Steve Boland
@steveboland.bsky.social
Bay Area, Cal. (Work in transpo planning, not tech.)
Pinned
Steve Boland
@steveboland.bsky.social
· Jun 27
Say what you will about Reddit, at least you can downvote
So we’re deposing Latin American leaders again? Awesome
January 3, 2026 at 3:46 PM
So we’re deposing Latin American leaders again? Awesome
Honestly, I am so happy I am Gen X and not Gen Z in San Francisco. Poor kids
January 2, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Honestly, I am so happy I am Gen X and not Gen Z in San Francisco. Poor kids
Democrats won’t do this because this administration has proven that reporters and voters can’t tell the difference between legitimate and politically motivated investigations
Special prosecutors on day 1. Everyone in this administration who broke laws— including every ICE agent who ever kidnapped anyone— must go to prison. All of Epstein’s buddies prosecuted too, Democrat or Republican doesn’t matter.
Has to be this way or this country won’t survive.
Has to be this way or this country won’t survive.
No but really my fear is that the next democrat in the White House will be conciliatory and deliberate when what we need is a chainsaw and some sage.
January 2, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Democrats won’t do this because this administration has proven that reporters and voters can’t tell the difference between legitimate and politically motivated investigations
My one new year’s resolution is to keep things upbeat, so: Thank you City of Oakland for these new curb ramps at 19th St & 6th Ave. These were diverters dating back to the ‘50s (!), so they weren’t designed as modal filters. But 19th is the only good(-ish) E-W bike route thru the n’bhd. Thank you!
January 1, 2026 at 4:38 PM
My one new year’s resolution is to keep things upbeat, so: Thank you City of Oakland for these new curb ramps at 19th St & 6th Ave. These were diverters dating back to the ‘50s (!), so they weren’t designed as modal filters. But 19th is the only good(-ish) E-W bike route thru the n’bhd. Thank you!
Happy 2026, everybody! Here’s to the year we save Bay Area transit sfbike.org/news/2026-is...
2026 is going to be a big year for Bay Area transit
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
sfbike.org
January 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Happy 2026, everybody! Here’s to the year we save Bay Area transit sfbike.org/news/2026-is...
BREAKING: After legal setbacks, President Trump says he's dropping push for the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland for now.
Trump says he's dropping push for National Guard in Chicago, LA and Portland, Oregon, for now
President Donald Trump says he’s dropping — for now — his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.
bit.ly
January 1, 2026 at 5:34 AM
Again, nativism sucks, whether it’s America First or I’m a Fifth-Generation San Franciscan. You happen to have been born here, good for you
One thing I love about Toronto is I've never encountered even one single person doing "you're not FROM here". No one is gatekeeping the identity of being from Toronto. I felt it immediately when I moved here as an adult and it's a big reason Toronto feels like home.
always wild when people do woke nativism
January 1, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Again, nativism sucks, whether it’s America First or I’m a Fifth-Generation San Franciscan. You happen to have been born here, good for you
If we could deport the 1/3 of this country who are nazis, sure. But not to end this year on a bad note. 2026 is when we start taking this country back from you tiny fascist pricks. Happy new year!
January 1, 2026 at 3:30 AM
If we could deport the 1/3 of this country who are nazis, sure. But not to end this year on a bad note. 2026 is when we start taking this country back from you tiny fascist pricks. Happy new year!
Reposted by Steve Boland
Open up this picture fully.
Then look at the surface of Mars.
Then look up to the top right.
Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky.
Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos.
That's Earth.
Then look at the surface of Mars.
Then look up to the top right.
Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky.
Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos.
That's Earth.
December 30, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Open up this picture fully.
Then look at the surface of Mars.
Then look up to the top right.
Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky.
Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos.
That's Earth.
Then look at the surface of Mars.
Then look up to the top right.
Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky.
Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos.
That's Earth.
Larger legislative bodies are so obviously a good idea, but you can’t accrue power or make money off of it, so it will never happen. Reason eleventy thousand I hate politics www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
California doesn’t need to be broken up. The Legislature needs more seats
OPINION: California’s problem isn’t that the state has become too big to govern. It’s that we need to add more legislative districts and representatives.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Larger legislative bodies are so obviously a good idea, but you can’t accrue power or make money off of it, so it will never happen. Reason eleventy thousand I hate politics www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
I mean, the bad guys have sort of won if we’re just walking away from the model of shared fed/state/local responsibility (which is absolutely defensible given federal revenue sharing, not to mention the national economy). But, maybe this is just surviving the next three years
This is the way blue states
Interesting, CAHSR has dropped their suit over losing federal funding and seems to be signalling they want to make it s fully state project going forward.
www.trains.com/pro/passenge...
www.trains.com/pro/passenge...
