Mary Donegan
@drdonegan.bsky.social
Planning/policy research and teaching. All the yarn things, always tired, interested in making places better. Parent to kids in too many activities. She/her in nutmeggerland by way of NH MA & NC. Not my employer's views.
In the stage of life when I mention a ~20 year old movie that's tangentially related to class and no one has seen it and they all just stare blankly at me.
Anyways, it was Buckminster Fuller Day!
And Biosphere 2 but none of them knew that either.
Anyways, it was Buckminster Fuller Day!
And Biosphere 2 but none of them knew that either.
November 10, 2025 at 11:57 PM
In the stage of life when I mention a ~20 year old movie that's tangentially related to class and no one has seen it and they all just stare blankly at me.
Anyways, it was Buckminster Fuller Day!
And Biosphere 2 but none of them knew that either.
Anyways, it was Buckminster Fuller Day!
And Biosphere 2 but none of them knew that either.
The trains came! On time! But you have to dig to find alerts. The app's link for service alerts leads to a dead Twitter page -- not the buried page on the Hartford Line website.
September 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
The trains came! On time! But you have to dig to find alerts. The app's link for service alerts leads to a dead Twitter page -- not the buried page on the Hartford Line website.
Hey @ct-ptc.bsky.social could you look into the issue that the Hartford Line stops of Berlin and Meriden remove train info at least 15-30 minutes before scheduled departure time? Pics taken at 9:24 and 7:42 aren't showing 9:40 and 7:58 departures.
September 16, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Hey @ct-ptc.bsky.social could you look into the issue that the Hartford Line stops of Berlin and Meriden remove train info at least 15-30 minutes before scheduled departure time? Pics taken at 9:24 and 7:42 aren't showing 9:40 and 7:58 departures.
This is the third year in a row that my office has grown mold (I caught it early -- trust, it would have been worse in a week). Every year, EHS comes and cleans it. And every year, university/college/state declines to do anything about the building.
Because who cares about books at a university.
Because who cares about books at a university.
July 14, 2025 at 3:20 PM
This is the third year in a row that my office has grown mold (I caught it early -- trust, it would have been worse in a week). Every year, EHS comes and cleans it. And every year, university/college/state declines to do anything about the building.
Because who cares about books at a university.
Because who cares about books at a university.
Reading summer course paper proposals and feeling old:
"In recent years, many old residential areas in [CITY], built in the 1990s or earlier.... "
"In recent years, many old residential areas in [CITY], built in the 1990s or earlier.... "
June 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reading summer course paper proposals and feeling old:
"In recent years, many old residential areas in [CITY], built in the 1990s or earlier.... "
"In recent years, many old residential areas in [CITY], built in the 1990s or earlier.... "
Below is the High Injury Network from the West Hartford Vision Zero Action Plan. Both pedestrians killed in recent weeks were on this network.
A plan is only as good as the level and pace of action (and funding) dedicated to it. The plan is a good one, IMO -- the town just isn't doing enough.
A plan is only as good as the level and pace of action (and funding) dedicated to it. The plan is a good one, IMO -- the town just isn't doing enough.
June 16, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Below is the High Injury Network from the West Hartford Vision Zero Action Plan. Both pedestrians killed in recent weeks were on this network.
A plan is only as good as the level and pace of action (and funding) dedicated to it. The plan is a good one, IMO -- the town just isn't doing enough.
A plan is only as good as the level and pace of action (and funding) dedicated to it. The plan is a good one, IMO -- the town just isn't doing enough.
I hate sports bars because what do you mean all 50 TVs are showing the same 5 men's games and even in the women's bathroom we can't feature a woman (as I'm here with an entire girls hockey team).
June 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I hate sports bars because what do you mean all 50 TVs are showing the same 5 men's games and even in the women's bathroom we can't feature a woman (as I'm here with an entire girls hockey team).
I need a lot less focus on "illegals" and a lot more focus on invasives.
June 7, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I need a lot less focus on "illegals" and a lot more focus on invasives.
Appalling how the State of Connecticut claims UConn as its flagship university but only provides 15% of the budget.
What else are we supposed to do but raise tuition?
I haven't seen this for UConn but this is Michigan. Anyone over the age of 50 went to college in a radically different time.
What else are we supposed to do but raise tuition?
I haven't seen this for UConn but this is Michigan. Anyone over the age of 50 went to college in a radically different time.
June 5, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Appalling how the State of Connecticut claims UConn as its flagship university but only provides 15% of the budget.
What else are we supposed to do but raise tuition?
I haven't seen this for UConn but this is Michigan. Anyone over the age of 50 went to college in a radically different time.
What else are we supposed to do but raise tuition?
I haven't seen this for UConn but this is Michigan. Anyone over the age of 50 went to college in a radically different time.
In one of my classes I ask students to redesign a stretch of road they've encountered that they consider dangerous -- and two students have picked this one. That a driver struck and killed a pedestrian last night is utterly, tragically, enragingly, predictable.
