Ben Ross
@benrosstransit.bsky.social
Transit advocate. Social Democrat. Author of Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism.
This is the fundamental suburbanite view. Every new building must have its own oversupply of off-street parking so that no one will park in front of my house.
That's easy to answer: once we build enough parking so that everyone else can stop parking in front of my house - THEN we can add more people!
Imo people opposed to housing growth due to alleged infrastructure inadequacy should spell out what specific infrastructure is inadequate.
November 29, 2025 at 11:25 PM
This is the fundamental suburbanite view. Every new building must have its own oversupply of off-street parking so that no one will park in front of my house.
Jane Jacobs' idea of safety through "eyes on the street" has never been more true.
New Yorkers BLOCK ICE from leaving their parking garage ahead of a flopped mass raid attempt on Canal Street
November 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Jane Jacobs' idea of safety through "eyes on the street" has never been more true.
Reposted by Ben Ross
Social justice NGOs need to engage with yimbys and listen to their lived experiences of de facto alliances between left-nimbys and exclusionary suburban homeowners who call themselves the "community." Focus on ways to be better & incorporate a "build build build" element in your campaigns.
November 29, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Social justice NGOs need to engage with yimbys and listen to their lived experiences of de facto alliances between left-nimbys and exclusionary suburban homeowners who call themselves the "community." Focus on ways to be better & incorporate a "build build build" element in your campaigns.
Education may help but won't fix this.
Left-nimbyism - only poor need housing help, not middle - appeals to "anti-imperalist" leftist & foundation donor alike.
For the tankie, the middle-class white American is the enemy.
For the elite, political action that unites poor and middle is a threat.
Left-nimbyism - only poor need housing help, not middle - appeals to "anti-imperalist" leftist & foundation donor alike.
For the tankie, the middle-class white American is the enemy.
For the elite, political action that unites poor and middle is a threat.
Still thinking about this article. It’s always been a sore spot in YIMBY circles that so many progressive foundations pour money into NIMBYism, and I’m glad it’s finally being aired in public. Keep talking about it. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...
Philanthropy Needs to Pick a Side on the Housing Construction Debate
Despite California’s severe housing shortage, foundations are still funding on the wrong side of the housing fight there, guest author Ned Resnikoff writes.
www.insidephilanthropy.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Education may help but won't fix this.
Left-nimbyism - only poor need housing help, not middle - appeals to "anti-imperalist" leftist & foundation donor alike.
For the tankie, the middle-class white American is the enemy.
For the elite, political action that unites poor and middle is a threat.
Left-nimbyism - only poor need housing help, not middle - appeals to "anti-imperalist" leftist & foundation donor alike.
For the tankie, the middle-class white American is the enemy.
For the elite, political action that unites poor and middle is a threat.
Reposted by Ben Ross
Ask the Montgomery County MD Council to PASS the University Blvd Corridor Plan with Option C that converts a lane in each direction to a wide sidepath! Click here: actionbutton.nationbuilder.com/share/SPK-QE...
On Tues 11/18/25 4:42 pm
a hit & run driver
turning right from University Blvd E/193 to the Beltway on ramp
hit but did not injure a teenager (14/F) on a bicycle
crossing properly in a marked crosswalk
going to or from school.
Police (MCP3335003X) did not find anyone at fault.
a hit & run driver
turning right from University Blvd E/193 to the Beltway on ramp
hit but did not injure a teenager (14/F) on a bicycle
crossing properly in a marked crosswalk
going to or from school.
Police (MCP3335003X) did not find anyone at fault.
November 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Ask the Montgomery County MD Council to PASS the University Blvd Corridor Plan with Option C that converts a lane in each direction to a wide sidepath! Click here: actionbutton.nationbuilder.com/share/SPK-QE...
Reposted by Ben Ross
In a bit more than 2 hours on a rainy afternoon/early evening on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, in Montgomery County MD, 5 different drivers hit & injured pedestrians who were properly in crosswalks.
4:42 pm, 5:28 pm, 5:33 pm, 6:25 pm, 6:56 pm.
4:42 pm, 5:28 pm, 5:33 pm, 6:25 pm, 6:56 pm.
On Tues 11/18/25 6:56 pm
the driver (48/M) of a 2012 GMC Sierra
[turning right from?] Broadwood Dr to Veirs Mill Rd/586
hit & injured a pedestrian (54/F)
who was properly in a marked crosswalk.
