iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 03/07/2025

There has also been a reversal in the spike in reckless driving that skyrocketed during COVID and in the years that followed. Cracking down on ghost cars is likely part of the reason

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 03/07/2025

You've been doing this long enough to know that it's never one thing in isolation and varies by mode The release spells out a few factors: cumulative impact of street redesigns, record bike/ped space, ghost car crackdown, aggressive NYPD enforcement in high-crash corridors, 24/7 speed cams

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 20/05/2025

Curious about @nyc-dot.bsky.social's daylighting study, why bike lanes are good for people who don't bike, and the future of Vision Zero? Check out part 2 of the Curb Enthusiasm podcast with DOT Deputy Commissioner Eric Beaton. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

podcasts.apple.com

Episode 8 (Part 2): Eric Beaton on the Truth About Daylighting, Why Bike Lanes Benefit Everyone, and the Future of Vision Zero

Podcast Episode · Curb Enthusiasm · 05/20/2025 · 29m

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Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Truly wonderful. There’s such a huge demand for open streets in New York!

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 06/05/2025

New Today: The Man Who Designs NYC's Streets Check out Deputy Commissioner Eric Beaton on @NYC_DOT's Curb Enthusiasm Podcast. He's the best of the best. In part 1 of the episode, he discusses the importance of data in transportation planning. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

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David Leavitt @davidleavitt.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

The community note

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 26/04/2025

The final honor guard for Pope Francis included migrants, prisoners, transgender people, the homeless and others selected by the Vicariate of Rome as a symbol of the late pope’s mission of inclusion and outreach. Read more from the funeral: wapo.st/3YdDGqM

“That they should be the ones to welcome Pope Francis’s coffin in the basilica is because these people are those who represented the focus of his mission,” said Father Giulio Albanese, head of missionary cooperation and communications for the Vicariate of Rome. “They are those who live on the peripheries, geographical and existential peripheries.”

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

I appreciate you saying this. I know there are people who don't want to hear it because it challenges some assumptions. But there has to be a data-driven approach, even when the results are unexpected.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

I know some don’t like hearing it and the results of the study were surprising. (It surprised DOT too!) But, we shouldn’t design streets based on gut instincts instead of hard data.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

Because there are 40,000 intersections and roughly 160,000 intersection corners, universal hardened daylight is infeasible. It would cost $3 billion and drain critical resources from other mandates and goals that are proven to have even greater safety benefits.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

Now, there were some benefits to hardened daylighting, and @nyc-dot.bsky.social has been doing thoughtful, data-driven hardened daylighting at hundreds of locations each year. But, it’s a situational tool and in some cases other safety treatments have greater safety benefits.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

And, there is no reason to believe that people wouldn’t illegally park in simple ‘no parking’ areas less often than at a fire hydrant. If anything, you would think a fire hydrant would be a greater deterrent to illegal parking than simple No Parking.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

Some have criticized using hydrant zones as a proxy for daylighting because there may have been a car parked there when a crash occurred. But, here’s the rub: when DOT compared daylit to nearby non-daylit locations, the non-daylit (where a car is likely ALWAYS parked) were safer.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

The study did similar analysis at 7,000 areas with fire hydrants/bus stops at intersections and the results were similarly negative. These areas are a reasonable proxy for universal daylighting because they are no parking zones at intersections that were indiscriminately placed.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

The hypothesis is that the wider turn radius and drivers’ belief that they had a fuller range of sight caused them to take turns faster and more carelessly. The report also looked at similar nearby intersections without daylighting and found they were actually safer.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

Before/after analysis at daylit locations in the city found that those without ‘hardened’ daylighting - which is what universal daylighting would be - made intersections less safe, on average.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

The universal daylighting bill will not yield notable safety benefits and could make many intersections MORE dangerous. @nyc-dot.bsky.social studied it and the results even surprised us. Here are the facts:

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 21/04/2025

Some thoughts on the NYC City Council universal daylighting bill... 🧵

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 14/04/2025

Don’t disagree that on-site charging offers promise, but it is costly - like everything DOT does - and requires underground utility work