December 29, 2025 at 3:44 PM
I mean, the bad guys have sort of won if we’re just walking away from the model of shared fed/state/local responsibility (which is absolutely defensible given federal revenue sharing, not to mention the national economy). But, maybe this is just surviving the next three years
Couple of movie recs: Train Dreams and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Very different films, but both beautiful and moving
December 28, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Couple of movie recs: Train Dreams and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Very different films, but both beautiful and moving
Every transit professional knows this, but equity
Transit's main competition is cars. If you raise fares from $2.50 to $3, you're still way more affordable than driving. But if you cut the bus from every 15 to every 20, you're screwed because cars have infinity frequency and 24 hr service span.
I hate that we’re having to think in these terms, but the evidence seems to be bearing out that steep fare hikes are less damaging to ridership than service cuts.
December 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Every transit professional knows this, but equity
Some more Christmas Day reading. I think my favorite part about this is the way Marco takes down the whole idea of the 15-Minute City, which was always urban design babble marcochitti.substack.com
Italian (urban) Letters | Marco Chitti | Substack
Planning and Transit seen from an Italian living in North America. Click to read Italian (urban) Letters, by Marco Chitti, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
marcochitti.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Some more Christmas Day reading. I think my favorite part about this is the way Marco takes down the whole idea of the 15-Minute City, which was always urban design babble marcochitti.substack.com
Happy holidays everyone. Please enjoy this heartwarming (and spot-on) Christmas Day reading
I love the east Bay Area. People of different races and religions live and work together to build the American Dream. We in liberal society take this for granted but the national rise of extremism stemming from online content seeks to take this away from us.
darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-americ...
darrellowens.substack.com/p/the-americ...
The American Beauty of the East Bay
Americanism is facing its biggest challenge from extremism. The people of the Bay Area show why its worth fighting for.
darrellowens.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Happy holidays everyone. Please enjoy this heartwarming (and spot-on) Christmas Day reading
Reposted by Steve Boland
New blog post by @ctillier.bsky.social. I'd be curious to learn more about proposal #4 for improving trip time, modular/quick-build platform height increases, and about comparable examples.
It's the Trip Time, Stupid
Components of trip time. Electrification only improved time in motion. Photos by Mliu92, Evan0512, SaarPro. Marco Chitti recently penned a g...
caltrain-hsr.blogspot.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:32 AM
New blog post by @ctillier.bsky.social. I'd be curious to learn more about proposal #4 for improving trip time, modular/quick-build platform height increases, and about comparable examples.
It’s as if it exists in isolation, with no neighborhood amenities, like, say, parks
wow this is incredibly bleak
December 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
It’s as if it exists in isolation, with no neighborhood amenities, like, say, parks
Altho it’s often right (-ish) — deep underground subway stations are problematic
A lot of people learn stuff like this, and it’s often flat out wrong
Meanwhile at my uni this diagram was shown like this, biased towards slower-speed trams rather than metros 😂
December 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Altho it’s often right (-ish) — deep underground subway stations are problematic
My kindergartener rides to school. Just one problem, there’s very little bike parking, even though it’s easy to bike to
This is obviously a, ah, provocative take on the subject, but it indeed an enormous societal problem that children have stopped walking or biking to school. There are plenty of individually rational reasons parents might drive their kids to school, but, in a wider context, no good reasons.
December 17, 2025 at 2:38 AM
My kindergartener rides to school. Just one problem, there’s very little bike parking, even though it’s easy to bike to
Reposted by Steve Boland
He may not be the worst president ever but he is without question the worst person to ever serve as president.
December 15, 2025 at 3:14 PM
He may not be the worst president ever but he is without question the worst person to ever serve as president.
Right, it’s politically necessary to start here, just as it was politically necessary to start in the Central Valley
@rmtransit.bsky.social on why an Ottawa-Montreal starter HSR line is a good idea. For one, it includes both Ontario and Quebec segments, which is important politically.
“A smaller project also ultimately means a shorter timeline, lower cost, and less risk — it’s a good way to get the ball rolling.”
“A smaller project also ultimately means a shorter timeline, lower cost, and less risk — it’s a good way to get the ball rolling.”
High Speed Rail in Canada Really Might Happen.
Some hope at the end of a long week.
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Right, it’s politically necessary to start here, just as it was politically necessary to start in the Central Valley
The “speed limits should be higher” lobby still exists
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
The “speed limits should be higher” lobby still exists
If I’m being honest, this is 40% of what keeps me here
December 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
If I’m being honest, this is 40% of what keeps me here
Suburbia could me so much less bad with just a couple of tweaks: 1) This 2) Ped/bike cut-throughs at cul-de-sacs 3) Alleys, with garages in back 4) Sidewalks. Just sidewalks
It's lame how US developers will build discrete new neighborhoods like this without a little town center. I think to most people, a little hub with a coffee shop, barber shop, post office, and/or convenience store would be a real amenity.
December 13, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Suburbia could me so much less bad with just a couple of tweaks: 1) This 2) Ped/bike cut-throughs at cul-de-sacs 3) Alleys, with garages in back 4) Sidewalks. Just sidewalks