Rockville police (DD5669001J) found the driver at fault.
Visual obstruction(s), weather conditions [rain].
the driver (48/M) of a 2012 GMC Sierra
[turning right from?] Broadwood Dr to Veirs Mill Rd/586
hit & injured a pedestrian (54/F)
who was properly in a marked crosswalk.
Rockville police (DD5669001J) found the driver at fault.
Visual obstruction(s), weather conditions [rain].
November 27, 2025 at 8:23 PM
In a bit more than 2 hours on a rainy afternoon/early evening on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, in Montgomery County MD, 5 different drivers hit & injured pedestrians who were properly in crosswalks.
4:42 pm, 5:28 pm, 5:33 pm, 6:25 pm, 6:56 pm.
4:42 pm, 5:28 pm, 5:33 pm, 6:25 pm, 6:56 pm.
Reposted by Ben Ross
The basic appeal of ultraleft & left nimby (overlapping) is status - "I'm cooler than you."
Actual leftists calling out their threatens their status. Greedy developers do not. That's why yimby makes them so much angrier than the developer does.
Actual leftists calling out their threatens their status. Greedy developers do not. That's why yimby makes them so much angrier than the developer does.
November 27, 2025 at 12:46 AM
The basic appeal of ultraleft & left nimby (overlapping) is status - "I'm cooler than you."
Actual leftists calling out their threatens their status. Greedy developers do not. That's why yimby makes them so much angrier than the developer does.
Actual leftists calling out their threatens their status. Greedy developers do not. That's why yimby makes them so much angrier than the developer does.
Knock-out panel designed into the Bethesda Red Line station by far-sighted* @wmata.com engineers half a century ago and opened last weekend.
Will connect to the @purplelinemd.bsky.social
Will connect to the @purplelinemd.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Knock-out panel designed into the Bethesda Red Line station by far-sighted* @wmata.com engineers half a century ago and opened last weekend.
Will connect to the @purplelinemd.bsky.social
Will connect to the @purplelinemd.bsky.social
Engineers think of traffic as one particular liquid. Sewage.
You don't care how long it takes to get to its destination, but you do everything possible to make sure it doesn't back up.
Sanitary engineering was a hot new science when traffic engineering started in the 1920s.
You don't care how long it takes to get to its destination, but you do everything possible to make sure it doesn't back up.
Sanitary engineering was a hot new science when traffic engineering started in the 1920s.
Engineers think it’s a liquid but traffic is a gas. Give it space and it’ll fill it up. Take it away and it disperses
Every time
November 24, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Engineers think of traffic as one particular liquid. Sewage.
You don't care how long it takes to get to its destination, but you do everything possible to make sure it doesn't back up.
Sanitary engineering was a hot new science when traffic engineering started in the 1920s.
You don't care how long it takes to get to its destination, but you do everything possible to make sure it doesn't back up.
Sanitary engineering was a hot new science when traffic engineering started in the 1920s.
TACO. Trump Always Chickens Out.
CNBC: My understanding is the White House said that China was gonna buy 12 million tons of soybeans from the US by January. That's approaching and they've only purchased 332,000. China has not confirmed that pledge.
BROOKE ROLLINS: Your point is salient. We've got a significant way to go
BROOKE ROLLINS: Your point is salient. We've got a significant way to go
November 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM
TACO. Trump Always Chickens Out.
"After nearly a decade as an attorney representing community associations, I entered city government as a zoning believer. I quickly lost my faith."
From the outgoing director of Baltimore's zoning appeals board.
www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/11/24/b...
From the outgoing director of Baltimore's zoning appeals board.
www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/11/24/b...
Baltimore’s former zoning board director explains why she lost faith in zoning | Baltimore Brew
The mayor’s “Housing Options and Opportunity” legislation – including Bill 25-0066 – will go a long way toward fixing an unfair system, she says. [OP-ED]
www.baltimorebrew.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
"After nearly a decade as an attorney representing community associations, I entered city government as a zoning believer. I quickly lost my faith."
From the outgoing director of Baltimore's zoning appeals board.
www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/11/24/b...
From the outgoing director of Baltimore's zoning appeals board.
www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/11/24/b...
Reposted by Ben Ross
Thx @cnn.com for telling Joy and Sam’s story! A great example how transit connects the community & can really impact people in so many ways. Really appreciate seeing our amazing @wmata.com staff get the attention they deserve. Pls pass this one along ❤️
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/u...
