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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 23/06/2026

One of my firmest-held urbanist beliefs is that full-size SUVs and pickup trucks (e.g., Ford F-150, Toyota Sequoia, etc.) should require a CDL to operate. This article explains why.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 05/04/2026

As both a pilot and safe streets advocate, the amount of effort put into ensuring the safety of air travel vs car travel is absolutely mind boggling.

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Reposted by Chase Tralka

Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Mayor Mamdani should move parking enforcement back to the Department of Transportation. (Giuliani moved it from DOT to the NYPD in 1996, so it's not as if this is some rule that was handed down from God to Moses.)

nyc.streetsblog.org

Today in Placard Abuse: The 'Lieutenant’s Girlfriend' Who Parks Illegally - Streetsblog New York City

Meet a driver who gets the gold medal for placard corruption.

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Reposted by Chase Tralka

Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

If you're cold, they're cold... NYPL edition.

New York Public Library lion covered in snow.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 04/12/2025

I know that the November 2025 master plan for the cruise terminal includes installing (and mandating the use of) shore power for docked ships, which should help reduce the pollution a bit. Though I know that compliance with this at the Brooklyn terminal is spotty at best.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 04/12/2025

Yeah, I'm of a similar opinion, but it does appear that ship has sailed. Though I will note my concerns with the cruise terminal are less about whether or not cruise ships should dock there and more about how it's so hostile for users of the Greenway between 46th and 54th Streets.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 04/12/2025

I do wonder if the NYC EDC's plan to expand the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to accept even larger cruise ships at 54th Street will result in any new bridge having to be so high that the construction costs will be prohibitive (not to mention a pain to bike over for casual cyclists)

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 02/12/2025

The structure of this survey is they just show you things in a list and you give a thumbs up/down or not heard of answer. Not exactly the most rigorous investigation into people’s opinions of these characters.

YouGov survey example showing Gwen Stefani with rating options red thumbs down, orange thumbs down, yellow neutral, light green thumbs up, dark green thumbs up, or Not heard of options.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 02/09/2025

Semi-regular reminder that my dad will frequently see Bill Belichick at the Nantucket town dump.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 25/06/2025

I think I got ~20 anti-Mamdani flyers in the mail just in the past 5 days.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 19/06/2025

Don't threaten me with a good time, John.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 28/05/2025

So I found lists of the players who have hit HRs into the River, Cove, and Pool (couldn't find a fountain list). Nobody has hit all three, but 9 people have hit 2 of the 3 and of those 9, 6 have also homered at Kauffman: D. Span, J. Burnitz, J. Pederson, J. Cruz, Jr., P. Goldschmidt, and S. Vogt

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 21/02/2025

I'm not a hockey expert, but leaving Conner McDavid wide open in the high slot seems like a bad idea...

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 13/02/2025

Center City Philly is another good option (perhaps between Spring Garden and South Streets) but I worry that the regional rail component of SEPTA's operations isn't robust enough currently to be viable at present (classic chicken-egg problem).

Map of Center City Philadelphia with proposed congestion relief zone boundaries of Spring Garden Street to the north and South street to the south, with the Schuykill and Delaware Rivers as boundaries to the west and east, respectively.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 13/02/2025

Boston is a bit trickier on the southwest side. I'd like to see Back Bay included in the zone, but including the South End is probably not necessary. So there are three options that I see. Dark blue as the most expansive, teal to include Back Bay, and pink as perhaps as phase 1 with room to grow.

Map of central Boston with proposed options for Congestion Relief Zone boundaries.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 13/02/2025

For Chicago, I think the logical boundaries would be Roosevelt Road to the south and all of the river crossings to the West and North. I'd keep Lake Shore Drive untolled but if you turn off it anywhere between Roosevelt and the River, you're tolled (akin to the West Side Hwy in NYC).

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 13/02/2025

I've been thinking a lot about what the most-logical next cities would be for congestion-relief pricing and I really think Chicago and Boston are the best options. Both have good metro and regional rail networks, clearly defined CBDs, and logical geographic boundaries.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 10/02/2025

I do truly think that a lot of this administration's decision-making is grounded in "what would make the Libs most upset."