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 02/04/2025

Encouraging news: Traffic deaths in New York City reached historic lows during the first quarter of 2025 and injuries also sharply declined. Declines include every category of road user. Vision Zero works, but there’s more to do because one death is one too many. nypost.com/2025/04/02/u...

nypost.com

Exclusive | NYC traffic deaths plummet in first quarter of 2025, city data shows

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 19/03/2025

And as a kid from Appalachia, this includes engaging rural America. As funny as he is, we need to stop Jordan Klepper-ing. Don’t mock small town America, don’t belittle people and treat them like they’re dumb. It makes us come off as elitists. Hear people, understand them, welcome them in.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 19/03/2025

Dems should focus on bread and butter economic issues. It’s how FDR cemented Democratic majorities for generations (Dems controlled the House for 58 of the next 62 years after his election!!) Build coalitions that get you to 270, 51, and 218. You can’t change anything if you can’t win majorities

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 14/03/2025

a journey of 1,336 pages begins with a single sentence Power Broker sighting on the train. God speed, sir!

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 13/03/2025

“NYC streets, sidewalks and open spaces have achieved record-breaking safety and accessibility improvements in recent years” There’s so much to celebrate and the work continues! www.amny.com/nyc-transit/...

amny.com

NYC streets and open spaces see more safety and accessibility in 2024: DOT

NYC streets and open spaces have achieved record-breaking safety and accessibility improvements in recent years, officials say.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 12/03/2025

I love this story that captures what makes vinyl so special. The best sound in an age of compressed digital Enjoying a full album as intended in an age of shuffle A physical connection to music in a digital age Supporting artists who make peanuts off streaming www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/a...

nytimes.com

The Wizard of Vinyl Is in Kansas

Chad Kassem is on a mission — saving listeners “from bad sound” — at the rural factory where he pores over LPs from some of music’s most important artists.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 04/03/2025

Overweight trucks on the BQE declined 60% after @nyc-dot.bsky.social began using weight sensors to nab violators. A game changer for protecting aging infrastructure. Commish Rodriguez is in Albany today pushing for renewal & statewide expansion of law permitting use www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/n...

nytimes.com

For Once, Good News About the B.Q.E.

Fewer overweight trucks are heading toward Queens, the Department of Transportation found, thanks to hidden sensors.

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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 01/03/2025

NEW: Senator Marshall (R-KS) RUNS AWAY, fleeing his own town hall after being asked about DOGE firing Veterans. MAKE HIM GO VIRAL.

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Vincent Barone ⛲️ @vinbarone.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

There are so many demonstrably untrue claims in this Post story about our Sixth Avenue project. Let’s go over each one.

Screengrab of NY Post headline: Car-hating NYC bureaucrats quietly making congestion worse with plan to cut vehicle lanes

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 01/03/2025

Happy 3-1 to all who celebrate

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 27/02/2025

Killed by a Traffic Engineer is one of the most heralded transportation books in recent years. Check out its author Wes Marshall on the new episode of the Curb Enthusiasm podcast by @nyc-dot.bsky.social 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... 📺 m.youtube.com/watch?v=4lR2...

podcasts.apple.com

Curb Enthusiasm

Government Podcast · 7 Episodes · Updated Monthly

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 10/02/2025

How can cyclists hit every green light and drivers get to where they’re going just as quickly while driving slower? Ride the ‘Green Wave’ on Third Ave! (It also makes the street safer.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/n...

nytimes.com

Why the Traffic Lights Have Slowed Down on 3rd Avenue

The city has reset traffic signals on a two-mile stretch to make it safer for cyclists.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 08/02/2025

Incredibly sad. Reading his work changed the way I think about parking & streets. He was revolutionary. Honored I met him through @nyc-dot.bsky.social's podcast 🎧https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-2-the-high-cost-of-free-parking-with-donald-shoup/id1753119803?i=1000673135167

