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merlinrain.bsky.social

@merlinrain.bsky.social
231 followers 303 following 292 posts
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
‘A great, immeasurable loss’: Social justice organizer KL Shannon dies at 59
Organizer, activist and community leader KL Shannon left a long legacy of fighting for social and racial justice in the Seattle area, writes Naomi Ishisaka.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Why not just put up a couple tables and umbrellas and keep the street open for PEOPLE??
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The WAR ON WALKING has taken many forms around the world. It’s often as simple as how we signal who space is and isn’t for. Once our eyes are opened to all the ways we’ve prioritized cars over people, we can’t unsee it. Frustrating photo contributed by @stadsplanering.bsky.social. #WarOnWalking
Background photo from North Macedonia, where “sidewalks are mostly used to park cars” as explained by photo contributor Carl-Henrik Barnekow. Text says “Don’t buy the lie that there’s a war on cars. They’ve been waging a war on walking for a century.” Via the Urban Truth Collective. #WarOnCars #UrbanTruth
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You’d think there would at least be a bench there
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Take the Link to Beacon Hill, have coffee at The Station, then walk or bike to Jefferson Park and the Beacon Food Forest
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Helping someone gain confidence riding a bike!
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
There isn’t a green arrow - but the lane with the ordinary green light is right turn only - across a crosswalk with a “go” light for walkers
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The scariest is right on green when the right lane is right turn only for cars and at the same time the walk light is on. We have multiple intersections like this in Seattle.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Come ride with me! cascade.org/rides-events...
cascade.org
SLOW Ride to Car-Free Lake Washington Boulevard (Easy)
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
This question should be asked at every medical appointment: how would you get around if you couldn’t drive a car?
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Seattle Streets Alliance @streetsalliance.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
98% of people support keeping unnecessary car traffic out of Pike Place. And during the pilot, visitation and sales both increased. @gordonofseattle.bsky.social makes the case for keeping Pike Place people-first year-round. Read op-ed: www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-how-pi... via @theurbanist.org
theurbanist.org
Op-Ed: How Pike Place Market Can Thrive in the Winter Without Car Traffic
SDOT is weighing a plan that would fully reopen Pike Place to cars Monday through Thursday from October to March. Here why that approach is wrong and how the Market will thrive with year-round pedestr...
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
They were doing YOGA in my kindergarten classroom!
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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Thank you to @mayor.seattle.gov for letting Lake Washington Boulevard better serve the community this summer. The boulevard is most accessible when it is closed to car through-traffic, and OPEN to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to enjoy as the 3 mile public waterfront PARK it is
Two senior women using adaptive cycles, and people walking abs pushing strollers in background Skateboarding mom with sonBiking kiddo with mom Two men walking with woman in wheelchair. This photo from a former year
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Mayor Katie B. Wilson @mayor.seattle.gov · 12/08/2026
Shout it from the rooftops: City Council just voted to ban rental junk fees! #affordability #junkfees #renters #seattle #mayorkatiewilson
youtube.com
Rental junk fees banned!
YouTube video by Mayor Katie B. Wilson
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
For people who don’t bike, sharrows communicate that in order to bike, you have to ride with fast-moving traffic, risking your life and aggravating drivers. Sharrows discourage biking -AND make biking dangerous.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 10/08/2026
In June 2026 the Seattle region had >by far< the highest US light rail ridership—5.5m riders—vs 4.5m in LA, the 2nd highest. Seattle light rail ridership has exploded since January! Overall, the region's transit ridership is ~back to pre-covid levels. www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/us-...
Transit ridership among top 10 light rail operators, US, by month.Light rail ridership, Seattle region, by month.Overall transit ridership, Seattle region, by month.
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
“3/4ths of disabled people don’t drive. Stop using us as an excuse for car dependency.” — @nondriver.bsky.social in collaboration with @urbantruth.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth Worth repeating. #UrbanTruth
Same quote as in post. Tagline is “Mobility freedom comes from mobility choices.”
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It would be so much more realistic if they blew up a couple schools and a hospital or two
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John Lloyd @boyonabike62.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Cars have a geometry problem. They’re incredibly spatially inefficient.
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Erik Ostrom @erikostrom.com · 26/07/2026
Also
“Ghent is calm yet lively, tranquil yet filled with pleasant sound. One resident went so far as to tell Filip Watteeuw he was "the best orchestral composer the city has ever had," because the noise created by excessive automobile traffic had been replaced by an urban symphony of people talking, bicycle gears cranking, and birds singing. While we were in Ghent, we stood at the intersection of two major bike routes.
There we heard the joyful sound of children
laughing and playing, presumably from a schoolyard or playground just out of sight. It was a beautiful reminder that cities aren't loud, cars are loud.”
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Caræsten 🇵🇸 @cara.city · 25/07/2026
riding bikes is also vastly more pro social than driving a car. you pay so much more attention to the world around you and are so much better enmeshed in your community.
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Simple message, really. Thanks for the bluntness, @nondriver.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth
“3/4 of disabled people don’t drive. Stop using us as an excuse for car dependency.“ Via Anna Zivarts. The tagline at the bottom says “mobility freedom comes from mobility choices.“ Via the Urban Truth Collective in  collaboration with Anna Zivarts.
