Tab Combs
@drtcombs.bsky.social
Transport-Equity-Resilience PhD.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
Road Harm Reducer.
Villagist.
She/hers. Occasional outbursts about dogs, kids, Davidson hoops, & gardening. My opinions are mine.
Please read pinned post before following.
We'd made a ton of progress as a field over the past decade dismantling the myth of "safety" and actually making things safer.
We need to not lose sight of that.
We need to not lose sight of that.
November 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
We'd made a ton of progress as a field over the past decade dismantling the myth of "safety" and actually making things safer.
We need to not lose sight of that.
We need to not lose sight of that.
My field's governing body still relies exclusively on twitter and meta for social media and...yeah...it's disappointing.
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 PM
My field's governing body still relies exclusively on twitter and meta for social media and...yeah...it's disappointing.
I appreciate your efforts to make me feel better but I knew full well there was poison ivy back there and that it still has potency without leaves and I STILL pulled weeds in a T-shirt and no gloves.
So I am getting my just desserts.
So I am getting my just desserts.
November 19, 2025 at 11:06 PM
I appreciate your efforts to make me feel better but I knew full well there was poison ivy back there and that it still has potency without leaves and I STILL pulled weeds in a T-shirt and no gloves.
So I am getting my just desserts.
So I am getting my just desserts.
I mean they also need blood.
November 19, 2025 at 7:07 PM
I mean they also need blood.
"I have issues" is my favorite. I nearly fell out of my chair when I read it
November 19, 2025 at 6:58 PM
"I have issues" is my favorite. I nearly fell out of my chair when I read it
Some big 'OMG I knowingly and unnecessarily created a dangerous situation why is nobody coming and fixing it for free' vibes
November 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Some big 'OMG I knowingly and unnecessarily created a dangerous situation why is nobody coming and fixing it for free' vibes
I would read the essay if it were about cars.
I think it the be the same essay, just find/replace phones and cars.
I think it the be the same essay, just find/replace phones and cars.
November 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I would read the essay if it were about cars.
I think it the be the same essay, just find/replace phones and cars.
I think it the be the same essay, just find/replace phones and cars.
I teach a whole graduate course module on the various purposes of streets and IDK why I never thought to include "receiving area for privately-owned leaves"
November 19, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I teach a whole graduate course module on the various purposes of streets and IDK why I never thought to include "receiving area for privately-owned leaves"
absolutely!
if it was bad for trees for leaves to sit on the ground, then I'm pretty sure trees would have evolved another mechanism for dealing with their leaves other than dropping them on the ground over the past few hundred million years
if it was bad for trees for leaves to sit on the ground, then I'm pretty sure trees would have evolved another mechanism for dealing with their leaves other than dropping them on the ground over the past few hundred million years
November 19, 2025 at 4:17 PM
absolutely!
if it was bad for trees for leaves to sit on the ground, then I'm pretty sure trees would have evolved another mechanism for dealing with their leaves other than dropping them on the ground over the past few hundred million years
if it was bad for trees for leaves to sit on the ground, then I'm pretty sure trees would have evolved another mechanism for dealing with their leaves other than dropping them on the ground over the past few hundred million years
No one is saying "thou shalt not get rid of leaves" (though you really should not get rid of your leaves because they are critical to soil health). We're just saying, "if you want them gone, then you should pay for it yourself"
November 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
No one is saying "thou shalt not get rid of leaves" (though you really should not get rid of your leaves because they are critical to soil health). We're just saying, "if you want them gone, then you should pay for it yourself"
You want your leaves gone, then pay someone to get them gone.
Blowing leaves into the street is bad enough; insisting everyone around you to pay for you to do it is selfish.
#LeaveYourLeaves
Blowing leaves into the street is bad enough; insisting everyone around you to pay for you to do it is selfish.
#LeaveYourLeaves
November 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
You want your leaves gone, then pay someone to get them gone.
Blowing leaves into the street is bad enough; insisting everyone around you to pay for you to do it is selfish.
#LeaveYourLeaves
Blowing leaves into the street is bad enough; insisting everyone around you to pay for you to do it is selfish.
#LeaveYourLeaves
...If you want to impose negative externalities on everyone else by degrading the local ecology, filling the air with noise pollution, and dumping your waste in the street, blocking bike lanes and clogging storm drains, it's really rather absurd to expect the public to accommodate you for free.
November 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
...If you want to impose negative externalities on everyone else by degrading the local ecology, filling the air with noise pollution, and dumping your waste in the street, blocking bike lanes and clogging storm drains, it's really rather absurd to expect the public to accommodate you for free.
They included stats for Duke and NCSU in the story.
November 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
They included stats for Duke and NCSU in the story.
we have some football-playing neighbors who like to race their ORV's around the 'hood in the evenings, and we've been wondering whether calling attention to their coaches would make a difference...and, I guess nah
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
we have some football-playing neighbors who like to race their ORV's around the 'hood in the evenings, and we've been wondering whether calling attention to their coaches would make a difference...and, I guess nah
calling someone by their preferred name is a matter of basic respect, and it costs you literally nothing to do.
suggesting or insisting they go by something else is offensive AF.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
suggesting or insisting they go by something else is offensive AF.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
November 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
calling someone by their preferred name is a matter of basic respect, and it costs you literally nothing to do.
suggesting or insisting they go by something else is offensive AF.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
suggesting or insisting they go by something else is offensive AF.
thank you for coming to my ted talk
the "I don't have kids so I shouldn't pay for the next generation to be educated" crowd
like y'all ain't gonna need doctors
like y'all ain't gonna need doctors
November 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
the "I don't have kids so I shouldn't pay for the next generation to be educated" crowd
like y'all ain't gonna need doctors
like y'all ain't gonna need doctors
all of them, actually, because they believe there is a direct line between leaves falling out of trees and winding up in storm drains.
this 'direct line' is, of course, their leafblowers blowing all the leaves into the gutter despite knowing they will not get picked up.
this 'direct line' is, of course, their leafblowers blowing all the leaves into the gutter despite knowing they will not get picked up.
November 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
all of them, actually, because they believe there is a direct line between leaves falling out of trees and winding up in storm drains.
this 'direct line' is, of course, their leafblowers blowing all the leaves into the gutter despite knowing they will not get picked up.
this 'direct line' is, of course, their leafblowers blowing all the leaves into the gutter despite knowing they will not get picked up.
I also pay taxes. Why did no one ask me before upgrading traffic signals, hiring new teachers, remediating mold in a public building, or making our parks ADA accessible????
November 17, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I also pay taxes. Why did no one ask me before upgrading traffic signals, hiring new teachers, remediating mold in a public building, or making our parks ADA accessible????
laws vary by state, but in my state, if you send your neighbor a certified letter informing them of the tree and your (legitimate) concern that it will damage your house if it falls, then they are liable for said damages.
otherwise, the tree is yours once it falls on your house.
otherwise, the tree is yours once it falls on your house.
November 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
laws vary by state, but in my state, if you send your neighbor a certified letter informing them of the tree and your (legitimate) concern that it will damage your house if it falls, then they are liable for said damages.
otherwise, the tree is yours once it falls on your house.
otherwise, the tree is yours once it falls on your house.
Good tree work is expensive!
(I worked on a tree crew to help pay for grad school)
(I worked on a tree crew to help pay for grad school)
November 17, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Good tree work is expensive!
(I worked on a tree crew to help pay for grad school)
(I worked on a tree crew to help pay for grad school)