She was a bus driver who answered questions from a curious 5th grader. A decade later, they reconnected — as colleagues | CNN
Though Sam Mencimer didn’t know it at the time, all those moments with his favorite bus driver, Joy Kenley – the never-ending questions, the bus depot tour – would have a lasting impact on his life.
www.cnn.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Thx @cnn.com for telling Joy and Sam’s story! A great example how transit connects the community & can really impact people in so many ways. Really appreciate seeing our amazing @wmata.com staff get the attention they deserve. Pls pass this one along ❤️
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/u...
TACO. Trump always chickens out.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a call to senators, confirmed the so-called 28-point “peace plan” was actually a Russian wishlist and is “not the administration’s position”. Nor is there any threat to cut off weapons or intelligence to Ukraine.
November 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
TACO. Trump always chickens out.
Trump & the last guy he talked to!
"It seems clear that Mamdani sought to appeal to Trump’s experience as a real estate developer by highlighting his own pro-density inclinations."
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
"It seems clear that Mamdani sought to appeal to Trump’s experience as a real estate developer by highlighting his own pro-density inclinations."
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Update from Dana Rubinstein
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Trump & the last guy he talked to!
"It seems clear that Mamdani sought to appeal to Trump’s experience as a real estate developer by highlighting his own pro-density inclinations."
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
"It seems clear that Mamdani sought to appeal to Trump’s experience as a real estate developer by highlighting his own pro-density inclinations."
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Mamdani's statement is an attack on civil liberties.
"Sacred space" or not (a synagogue social hall isn't), extremist groups have a right to meet.
By this logic, Code Pink (backs Chinese oppression of Uighurs) & PYM (backed Oct 7 massacre) shouldn't be allowed to meet.
bsky.app/profile/crab...
"Sacred space" or not (a synagogue social hall isn't), extremist groups have a right to meet.
By this logic, Code Pink (backs Chinese oppression of Uighurs) & PYM (backed Oct 7 massacre) shouldn't be allowed to meet.
bsky.app/profile/crab...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Mamdani's statement is an attack on civil liberties.
"Sacred space" or not (a synagogue social hall isn't), extremist groups have a right to meet.
By this logic, Code Pink (backs Chinese oppression of Uighurs) & PYM (backed Oct 7 massacre) shouldn't be allowed to meet.
bsky.app/profile/crab...
"Sacred space" or not (a synagogue social hall isn't), extremist groups have a right to meet.
By this logic, Code Pink (backs Chinese oppression of Uighurs) & PYM (backed Oct 7 massacre) shouldn't be allowed to meet.
bsky.app/profile/crab...
Reposted by Ben Ross
28 of 28! All 28 Light Rail Vehicles have arrived in Maryland; a major milestone for the Purple Line. This vital connection will knit communities, ease commutes, promote public transit and link riders to 21 stations and key destinations across the corridor. #PurpleLineprogress
November 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
28 of 28! All 28 Light Rail Vehicles have arrived in Maryland; a major milestone for the Purple Line. This vital connection will knit communities, ease commutes, promote public transit and link riders to 21 stations and key destinations across the corridor. #PurpleLineprogress
Vision Zero accomplishments for the year, in a county of 1 million.
7 new signals (some only blinking lights)
5.9 miles of new sidewalk
4 bikeways under construction
89 traffic lights retimed
189 "resident engagement events"
7 new signals (some only blinking lights)
5.9 miles of new sidewalk
4 bikeways under construction
89 traffic lights retimed
189 "resident engagement events"
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Vision Zero accomplishments for the year, in a county of 1 million.
7 new signals (some only blinking lights)
5.9 miles of new sidewalk
4 bikeways under construction
89 traffic lights retimed
189 "resident engagement events"
7 new signals (some only blinking lights)
5.9 miles of new sidewalk
4 bikeways under construction
89 traffic lights retimed
189 "resident engagement events"
Spotted in the wild! A new nimby euphemism for keeping people out.
As Baltimore City Council nears vote to legalize multi-family housing in all residential areas, opponents lament loss of "single-family values."
www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
As Baltimore City Council nears vote to legalize multi-family housing in all residential areas, opponents lament loss of "single-family values."
www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
Baltimore might be entering its YIMBY era
A suite of zoning changes is garnering steam in Baltimore City Council, despite impassioned pushback.
www.thebanner.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Spotted in the wild! A new nimby euphemism for keeping people out.
