Chris Iverson
@iversonmobility.com
How you move defines who you are.
🚌🚲🚊🛵🚶🏼🚗🌆
Transportation Planner & Engineer, with opinions.
Cyclist, ultrarunner, skier, nomad.
iversonmobility.com
🚌🚲🚊🛵🚶🏼🚗🌆
Transportation Planner & Engineer, with opinions.
Cyclist, ultrarunner, skier, nomad.
iversonmobility.com
this this this this this
you have NO idea how many engineers I've worked with and talked to that follow the 85th percentile approach as if it was scripture.
you have NO idea how many engineers I've worked with and talked to that follow the 85th percentile approach as if it was scripture.
What's wild about the 85th percentile is that lots of US states use it to set all speed limits, but the original idea (from the 1930s) was to let observed driver speeds shape speed limits on **rural roads**.
It was never intended for urban areas w/pedestrians & cyclists!
It was never intended for urban areas w/pedestrians & cyclists!
States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel
Road safety activists and some states are pushing to depart from a longstanding rule that sets speed limits in the United States based largely on how fast drivers actually travel.
apnews.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM
this this this this this
you have NO idea how many engineers I've worked with and talked to that follow the 85th percentile approach as if it was scripture.
you have NO idea how many engineers I've worked with and talked to that follow the 85th percentile approach as if it was scripture.
Just for perspective: the well-used Route 550 between Seattle and Bellevue saw just under 132,000 riders in July.
The 2 Line saw over 300,000 riders --- more than double the 550 going between the state's largest two CBDs.
If you build it (even between smaller hubs), they will come!
The 2 Line saw over 300,000 riders --- more than double the 550 going between the state's largest two CBDs.
If you build it (even between smaller hubs), they will come!
Late last week I wrote about how the 2 Line is performing well by exceeding 200,000 boardings for two months in a row...and then Sound Transit released data showing that it jumped to 300,000 in July.
Turns out people do actually want to ride the train between Bellevue and Redmond.
Turns out people do actually want to ride the train between Bellevue and Redmond.
August 13, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Just for perspective: the well-used Route 550 between Seattle and Bellevue saw just under 132,000 riders in July.
The 2 Line saw over 300,000 riders --- more than double the 550 going between the state's largest two CBDs.
If you build it (even between smaller hubs), they will come!
The 2 Line saw over 300,000 riders --- more than double the 550 going between the state's largest two CBDs.
If you build it (even between smaller hubs), they will come!
In terms of the cost of maintaining roadway surfaces, a weight-based taxation would be the most equitable and fair. The heavier your vehicle, the more damage it does to pavement. It's just physics.
Weight-based taxation would also be suuuper easy to implement in the US (with the correct politics).
Weight-based taxation would also be suuuper easy to implement in the US (with the correct politics).
New Zealand will replace its gas tax with road user charges based on distance, time, and weight.
"Weight" is an intriguing variable. Will owners of massive SUVs and utes need to pay extra b/c of their environmental and safety costs? (They should.)
"Weight" is an intriguing variable. Will owners of massive SUVs and utes need to pay extra b/c of their environmental and safety costs? (They should.)
Transport Minister announces all vehicles will pay electronic road user charges
All drivers will pay for NZ’s roading network through electronic road user charges rather than petrol tax, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says
www.interest.co.nz
August 7, 2025 at 3:50 PM
In terms of the cost of maintaining roadway surfaces, a weight-based taxation would be the most equitable and fair. The heavier your vehicle, the more damage it does to pavement. It's just physics.
Weight-based taxation would also be suuuper easy to implement in the US (with the correct politics).
Weight-based taxation would also be suuuper easy to implement in the US (with the correct politics).
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Traffic engineers: You can't put fixed objects next to a street, drivers might get injured if they leave the roadway and hit them.
Also traffic engineers: Enjoy your new bike path!
We need a major revision of urban-related civil engineering, from education to implementation, in the US.
Also traffic engineers: Enjoy your new bike path!
We need a major revision of urban-related civil engineering, from education to implementation, in the US.
July 16, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Traffic engineers: You can't put fixed objects next to a street, drivers might get injured if they leave the roadway and hit them.
