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Ben S

@bensh3.bsky.social
1.9K followers 978 following 6.3K posts

Transit planning & geospatial analysis Ed Bacon fan | 平均地权 upholder | Philadelphia maneto Posts are mine only and don't reflect anyone else

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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 3h
of 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 3h
Ultimately Delco was able to fund its local portion through Harrah's taxes
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Mae Nick Phra Khanong @nickjbrumfield.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Cool 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
Time Distance Maps of Thailand during the dry season in 1890 and 1922, with the advent of railroads drastically shrinking the amount of time it took to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai from around 50 days to less than 5
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Liz - High and Inside @lizzierie.bsky.social · 13h
Schwarbs being a transit guy is elite stuff
Screenshot of Kyle Schwarber’s instagram story of him on a septa train and text reads

Top 5 Reasons
Riding SEPTA is a Pro Move
Phillies
1. It's $2.90
2. No traffic
3. No parking
4. Center City to South Philly in 11 minutes
5. Kids ride free
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Colin @colin.hoagie.fun · 14h
Wheelie 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-…
A cycling app displays a Philadelphia map centered near Rittenhouse Square and Center City, with landmarks including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Franklin Institute, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The ride has not started: heading southeast at 156°, speed 0.0 MPH, distance 0.0 miles, elevation 0 feet, and elapsed time 00:00:00; a green “Start ride” button is visible.A ride-tracking app screen shows speed at 0.0 MPH, elapsed time 00:00:00, distance 0.0 miles, elevation 0 feet, and a southward heading of 161°. A green “Start ride” button appears above navigation tabs for Ride, History, and Settings.Ride Details screen showing a color-coded route map between Philadelphia and Camden. The ride started at W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA, and ended at Blair St, Philadelphia, PA, on Friday, October 9, 2026; distance 12.15 miles, elevation gain 390 feet, average speed 10.6 mph, clear weather.Phone screen showing an “Import from Apple Health” list of workouts in Philadelphia, with selectable orange circles and dates, times, durations, and distances ranging from 4.52 to 10.25 miles. An “Import” button appears at the top right.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Yeah but they know how to keep it relatively isolated and not a backbone
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Whyyy 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
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Philadelphia Public Art @ philart.net @philartdotnet.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Today'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
White stone relief of a boy in a hat with a tire around his neck that comes down to his knees.  Both of his hands are holding up the tire from below.  He is standing on a rectangle that says 1923.  The whole thing is inside a circular niche in the red brick wall.  The bricks inside the niche are in a herringbone pattern.
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Bikepedantic @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….”
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Pedestrianizing Passyunk works!
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Keystone Opportunity Zones keep University City thriving, even with the volatile biotech sector
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Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 09/10/2026
One of the last European Elektrichkas in operation outside Ukraine and Russia? The seats have seen better days, but man do these vehicles have character.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Merely 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
We 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
Notice of Zoning Appeal posted in Wanamaker Building window
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Sketched 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
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 09/10/2026
There 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.
Burnside skatepark in Portland, Oregon FDR skatepark, Philadelphia Marginal Way skatepark, SeattleChannel Street, San Pedro CA
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Also negative state preemption happens more subtly and administratively through state DOT control of urban arterials
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Court: "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!
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Lewis Lehe @lewislehe.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
stop times to frequencies! thats a time saver.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
All of the meme Mamdani policies, none of the serious ones
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Then again there isn't any significant opposition to extending it down to Fairmount Park
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Preservation 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
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Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️ @jgbollard.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
My 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.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Even the PA state republicans were more clever than this by demanding more transit policing and fare evasion enforcement with meager funding
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Urban Land Rent 🇸🇴🚰 @urbanlandrent.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Nothing 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!
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
My 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Unfortunately Kenyatta Johnson is in full lockstep with the Mayor on this one
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
PARKER TO SMALL BUSINESS: DROP DEAD www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
inquirer.com
Council President Kenyatta Johnson is holding up a bill aimed at providing tax relief for Philly’s small businesses
Councilmember 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.
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It's hourly now...
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I find it very funny among the things we rate worst in is auto shops per capita. Cannot wait to see more of them close
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Recreating interurbans from first principles, expensively
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
IMO 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I 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
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pork, cheese, broccoli rabe @garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz · 07/10/2026
ok this is cool as hell
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yes, 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?
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Now 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
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
To be fair rebuilds of historical buildings had been going on continuously for millennia, no concept of Western-style historic preservation until very recently
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
REM should have used red to honor CN and use the reserved Line 3 color
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
All depends on your agency and municipality's interpretation of the NFPA 130 fire code, requiring enlarged circulation & areas of refuge
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
If 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
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Kea Wilson @keawilson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I 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.org
The Five Types of Speeding Drivers — Streetsblog USA
It'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.
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Ari Ofsevit @ofsevit.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I 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
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Brandon S., aka BrandTran @brandtran.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A 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.com
ABC Companies establishes COR Transit, with U.S.-built 40-foot bus under development - Sustainable Bus
North American bus and motorcoach distributor and service provider ABC Companies has launched COR Transit, a new U.S.-focused transit bus brand
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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Stunning 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 🧵
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
More than anything this shows the blatant difference in response times in Center City vs Upper North, and where the attention has been paid
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
gotta support the actual dinosaur skeletons downtown too 👆
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
If you tried this in Gladwyne they'd call the police on you lol
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Bradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
There'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.com
The Final Wilderness in Philadelphia Is Under Attack
Upper 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?
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Ben S @bensh3.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Ticket collector's seat
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