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 25/01/2025

157 days until Oasis summer

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 16/01/2025

Joe Biden has served our country for 1 in 5 days it has existed. We owe him a debt of gratitude for a lifetime in service of others. Our country is better for it. Thank you, Mr. President.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 03/01/2025

How has @nyc-dot.bsky.social tripled minority and women-owned contracting in 2 years and what does it mean both for small businesses and advancing transportation projects? Governing profiles this work and Commissioner Rodriguez’s deep personal commitment to equity. www.governing.com/management-a...

governing.com

How New York Made Big Diversity Gains in Transportation Contracts

New York City’s Department of Transportation awarded a third of its contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses last year, a priority of Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

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Metropolitan Transportation Authority @mta.info · 02/01/2025

REMINDER: Starting this Sunday, January 5, 2025, vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone in Manhattan — local streets and avenues at or below 60 Street — will be charged a toll. Here's a thread with information about toll rates, discounts/exemptions, FAQs, and more ⬇️

congestionreliefzone.mta.info

Congestion Pricing Program in New York - MTA

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Phil BuildTheFutureNow @philsustainability.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

If all Americans had access to Walkable neighborhoods & mass transit: Healthcare costs ↓ 10-30%, Transportation costs ↓ 30-60%, Life expectancy ↑ 2-5 years. 🤔

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 31/12/2024

My first CD was The Beatles Anthology Vol 1. Dad bought it for me for Christmas in 1995, along with my first CD player. I was immediately hooked on one of his favorite bands. It was fitting to reminisce & listen to this gem he bought when he was in high school.

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 29/12/2024

What demographic is this appealing to? What marketing person is like, “Let’s call this ‘new journalist,’ a scent to which every man can aspire.”

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 29/12/2024

Next up from my late father’s record collection: The Who Who’s Next

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natalia barbour @nataliabarbour.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Each bridge in NYC experienced ridership growth as city continues delivering safer cycling infrastructure. www.nyc.gov/html/dot/htm...

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 29/12/2024

My dad passed away this summer and I brought some of his records back from Ohio after visiting for Christmas. We always bonded over our shared tastes in music and I’ll share the albums as I listen through them. First up: The Marshall Tucker Band A New Life

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Billy Bragg @billybragg.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Merry Christmas to all

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 20/12/2024

Interested in building better bike networks? Hear NACTO Executive Director Ryan Russo’s thoughts on @nyc-dot.bsky.social‘s Curb Enthusiasm podcast: 🎧 nyc.gov/CurbEnthusiasm

nyc.gov

NYC DOT - Curb Enthusiasm Podcast

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Tom Broderick @trumbullbrod.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Two years ago this spot was an empty parking lot…now it’s 250 new homes, including a home with a beautiful Christmas tree 🎄🎄🎄 Apartments don’t destroy towns—it’s just the opposite. It’s where our family and friends live and make lives

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Soraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 24/11/2024

"Here the numbers as they actually exist in the real world: Transgender: 1 percent Muslim: 1 percent Jewish: 2 percent Black: 12 percent Live in New York City: 2 percent Gay or lesbian: 3 percent" If they're this divorced from reality I guarantee these folks cannot conceive magnitude of $1bn

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Nick Benson @nickbenson.com · 18/12/2024

My senator. Always. “True populism is about the dignity of work – putting workers at the center. And when I talk about workers, I mean ALL workers – whether you punch a clock or swipe a badge. Whether you’re on salary or working for tips.” youtu.be/DH-bJQfztiY

youtu.be

FULL REMARKS: Sherrod Brown Celebrates Labor And Unions During Farewell Address On The Senate Floor

YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News

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Metropolitan Transportation Authority @mta.info · 17/12/2024

Bumper-to-bumper traffic reduces the quality of life in New York City. Less traffic means cleaner air, safer streets, less time wasted sitting in gridlock, and a better quality of life for all of us. Congestion pricing starts January 5. Learn more: congestionreliefzone.mta.info

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