Also traffic engineers: Enjoy your new bike path!
We need a major revision of urban-related civil engineering, from education to implementation, in the US.
Also traffic engineers: Enjoy your new bike path!
We need a major revision of urban-related civil engineering, from education to implementation, in the US.
the faster cities move away from using LOS as a primary measuring tool for transportation, the faster we begin to see truly walkable & livable communities.
"When your only metric is vehicle throughput, you end up designing highways through neighborhoods, not places worth living in." @urbanismspeakeasy.com @fastcompany.com
www.fastcompany.com/91362348/roa...
www.fastcompany.com/91362348/roa...
The old traffic math that keeps destroying neighborhoods
Level of Service (LOS) has been guiding road design for decades and has never measured what really matters.
www.fastcompany.com
July 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
the faster cities move away from using LOS as a primary measuring tool for transportation, the faster we begin to see truly walkable & livable communities.
SUBs (Sport Utility Bikes)
The first bikes you see when you walk in the door of Seattle’s biggest bike shop (Gregg’s) are cargo and family bikes. I love how normalized they have become in Seattle!
July 9, 2025 at 11:17 PM
SUBs (Sport Utility Bikes)
Reposted by Chris Iverson
REMINDER: There are ways to write bills that actually REDUCE our deficit. Our Inflation Reduction Act reduced the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars while creating jobs across the country.
This Big Ugly Bill has scam written all over it.
This Big Ugly Bill has scam written all over it.
June 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
REMINDER: There are ways to write bills that actually REDUCE our deficit. Our Inflation Reduction Act reduced the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars while creating jobs across the country.
This Big Ugly Bill has scam written all over it.
This Big Ugly Bill has scam written all over it.
This is a really big deal.
A decade-spanning political battle between housing developers and defenders of CEQA, California’s preeminent environmental law, came to an end this afternoon with only a smattering of “no” votes.
The forces of housing won.
calmatters.org/housing/2025...
The forces of housing won.
calmatters.org/housing/2025...
One of the biggest obstacles to building new housing in California has now vanished
After a decade of battling, lawmakers just exempted infill urban development from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
calmatters.org
July 1, 2025 at 10:22 PM
This is a really big deal.
I AM CLUTCHING MY PEARLS SO HARD THAT RAISING A SMALL HUMAN COULD BE EVEN A SMIDGE EASIER AND MORE AFFORDABLE
June 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I AM CLUTCHING MY PEARLS SO HARD THAT RAISING A SMALL HUMAN COULD BE EVEN A SMIDGE EASIER AND MORE AFFORDABLE
Maintaining public lands and creating sustainable transportation policy are my 1-and-2, and they go together surprisingly well.
HUGE: Senate Parliamentarian says that Mike Lee's public land sell-off violates the Byrd rule, requires 60 votes in the Senate. A bunch of other terrible anti-environment provisions do too.
This isn't over, but this is a huge win.
www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
This isn't over, but this is a huge win.
www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
June 24, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Maintaining public lands and creating sustainable transportation policy are my 1-and-2, and they go together surprisingly well.
Reposted by Chris Iverson
The budget bill currently in the Senate would put 258 million acres of public land up for sale, including recreation areas, wilderness study areas, critical wildlife habitat and more. www.wilderness.org/articles/med...
250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR bill
The bill mandates disposal of over 2 million acres of BLM and National Forest lands; public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 250 million acres, including local recreation areas, wild...
www.wilderness.org
June 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The budget bill currently in the Senate would put 258 million acres of public land up for sale, including recreation areas, wilderness study areas, critical wildlife habitat and more. www.wilderness.org/articles/med...
yeah, it's called Facebook tapping into the darkest qualities of the human condition
it is sort of fascinating that there is a direct line from the election of the first Black man to the presidency to Trumpist hegemonic suicide
June 7, 2025 at 7:02 PM
yeah, it's called Facebook tapping into the darkest qualities of the human condition
ALERT: Seattle finally starting to be an actual city
June 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
ALERT: Seattle finally starting to be an actual city
"Dana Christiansen... is on the board of the Washington Childcare Centers Association, and she found this property that seemed suitable. She made an offer and purchased this property.
