Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 9h

“Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport”

www.economist.com/internationa...

Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport

Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war

www.economist.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 17h

The GDP per capita of Portugal is about 1/3 that of the US.

Yet they have infrastructure like this — high speed rail — that costs 1/10th per mile compared to the US.

The life expectancy is 4 years longer.

And we’re supposed to be the wealthier country. @thetransitguy.com

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Reposted by Michael Schneider

dwellerpodcast.bsky.social @dwellerpodcast.bsky.social · 2d

I spoke with Michael Schneider from Streets for All (@streetsforall.org) about his journey from being forced to live-car free in Los Angeles, embracing that lifestyle, and ultimately become an activist fighting for safe streets for walking and cycling.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Michael Schneider: Advocating for Pedestrian and Bicycle-Friendly Streets in Los Angeles While Living Car-Free

Podcast Episode · City Dweller · 10/10/2025 · 28m

podcasts.apple.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 2d

SB-79 is now law! Reading @gavinnewsom.bsky.social’s signing letter, I have hope for the future. This is the beginning of making California affordable again, while achieving our climate goals and making our transit investments worth it.

We did it @scottwiener.bsky.social @mateosfo.bsky.social !

Streets For All @streetsforall.org · 2d

BREAKING NEWS: SB 79 HAS BEEN SIGNED INTO LAW.

Thank you to @scottwiener.bsky.social @gavinnewsom.bsky.social and cosponsors CA Yimby, Greenbelt Alliance, Inner City Law Center, Bay Area Council, AHLA, and SPUR. for making this bill happen.

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 2d

Why is LA so anti gondola?

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 4d

LA is fundamentally broken from a road safety point of view. These incidents are so common that we just shrug and move on.

In this case I know the victim and worked with her on my neighborhood council for years. She has broken bones. Her dog is dead.

www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/h...

Hit-and-run driver injures Katy Yaroslavsky's staffer, kills her dog

The woman was walking her dog at the time of the crash, the LAPD told NBC4 Investigates.

www.nbclosangeles.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 10d

I feel so much more comfortable with a patient @waymo.bsky.social behind my 5 year old than an impatient distracted human driver.

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · 15d

L.A. is so broke that the best we can do is put a sign over a trip hazard. We now spend more on lawsuit settlements than we do fixing our infrastructure.

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 12

Some of the most important work of my life has been working on SB-79, a bill that will build a lot more housing in California near transit stops. IT JUST PASSED THE SENATE (over LA's opposition) and heads to Governor Newsom for his signature!!

www.latimes.com/california/s...

California lawmakers pass SB 79, housing bill that brings dense housing to transit hubs

After months of debate, California lawmakers on Friday passed SB 79, a housing bill that overrides local zoning laws to bring high-density housing up to nine stories tall to transit hubs.

www.latimes.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 7

We did!

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 6

Plane to street by 🚲

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 5

The Bromptons are the best!

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 5

I left my house in LA yesterday, biked to @laxairport.bsky.social, folded up my @bromptonbicycle.bsky.social, put it in the overhead bin, and biked to my hotel on the other end in Washington DC.

🎥 by Caro Vilain

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Sep 5

In DC at the Abundance conference with two of the best mayors

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 26

Great @freerangekids.bsky.social presentation at TED on how we need to let our kids roam and do more things on their own to make them (and us) less anxious. www.ted.com/talks/lenore...

Why you should spend less time with your kids

Whether it’s micromanaging playtime, constantly hovering or incessantly texting, the adult takeover of childhood has created a crisis of anxiety in both children and parents, says Lenore Skenazy, cofo...

www.ted.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 25

It’s so funny to me that locally people scream “socialism!” about common sense bills like SB-79, when those same people are silent when the Federal Government is actually doing socialism:

www.axios.com/2025/08/25/t...

Government will take stakes in more companies, top Trump adviser says

It's a new paradigm for the U.S. government's relationship with the private sector.

www.axios.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 24

Only in LA is it acceptable for a sidewalk to double as a driveway and loading zone for parking.

This city prioritizes cars over people to an insane degree.

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 20

Was quite disappointed to hear several allies in Council today rally against SB-79, without offering any real solutions to our housing crisis.

Do we want a city where only the rich can live? I don’t. We need real solutions. SB-79 is a huge step in the right direction.

Streets For All @streetsforall.org · Aug 19

We are disappointed in LA City Council’s vote to oppose SB-79. Given the worsening housing and climate crises, Angelenos deserve better. Thank you to all the City Councilmembers who supported this bill, as well as our co-sponsors @innercitylawcenter.bsky.social and @abundanthousingla.bsky.social

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 14

The crash that killed nine year old Nadir Gavarrete two weeks ago in Koreatown was entirely preventable. The city has a plan and has been working to implement it for *14 years*

My latest in the @latimes.com:

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Contributor: How many kids must die before L.A. makes streets safer?

After 14 years of meetings and plans, the city failed to upgrade a dangerous Koreatown intersection with enhanced crosswalks and other improvements. Now a 9-year-old boy is dead.

www.latimes.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 10

A fundamentally broken system where sidewalks get worse and we pay out more in liability claims than fixing them.

“In roughly the past five years, the city has paid out more than $86 million because of lawsuits relating to sidewalks.”

abc7.com/post/la-side...

85-year-old LA woman still waiting for sidewalk repairs eight years after notifying city

An 85-year-old woman who lives in the Fairfax District says she's been waiting eight years for the city to fix the sidewalk in front of her home.

abc7.com

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 9

I’ve been biking to LAX for years. Hardly anyone in LA owns a Riese and Muller Load 75.

My bike on left, theirs on right.

Who is this!?

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 8

I spoke to CD3, they agree it's not appropriate, and will speak to the Bureau of Street Services!

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 8

I wasn’t

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 8

Rush hour in Manhattan

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Michael Schneider @michaelschneider.com · Aug 8

This is a boring ADA compliant curb ramp in NYC. The city’s full of them.

In LA, the city claims they can’t build these for less than $50,000 per ramp.

Under ADA, every change we make to our streets requires them.

Want faster progress? Figure out how to build these cheaper.

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