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Reo Eveleth @reveleth.com · 19/07/2026
I'm about to get myself banned from editing Wikipedia for continually updating the page for this WC to insist that Cabo Verde won the whole thing.
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Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
in seattle motorists outnumber cyclists 20 to 1
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Everybody would rather watch the games
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
A few years ago, I calculated the heat emitted by cars in New York City as patio heaters, to give people an idea of scale in a measure they could understand. Every day there are 157,000 patio heater equivalents running around New York. Turn them off! www.treehugger.com/cars-add-hea...
treehugger.com
Cars Add a Lot of Heat to Our Cities—It's Time to Ban Them
Learn how cars are worsening the heat wave and why it's time to reassess their place in cities.
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Seattle Bike Blog @seattlebikeblog.com · 01/07/2026
Streets Alliance: 3 actions Seattle can take now to make streets safer #SEAbikes #Seattle
seattlebikeblog.com
Streets Alliance: 3 actions Seattle can take now to make streets safer
The Seattle Streets Alliance has published an action alert urging Seattle to take three actions to improve street safety, two specific interventions and one systemic change. Supporters can sign on to the ideas and send letters to city leaders. Daylight every intersection SDOT touches SDOT image adapted from a graphic by Lancaster, PA. Image adapted from California's Streets for All. The group is calling for SDOT to daylight every intersection they touch, which means installing physical barriers to prevent people from parking cars illegally close to a crosswalk. State law already prohibits&hellip;
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Mothin Ali @mothinali.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Great effort by the councils active travel department and Everybody Cycles, organising this event to improve accessibility to everyone regardless of ability to get active and get cycling!
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
There aren’t any, Tom.
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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
"Most [🚲🛴] users are using MLK and Rainier Avenue to get through Rainier Valley, despite the lack of protected infrastructure...This reality begs the question, why are there no plans to build protected bike and scooter infrastructure on these critical corridors?"
heat map
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
At signalized intersections, people walking are threatened from 3 of 4 directions: drivers turning right on green, left on green, and right on red. Even in right-turn only lanes, drivers frequently get solid green when the walk signal indicates it’s safe to walk.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
😂
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Franken Phil @philisit.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
TheUS is currently in negotiations with Iran to open the Reflecting Pool.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
A true emergency! Protect the pool!
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
They took down the signs saying bikes are forbidden on the pedestrian promenade- so I ride there. Even with crowds of people it feels more comfortable and safer than the bike lane which is too narrow and has poor visibility
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nondriver @nondriverpodcast.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Anna lives w/ low vision & turned what used to be hidden into something inspiring communities across the US to think outside the car. From union organizing to becoming an author, this is Anna's story Full episode below ⤵️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=14gY... Help us grow. Please like, share + subscribe!
youtube.com
Why Nondrivers Should Lead the Urbanist Movement
YouTube video by nondriver
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
This waterfront kiosk says NOTHING about bikes! No bike lanes on the map, not even the brand new one right here
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Cathy Tuttle @cathytuttle.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Happy 15th Birthday Seattle Streets Alliance! Here are 2 messages for you from Utrecht, NL If you're in Seattle you can still get free tickets to celebrate streets w @streetsalliance.bsky.social! Sat June 6, 3-6PM Barbara Bailey Way @ Capitol Hill Light Rail www.streetsalliance.org/get-involved...
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Seattle Streets Alliance @streetsalliance.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Today is the day! 🎉 Join us from 3–6 PM on Barbara Bailey Way as we celebrate 15 years of organizing for safer, more people-centered streets in Seattle. We're also excited to welcome Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who will join us for a brief speaking program at 3:30 PM!
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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I'm much taller than the reflecting pool
A chart showing I am significantly taller than the reflecting pool
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Bring it!!
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
According to the Seattle Times coverage it was a self-driving car- no mention of a human at all
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Today was pretty special.
Katie Wilson and Josie with bikes at Judkins ParkBunch of folks biking to Lake Washington BoulevardBiking on Lake Washington BoulevardKatie Wilson cutting the ribbon
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Hannah Thomasy @hannahthomasy.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
For millennia, humans have been using decoys to lure birds to particular places, usually to eat them. But decoys can also be used for conservation: Artists & scientists are creating realistic fake birds to attract puffins, terns, and other seabirds to restored nesting sites. @biographic.bsky.social🧪
biographic.com
The Artist Showing Seabirds Home
The woman at the heart of a long-standing avian restoration program blends art and science to attract birds back to lost habitat.
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
I just got tickets for @streetsalliance.bsky.social 15th Anniversary Street Party on June 6! Can you join me? https:// streetsalliance.org/street-party
streetsalliance.org
15th Anniversary Street Party
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Thank you Mark!!
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Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
our neighbors are an elderly couple who traded in gas/hybrid for a lightly used EV but they also picked up matching step-through e-bikes during pandemic they use those way more than their car. even at 70 the e-bike is preferred. it's fun. flattens hills. and it's often faster than driving
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merlinrain.bsky.social @merlinrain.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
With a plan like that, how could you fail??
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