Reposted by Carter Rubin
LA City Bureau of Street Services stopped doing actual full street resurfacing, shifting to only “large asphalt repair”. The city is trying to avoid adding wheelchair access required during resurfacing. It’s ridiculous, counterproductive, and expensive!
December 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
LA City Bureau of Street Services stopped doing actual full street resurfacing, shifting to only “large asphalt repair”. The city is trying to avoid adding wheelchair access required during resurfacing. It’s ridiculous, counterproductive, and expensive!
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Luka Doncic gifts more than 100 e-bikes to Lakers players, staff
Luka Doncic gifts more than 100 e-bikes to Lakers players, staff
The Lakers superstar plays Santa after practice Tuesday. "Everybody works hard, even the people you don't see in the back."
www.latimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Luka Doncic gifts more than 100 e-bikes to Lakers players, staff
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Dec. 18 is the last day to submit comments to CA DMV for consideration as they weigh new heavy- and light-duty autonomous vehicle regulations. See this 12/3 release for more www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/news-...
DMV Opens 15-Day Public Comment Period on Autonomous Heavy- and Light-Duty Vehicles - California DMV
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 3, 2025 December 18, 2025 is the deadline to submit public comment What you need to know: The California DMV has released revised proposed regulations that would allow tr...
www.dmv.ca.gov
December 18, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Dec. 18 is the last day to submit comments to CA DMV for consideration as they weigh new heavy- and light-duty autonomous vehicle regulations. See this 12/3 release for more www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/news-...
Proud of my colleagues who helped get this done!
Driving costs are at an all time high and traffic is polluting communities, so Illinois is investing in a better future for Chicagoland. The new transportation law will help communities stay connected and save families money.
Pritzker signs CTA/Metra/Pace overhaul that ‘makes transit safer and more reliable’
Fares will be collected under a unified system managed by a new, stronger Northern Illinois Transportation Authority.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Proud of my colleagues who helped get this done!
Reposted by Carter Rubin
A 5-lane road with no marked crossings and bus stops on both sides is just a recipe for transit users getting killed.
This is criminally bad design, and yet it's the standard practice across much of the US.
This is criminally bad design, and yet it's the standard practice across much of the US.
December 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
A 5-lane road with no marked crossings and bus stops on both sides is just a recipe for transit users getting killed.
This is criminally bad design, and yet it's the standard practice across much of the US.
This is criminally bad design, and yet it's the standard practice across much of the US.
Reposted by Carter Rubin
From the Yale Youth Poll - note how much more young people care about housing. It's issue #3 in importance for them! (And since housing is most people's biggest expense, "affordability" is really another way of talking about housing.)
December 8, 2025 at 7:28 PM
From the Yale Youth Poll - note how much more young people care about housing. It's issue #3 in importance for them! (And since housing is most people's biggest expense, "affordability" is really another way of talking about housing.)
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Deaths on CA roads (~4,500) outnumber the homicides (1,666 in 2024). Deaths from breathing polluted air = about 5,000 per year according to @airresources.bsky.social. Maybe put more effort into reducing transportation-related and air pollution deaths, no? data-openjustice.doj.ca.gov/sites/defaul...
December 13, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Deaths on CA roads (~4,500) outnumber the homicides (1,666 in 2024). Deaths from breathing polluted air = about 5,000 per year according to @airresources.bsky.social. Maybe put more effort into reducing transportation-related and air pollution deaths, no? data-openjustice.doj.ca.gov/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Carter Rubin
December 13, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Can speed cameras make streets safer? Quasi-experimental evidence from New York City | PNAS
Each year, approximately 40,000 people die in vehicle collisions in the United States,
generating $340 billion in economic costs. To make roads saf...
www.pnas.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Reposted by Carter Rubin
Distance runners reminded about the dangers of training on Southern California streets
Distance runners reminded about the dangers of training on Southern California streets
Injuries to seven Anaheim High runners struck by car is latest incident involving athletes training on streets near school campuses.
www.latimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Distance runners reminded about the dangers of training on Southern California streets
Reposted by Carter Rubin
An astonishing percentage of Americans are open to car-free living.
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
Many Americans Are Open to Car-Free Living — Human Transit
Is Americans a “car culture” or are they “car dependent”? Do they drive because they love driving, or are they in an unhealthy relationship with a substance it would be happy to do without? Obviousl...
humantransit.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:55 PM
An astonishing percentage of Americans are open to car-free living.
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options.
humantransit.org/2025/12/many...