June 2, 2025 at 12:00 PM
In one of my classes I ask students to redesign a stretch of road they've encountered that they consider dangerous -- and two students have picked this one. That a driver struck and killed a pedestrian last night is utterly, tragically, enragingly, predictable.
Found this jammed in a box of water bottles in the basement and whew, RIP to UNC's Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS), a place that supported so many of us and produced excellent research. Killing research centers like this was the canary in the coal mine.
May 27, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Found this jammed in a box of water bottles in the basement and whew, RIP to UNC's Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS), a place that supported so many of us and produced excellent research. Killing research centers like this was the canary in the coal mine.
Props to the local church for playing carillon Do You Hear The People Sing today to let us know how they feel 😂 also it's incredible what West Hartford Center could be if it were designed for pedestrians.
May 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Props to the local church for playing carillon Do You Hear The People Sing today to let us know how they feel 😂 also it's incredible what West Hartford Center could be if it were designed for pedestrians.
I made myself a Watergate Cake for Mother's Day because at this point the best thing for me as a mom and for my kids' futures just might be a presidential resignation. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
May 11, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I made myself a Watergate Cake for Mother's Day because at this point the best thing for me as a mom and for my kids' futures just might be a presidential resignation. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
LaSalle is bleak without trees. And there absence is such a reminder of how much space there is -- and what could have been a great West Hartford Center plan if the town had listened to residents and not land lords.
May 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
LaSalle is bleak without trees. And there absence is such a reminder of how much space there is -- and what could have been a great West Hartford Center plan if the town had listened to residents and not land lords.
... And then this branch came down as I walked past, this campus really out here saying: go home, and don't come back until August.
May 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
... And then this branch came down as I walked past, this campus really out here saying: go home, and don't come back until August.
No more UConn appropriate way to end the semester than with a broken umbrella thanks to the excellent rain and wind we get in Storrs.
So long, 2024-2025 academic year. May Fall 2025 bless us with slow winds and gentle rain.
So long, 2024-2025 academic year. May Fall 2025 bless us with slow winds and gentle rain.
May 9, 2025 at 6:57 PM
No more UConn appropriate way to end the semester than with a broken umbrella thanks to the excellent rain and wind we get in Storrs.
So long, 2024-2025 academic year. May Fall 2025 bless us with slow winds and gentle rain.
So long, 2024-2025 academic year. May Fall 2025 bless us with slow winds and gentle rain.
My favorite part of this is: US News and World Reports named Florida #2 overall in education bc of their #1 ranking in higher education. 🙄
May 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
My favorite part of this is: US News and World Reports named Florida #2 overall in education bc of their #1 ranking in higher education. 🙄
So did we just give up on UConn's Mansfield Way being pedestrian only (with exceptions for facilities/disability)? Because I should not be encountering 6 speeding private cars while walking from the circle to Austin and back.
May 8, 2025 at 12:31 AM
So did we just give up on UConn's Mansfield Way being pedestrian only (with exceptions for facilities/disability)? Because I should not be encountering 6 speeding private cars while walking from the circle to Austin and back.
Trees, birds, ponds, and flowers are what is getting me through these days. I'm simultaneously so thankful for quiet rainy days in the park -- and already dreading another winter under this administration.
May 5, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Trees, birds, ponds, and flowers are what is getting me through these days. I'm simultaneously so thankful for quiet rainy days in the park -- and already dreading another winter under this administration.
I live in a dense, walkable 8x4 grid. Most crossings are 4-way stops but each street has a random 2-way. Due to crashes at 2way we've asked for all 4way but are repeatedly denied. This morning's crash is where my kids wait for friends before school. Wait for a kid to die before changing I guess. 🤷🏻♀️
May 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I live in a dense, walkable 8x4 grid. Most crossings are 4-way stops but each street has a random 2-way. Due to crashes at 2way we've asked for all 4way but are repeatedly denied. This morning's crash is where my kids wait for friends before school. Wait for a kid to die before changing I guess. 🤷🏻♀️
UConn not joking around with riding this gravy train all the way to Dallas.
May 1, 2025 at 6:11 PM
UConn not joking around with riding this gravy train all the way to Dallas.
Need to let my Connecticut people know that this year's senior scoop -- Bleed Blueberry Bliss -- is, like UConn basketball, elite. Blueberry cheesecake with Biscoff swirl. Go get some.
May 1, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Need to let my Connecticut people know that this year's senior scoop -- Bleed Blueberry Bliss -- is, like UConn basketball, elite. Blueberry cheesecake with Biscoff swirl. Go get some.
The past few months have been full of balance-seeking walks and recently this park has been the only thing keeping me from collapsing in despair and keeping me doing the work to get us out of this mess.
April 22, 2025 at 1:25 PM
The past few months have been full of balance-seeking walks and recently this park has been the only thing keeping me from collapsing in despair and keeping me doing the work to get us out of this mess.
Don't worry they will continue to say how wonderful it was the previous generations of students protested while simultaneously punishing students who support the NTT faculty who teach 40% of classes.
March 28, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Don't worry they will continue to say how wonderful it was the previous generations of students protested while simultaneously punishing students who support the NTT faculty who teach 40% of classes.