Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 3hof course Harrah's (and the state prison) both have a much better location in Chester than Subaru Park, not to mention the Kimberly-Clark plant 110
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 3hUltimately Delco was able to fund its local portion through Harrah's taxes 210
Reposted by Ben SMae Nick Phra Khanong @nickjbrumfield.bsky.social · 25/04/2026Cool time distance map showing the drastic contraction of the time it took to get from Bangkok to far-flung places like Chiang Mai or Phuket with the coming of the railroads 29722
Reposted by Ben SLiz - High and Inside @lizzierie.bsky.social · 13hSchwarbs being a transit guy is elite stuff 556678
Reposted by Ben SColin @colin.hoagie.fun · 14hWheelie 3.0 is now in the App Store, and it’s a really nice update. I rethought how the main interface works to give you more flexibility and a new larger stats view. I also integrate in both directions with Apple Health now! apps.apple.com/us/app/wheelie-bike-… 042
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Yeah but they know how to keep it relatively isolated and not a backbone 010
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Whyyy do even the most competent agencies fall for gadgetbahn at some point? You literally built a brand-new electrified EMU-equipped railway right next to the airport, learning how to run mixed-traffic commuter service early is a valuable skillset 4180
Reposted by Ben SPhiladelphia Public Art @ philart.net @philartdotnet.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Today's random page is the entry for the unidentified Auto Parts Logo at the corner of 16th and Fairmount. It says 1923. www.philart.net/art/Auto_Par... #Philly #PublicArt #VisitPhilly #art 061
Reposted by Ben SBikepedantic @pedantic.bike · 09/10/2026“While we are heartened by these positive and tangible first steps," the [Gag] family wrote, "the City of Boston must act with more urgency moving forward — both in their rapid response to serious and fatal crashes and in their commitment to advance projects designed to make streets safer….” 1398
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Keystone Opportunity Zones keep University City thriving, even with the volatile biotech sector 070
Reposted by Ben SHugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 09/10/2026One of the last European Elektrichkas in operation outside Ukraine and Russia? The seats have seen better days, but man do these vehicles have character. 15010
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Merely having the design available to replicate is a weak gesture--at minimum the City should offer to split the cost of a crashworthy streetery 50-50 with the restaurant 152
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026We have our first visible next step for the Wanamaker: food & drink (sit-down or takeout). Hopefully we'll get more renderings at the ZBA hearing 0151
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Sketched out a Pennsylvanian-State College timetable. This schedule provides each train with symmetrical drop-offs and pick-ups to State College, requiring two buses over four shifts (with dinner break). Ideally CATA could run it and squeeze it into existing operator blocks 160
Reposted by Ben SMax Dubler 🏳️🌈 @maxdubler.com · 09/10/2026There is a worldwide network of unauthorized skateparks built underneath highway overpasses because these urban spaces are so polluted and unpleasant that city governments tolerate unpermitted construction that displaces drug dealers and other criminal behavior. 620516
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Also negative state preemption happens more subtly and administratively through state DOT control of urban arterials 010
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Court: "The staff member who made the assessment and recommended designation to the Commission resigned before the meeting...The only testimony the Commission heard about her work on this matter was negative". And remember a Commissioner forced staff to work on this! 050
Reposted by Ben SLewis Lehe @lewislehe.bsky.social · 08/10/2026stop times to frequencies! thats a time saver. 082
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026All of the meme Mamdani policies, none of the serious ones 1100
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Then again there isn't any significant opposition to extending it down to Fairmount Park 000
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Preservation is a movement whose culture is deeply tied to episodic wins and losses, where the main response to a loss is to advocate harder and toe the line. People actually trying to create a coherent policy platform and relate preservation to public utility are few and far between 160
Reposted by Ben SNeil Flanagan 🧱🗃️ @jgbollard.bsky.social · 08/10/2026My LinkedIn is full of preservation professionals who are confused and angry about that other fields haven't rallied to protect Section 106 process or fight the Senate permitting reform bill. They'll still defend all of this. 3174
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Even the PA state republicans were more clever than this by demanding more transit policing and fare evasion enforcement with meager funding 010
Reposted by Ben SUrban Land Rent 🇸🇴🚰 @urbanlandrent.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Nothing drives me more insane than smart boy center/center right commentators who believe that defunding programs will make them more efficient. It’s an underpants gnome theory of good governance. It’s an old story that has never panned out! 524727
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026My hypothesis is that Amtrak dispatch treats the entry-exit from Zoo-Lehigh as one elongated interlocking, and would rather line both switches for one train at a time 020