As Baltimore City Council nears vote to legalize multi-family housing in all residential areas, opponents lament loss of "single-family values."
www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
As Baltimore City Council nears vote to legalize multi-family housing in all residential areas, opponents lament loss of "single-family values."
www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
California's anti-nimby "builder's remedy" and the "pirate" builder who took on Beverly Hills first.
Ultimate impact "not just units that are built by using it, but the ones built in fear of it."
Great report by @conordougherty.bsky.social [gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
Ultimate impact "not just units that are built by using it, but the ones built in fear of it."
Great report by @conordougherty.bsky.social [gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
California's anti-nimby "builder's remedy" and the "pirate" builder who took on Beverly Hills first.
Ultimate impact "not just units that are built by using it, but the ones built in fear of it."
Great report by @conordougherty.bsky.social [gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
Ultimate impact "not just units that are built by using it, but the ones built in fear of it."
Great report by @conordougherty.bsky.social [gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...
LOL
Susan Collins tells me she is totally for the Epstein bill
November 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
LOL
Big day for me.
Walking to Metro, I saw rails being installed at the Bethesda Purple Line station.
Test trains are already running at the other end of the line.
I first testified for this project in 1989.
Walking to Metro, I saw rails being installed at the Bethesda Purple Line station.
Test trains are already running at the other end of the line.
I first testified for this project in 1989.
November 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Big day for me.
Walking to Metro, I saw rails being installed at the Bethesda Purple Line station.
Test trains are already running at the other end of the line.
I first testified for this project in 1989.
Walking to Metro, I saw rails being installed at the Bethesda Purple Line station.
Test trains are already running at the other end of the line.
I first testified for this project in 1989.
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
November 17, 2025 at 4:20 PM
WaPo editorial board launches a disgusting car-brained attack on Seattle's new mayor Katie Wilson.
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
"Who is Wilson? She does not own a car"
It's so bad you need to read it, so a gift link: wapo.st/4r2peP3
Reposted by Ben Ross
"That would be an ugly change to our little corner of paradise"
- People living on streets with mansions, minutes away from major employers. These people's reaction is sadly the so similar everywhere in Canada.
- People living on streets with mansions, minutes away from major employers. These people's reaction is sadly the so similar everywhere in Canada.
November 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"That would be an ugly change to our little corner of paradise"
- People living on streets with mansions, minutes away from major employers. These people's reaction is sadly the so similar everywhere in Canada.
- People living on streets with mansions, minutes away from major employers. These people's reaction is sadly the so similar everywhere in Canada.
Important recent yimby legislation that I hadn't heard about.
Nova Scotia passed a law in 2023 that empowers Halifax city government to alter any covenant that limits density or height more strictly than zoning ordinance. Done on application by property owner.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Nova Scotia passed a law in 2023 that empowers Halifax city government to alter any covenant that limits density or height more strictly than zoning ordinance. Done on application by property owner.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Halifax has removed the final hurdle to development in some areas — and neighbours are fighting back | CBC News
A wealthy Halifax neighbourhood with tree-lined streets and grand homes on the Northwest Arm has become one of the latest battlegrounds in the city’s push to build more housing.
www.cbc.ca
November 17, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Important recent yimby legislation that I hadn't heard about.
Nova Scotia passed a law in 2023 that empowers Halifax city government to alter any covenant that limits density or height more strictly than zoning ordinance. Done on application by property owner.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Nova Scotia passed a law in 2023 that empowers Halifax city government to alter any covenant that limits density or height more strictly than zoning ordinance. Done on application by property owner.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Ben Ross
#AlwaysUseCrosswalks so that, when a hit & run driver hits you, the police won't find you at fault.
On Fri 11/7/25 10:14 pm
a hit & run driver
going west on Aspen Hill Rd at Frankfort Dr/Grenoble Dr
hit & injured a pedestrian (19/M)
crossing properly in a marked crosswalk.
Police (MCP3300003H) did not find anyone at fault.
a hit & run driver
going west on Aspen Hill Rd at Frankfort Dr/Grenoble Dr
hit & injured a pedestrian (19/M)
crossing properly in a marked crosswalk.
Police (MCP3300003H) did not find anyone at fault.
November 15, 2025 at 2:26 PM
#AlwaysUseCrosswalks so that, when a hit & run driver hits you, the police won't find you at fault.