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 10/02/2025

I deeply, truly, passionately hate the Eagles, so I am choosing this moment to channel my anger at John Mara, Joe Schoen, and the entire NY Giants ownership and management team for squandering our time with Saquon.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 07/02/2025

Caught the open-gangway C train today. The four high school girls who got on with me are shook.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 05/02/2025

Er, just Morris (realized right after I sent it that Somerset was in that article)

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 05/02/2025

Do you know if there's a listing of all of the municipalities in NJ somewhere? Would love to look at Morris and Somerset Counties, where I suspect the number of non-compliant towns will exceed 75%

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 03/02/2025

QQ: is there a reason we're not targeting Menin, Ayala, and Salaam? Their districts have extensive transit options and I feel like it would be a great message to say that we have all of the Manhattan reps on board?

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 03/02/2025

Got to pilot a small plane around Manhattan last Thursday night. It was incredible.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 03/02/2025

Can you spot the train station for a city of 2.3 million people?

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 03/02/2025

Friendly neighborhood (recovering) cybersecurity consultant here: One of the easiest and best things you can do to reduce the risk of identity theft is to put freezes on all four (yes, four--don't forget Innovis) of your credit reports.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

It's also worth noting that the security thing is obviously BS. Bloomberg rode the subway every day to city hall. If the billionaire mayor can do it, so can you.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

I'm positive the councilmember one is because they don't want to be bugged about random issues by people on the trains.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

How many times in the last 40 years do you think Schumer has been on the subway?

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Now you've got me thinking about some sort of crossrail-type project that builds a line that through-runs Penn Station between EWR and JFK with a bunch of stops along the way.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

True. True. I really just want more trains and more politicians to realize that trains are good.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

I was thinking mostly about the Heathrow Express, where it's 16mi long and only stops at T5, T2/3, and Paddington. An equivalent system for EWR would be 12mi (plus airtrain)

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

It would be interesting if there were some way to do an EWR express, like many European airports have, where they just run two trains nonstop between EWR and NYP for like $15.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Mostly because I have zero faith in any NJ Governor making that intelligent decision.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

OH! Yes, having to rely on NJT from the EWR Airtrain is a problem, which I why I'm in favor of extending the PATH to the Airtrain station (though that off peak service isn't anything to write home about). I don't think it's required to extend that PATH all the way to the terminals, but not opposed.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

I definitely would love to see more NJT service on those routes, I just feel like it'll be a hard sell to the NJ Governor to increase NJT service just to improve EWR transit into Manhattan. (Or at least it's a hard sell to the current NJ Governor)

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Then you're even more hosed if you're hoping to rely on NJTransit. It doesn't make much sense to be that they nerf the Airtrain service so heavily off peak. The system is fully automated so it's not like you're saving personnel costs.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Wouldn't increasing the number NEC/NCL trains bump up against the tunnel capacity limitations? Also, then you're talking about an NJTransit modification instead of keeping it all within the PANYNJ system. That said, just extending the PATH 2.5mi to the airport train station is my preferred option.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Let’s turn “the all powerful bicycle lobby” from a joke into reality.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Don't threaten me with a good time, Linda.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 01/02/2025

Such a fun evening bringing together so much of the NYC Urbanist community to hear @thewaroncars.bsky.social and @nerd4cities.bsky.social at Hunter College

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 31/01/2025

Yeah, that was my thinking. There will be a ton of flights following the Beltway along route 3 and then shooting up/down I-395 to/from the Pentagon on route 5, as opposed to doing what the DoD choppers currently do and flying up route 1 or down route 4.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 31/01/2025

Why do I get the feeling that incorrectly naming the Frederick Douglass bridge was intentional...

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 31/01/2025

I imagine Rt. 5 from the Pentagon is about to get a lot busier

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 30/01/2025

Aviation folks talk about the Swiss Cheese model: errors will happen, but unless all the holes line up an accident won't occur. Sadly the holes lined up. ATC thinks chopper has the plane, chopper thinks plane is on 01 approach, plane thinks chopper has them, chopper drifts a little west and up… bang

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 30/01/2025

Both are bad. I will not be accepting @'s.

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Chase Tralka @chasetralka.com · 30/01/2025

Correct. The helicopter chart doesn't really make it clear where Route 1 turns into Route 4 (seems to be either when you pass Haines Point or when you cross Route 6), but all of them should be below 200' MSL (I put AGL in my post but in this area they're functionally the same).

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