They could only find room for 29 parking spaces... she needed 32 parking spaces.
They walked away from the site."
They could only find room for 29 parking spaces... she needed 32 parking spaces.
They walked away from the site."
Today on Volts: parking is the "dark matter" of land use, invisibly making everything worse, but most municipalities continue to mandate minimum levels of it. WA state just passed some awesome parking reform & I dig into it with @citizen-cate.bsky.social & Alan Durning of @sightline.org.
Parking reform in Washington, parking reform everywhere!
Washington's bold new parking reform bill will make housing more abundant and inspire other states, explain Sightline's Catie Gould and Alan Durning.
www.volts.wtf
May 28, 2025 at 5:45 PM
"Dana Christiansen... is on the board of the Washington Childcare Centers Association, and she found this property that seemed suitable. She made an offer and purchased this property.
They could only find room for 29 parking spaces... she needed 32 parking spaces.
They walked away from the site."
They could only find room for 29 parking spaces... she needed 32 parking spaces.
They walked away from the site."
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Today on Volts: parking is the "dark matter" of land use, invisibly making everything worse, but most municipalities continue to mandate minimum levels of it. WA state just passed some awesome parking reform & I dig into it with @citizen-cate.bsky.social & Alan Durning of @sightline.org.
Parking reform in Washington, parking reform everywhere!
Washington's bold new parking reform bill will make housing more abundant and inspire other states, explain Sightline's Catie Gould and Alan Durning.
www.volts.wtf
May 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Today on Volts: parking is the "dark matter" of land use, invisibly making everything worse, but most municipalities continue to mandate minimum levels of it. WA state just passed some awesome parking reform & I dig into it with @citizen-cate.bsky.social & Alan Durning of @sightline.org.
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Congratulations to Bremerton! Opposition to parking reform is a mile wide but an inch deep.
Pedersen moves to eliminate parking Citywide. Browning seconds.
Rolecall… it passes unanimously! Wow, even the commissioners who argued against it, voted in favor. Even Tift.
Rolecall… it passes unanimously! Wow, even the commissioners who argued against it, voted in favor. Even Tift.
May 20, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Congratulations to Bremerton! Opposition to parking reform is a mile wide but an inch deep.
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Redmond Finally Relevant Enough to Be In Needling Headline: tinyurl.com/2cpkf9nf
May 13, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Redmond Finally Relevant Enough to Be In Needling Headline: tinyurl.com/2cpkf9nf
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Seattle City Council Begins Ethics Code Meeting with Brand Acknowledgement: tinyurl.com/3j392wxx
May 6, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Seattle City Council Begins Ethics Code Meeting with Brand Acknowledgement: tinyurl.com/3j392wxx
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.
Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds
Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.
www.npr.org
May 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.
Don't really have the disposable income to afford a Model X anyways, but sure, happy to help
Thank you to everyone around the world who helped bring Tesla's net income down 71%!
Now THAT is a successful boycott.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Now THAT is a successful boycott.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
April 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Don't really have the disposable income to afford a Model X anyways, but sure, happy to help
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Kind, decent, and compassionate, Pope Francis was badly out of step with contemporary western culture.
April 21, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Kind, decent, and compassionate, Pope Francis was badly out of step with contemporary western culture.
Reposted by Chris Iverson
The Bellevue City Council just unanimously voted to appoint Vishal Bhargava to fill a council vacancy that will open up when John Stokes resigns in early May.
Bhargava is currently a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission and a Director of Product Manager at Amazon.
Bhargava is currently a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission and a Director of Product Manager at Amazon.
April 16, 2025 at 2:39 AM
The Bellevue City Council just unanimously voted to appoint Vishal Bhargava to fill a council vacancy that will open up when John Stokes resigns in early May.
Bhargava is currently a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission and a Director of Product Manager at Amazon.
Bhargava is currently a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission and a Director of Product Manager at Amazon.
Reposted by Chris Iverson
Mother Earth Fired for Being DEI Planet: tinyurl.com/6uamjf45
April 14, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Mother Earth Fired for Being DEI Planet: tinyurl.com/6uamjf45