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026The portion of Chestnut Hill West along the Northeast Corridor should be capable of 70+ MPH speeds; instead it barely plods along at 45. Why? Because SEPTA has to defer to Amtrak when sharing track at two locations: LEHIGH at North Philadelphia, and ZOO where both share tracks inbound & outbound 1123
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Unfortunately Kenyatta Johnson is in full lockstep with the Mayor on this one 120
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 08/10/2026PARKER TO SMALL BUSINESS: DROP DEAD www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...inquirer.comCouncil President Kenyatta Johnson is holding up a bill aimed at providing tax relief for Philly’s small businessesCouncilmember Mike Driscoll’s bill aims to help many of the small businesses most affected by the elimination of a popular tax break after its constitutionality was challenged. 010
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I find it very funny among the things we rate worst in is auto shops per capita. Cannot wait to see more of them close 040
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026IMO suburban routes should largely be shorter but connected as timed-transfer suburban hubs, but most cities don't have the operational discipline to do this 250
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I mean they've already signaled interest in FrontRunner 2X and can neatly tie it into this www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/t...transit.dot.gov 020
Reposted by Ben Spork, cheese, broccoli rabe @garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz · 07/10/2026ok this is cool as hell 2261
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Yes, I was trying to sketch out how buses could shuttle between the stations and State College to meet with reasonable buffer and boarding time. Maybe CATA could join Amtrak Thruway to provide the equipment? 030
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Now that we finally have a 2nd Pennsylvanian, PA should be maximizing its value by running connecting Thruway buses to State College for at least some trains. Would be huge for breaks and game days 4273
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026To be fair rebuilds of historical buildings had been going on continuously for millennia, no concept of Western-style historic preservation until very recently 150
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026REM should have used red to honor CN and use the reserved Line 3 color 100
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026All depends on your agency and municipality's interpretation of the NFPA 130 fire code, requiring enlarged circulation & areas of refuge 010
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026If this change is enacted, virtually every single urban highway widening project can waive NEPA and go through with 99% opposition, simply by calling each new lane an "auxiliary lane" stretching from exit to exit indefinitely. Including PennDOT's 10-lane I-95 rebuild through Center City 43210
Reposted by Ben SKea Wilson @keawilson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I think in safe streets advocacy, we have a knee-jerk tendency to say that people speed for just one reason — because they can. But we actually make it impossible for cars to break limits, we have to sweat the psychology of individual drivers. Which, it turns out, is *all over the map.*usa.streetsblog.orgThe Five Types of Speeding Drivers — Streetsblog USAIt's easy to jump to conclusions about why so many drivers continuously break speed limits, whether you assume they just can't help it or just don't care about anyone but themselves. 072
Reposted by Ben SAri Ofsevit @ofsevit.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I believe this is my longest blog post ever, and one of the longest things I've ever written. Long-form lives! ariofsevit.com/apb/2026/10/...ariofsevit.com The Road Pricing Post | "Amateur" Planner Blog 3123
Reposted by Ben SBrandon S., aka BrandTran @brandtran.bsky.social · 06/10/2026A new 40ft heavy duty diesel entry is coming into the US #Transit Bus market is coming from a friend. Introducing COR Transit. www.sustainable-bus.com/news/abc-com...sustainable-bus.comABC Companies establishes COR Transit, with U.S.-built 40-foot bus under development - Sustainable BusNorth American bus and motorcoach distributor and service provider ABC Companies has launched COR Transit, a new U.S.-focused transit bus brand 011
Reposted by Ben SPhilip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Stunning new housing under construction in Amsterdam! 105 apartments, with a mass timber inner structure and brick facade - a great combination. By Monadnock Architecture - a short thread 🧵 39521
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026More than anything this shows the blatant difference in response times in Center City vs Upper North, and where the attention has been paid 000
Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026If you tried this in Gladwyne they'd call the police on you lol 020
Reposted by Ben SBradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026There's a pocket of Philly that's nearly impossible to believe: old farmhouses, hundreds of acres of forest, foxes running across front yards. Now squeezed by development and climate change, what will it take to preserve this last bit of wild Philadelphia?phillymag.comThe Final Wilderness in Philadelphia Is Under AttackUpper Roxborough is the last rural corner of Philadelphia, a place where forests and fields reign. Squeezed by development and climate change, how much longer can it last? 25324