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Parker Welch

@parkerwelch.bsky.social
1.2K followers 318 following 3.3K posts

Transportation engineer, urbanist, Austinite, liberal patriot Board Secretary @aura-atx.org Poems & Essays: thisfaintfire.substack.com

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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 12h
One of Paxton’s PACs spent a lot of money on NFL ads that aired nationwide, instead of only buying markets that played the Texans/Cowboys game Turns out there are consequences to building a political coalition that excludes every competent professional in the country!
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 15h
New website with a model of all the Texas state races, polling is obviously quite thin so caveat emptor Good reminder to send some money to Chris Jimenez in HD-52, that’s one of our marginal pick-ups on a good night, it would be a real shame not to flip it 🙏 secure.actblue.com/donate/chris...
Snapshot of the closest district races in the Texas House: HD-121, HD-74, HD-34, HD-94, HD-112, HD-96, HD-52

All but one, HD-74, is currently held by a Republican
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AURA: An Austin for Everyone @aura-atx.org · 23/09/2026
AURA is proud to endorse Amber Goodwin for Austin City Council District 1! Amber is committed to fighting for public transit and building a more affordable, walkable Austin. We're excited to support Amber, the pro-housing pro-transit choice for D1! www.amberforaustin.com
Graphic announcing AURA's endorsement of Amber Goodwin for Austin City Council District 1. Set against a purple background with a colorful geometric grid pattern, a portrait of Amber Goodwin shows her smiling in a white collared shirt. At the bottom, text reads "Amber Goodwin, Council District 1, endorsed by AURA", with more text below: "PRO-HOUSING, PRO-TRANSIT"
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 20h
Who cannot love the stranger will pierce his brother’s heart
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 20h
Aspirin is no longer recommended for primary prevention so either he’s ignoring his doctors or this is just confirming that Trump has had a stroke/TIA
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gone gone the form of man, rise the poster Gigan! @gigansprogress.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Global steel prices have normalized from the COVID disruption but American steel prices are only getting more & more deranged thanks to Trump’s protectionism
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sort of insane fact about how broken US urban planning is—America now spends more building *just the lights for roads and highways* than on all subways & ground mass transit combined Spending on roadway *pavement* is 18x transit spending
a graph of roadway and mass transit lights
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Lot I would change about the capital complex, starting with pulling down the traitor statues But I also think it would be a good idea to build a “Capitol Village” for the Leg (after making it annual & salaried); you only need 181 units. Guaranteed housing makes it easier for e.g. single-parents
2020 Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan

Phase I (complete), Phase II (near-complete), and Phase III (unfunded) buildings in dark orange

Other potential future buildings in light orange
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Matt Darling @besttrousers.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
There are really no other instances of payrolls just plateauing like this.
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Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
👏 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/n...
nytimes.com
The Student Journalists Who Never Let the Cornell Assault Case Go (Gift Article)
The student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, covered the allegations of rape at a fraternity house since they were first made in 2024 and led the reporting on the case.
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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The idea that planning should mandate, through regulations, an urban form that mimics market forces (higher demand induced by better accessibility along high-capacity rail, which translates into higher densities) is one of the silliest yet most persistent tropes our profession has produced.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Good read for Austinites on one of the great sons of the city
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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
righteous among the nations
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Something remarkable is happening: James Talarico is running an expansively pro-immigrant campaign in Texas, a state Trump won by 14 points, speaking in Biblical terms about our duty to "the stranger." And it's resonating. That's seismic. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
In Texas, Something Seismic Is Happening—and It’s All Trump’s Fault
Thanks to the economy and ICE, Trump has lost Texas Latinos. And James Talarico is developing a humane pro-immigrant message that’s resonating—even in this ultra-Trumpy state.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
give it up for day 3 everybody
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
No one asked but here are the 20 projects that have received C-105 commercial multi-family building permits (5+ units) so far this year in Austin - 3,022 units total Bolded names are publicly funded HACA/AHFC projects. Source: data.austintexas.gov/Building-and...
- **Willows Crossing**
- 2 different multi-family sections of Easton Park
- **Bailey at Berkman**
- **Bailey at Stassney**
- **Additional building at Santiago Estates**
- **Payton Gin Apartments**
- **Parmer North Apartments**
- 62 East Ave condo tower
- **The Bloom at Lamar Square**
- Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin
- The Grant
- **The St. John Redevelopment**
- Continued buildout of Estancia Hill Country
- 7333 Bluff Springs Road
- Austin Waters II
- 1600 Wheless Lane Townhomes
- The Kent
- The Eddy
- ELEVEN03 West Campus
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Those jumps this year in May & July seem enormous
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Texas, the voter registration deadline is coming up next week. If you live in Texas and want to vote, be sure to check that you are registered properly — even if you you think you did what you had to. A statewide database to check: goelect.txelections.civixapps.com/ivis-mvp-ui/...
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"In the states examined in this analysis, a drop of approximately 20% in inflation-adjusted rents—as happened in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis after those cities made reforms—could reduce poverty by 18% to 26% and child poverty by 21% to 38%." www.pew.org/en/research-...
pew.org
The Housing Shortage Is a Major Driver of Poverty
Housing costs are usually the largest item in a household’s budget and can determine a family’s financial stability.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
day 2 without running water in this apartment and i gotta say the novelty is starting to wear off
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Sam Greenberg @samjgreenberg.com · 29/09/2026
The WSJ is complaining that rents are low in Portland due to an “oversupply of new housing.” 😈 www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This GIS storymap from the City tracks Austin’s All-Ages and Abilities Bike Network: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/564b... Closing in on mile 400 😤
storymaps.arcgis.com
All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Priority Network
Austin, Texas
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One weird trick to solve traffic congestion (price it).
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Also reupping this very cool C&D posting to help literally shape our station rehab/rebuild plans. Literally!
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Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 28/09/2026
Breaking: The Texas Tribune has identified the ICE agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston nearly three months ago.
texastribune.org
ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified
The federal government has withheld his identification, even as major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon afte...
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Oren Ben-Joseph @orenbj.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Mapped out all LA bus lanes and major arterials orenbj.com/arterials/
orenbj.com
LA Bus Lanes & Arterials
Existing and future bus lanes across LA County, plus its 3+ lane corridors and peak-hour stretches.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
To fully realize that potential though, the City will need to carry out its new plan for a lane conversion on 15th Street austin.widen.net/s/7lxnfrhvfk...
Pages 26 & 27 from the Austin TPW’s September 2026 I-35 Central Small Area Mobility Plan, showing the conversion of 15th Street from 7-lanes down to 5-lanes, with the addition of raised terra cotta bike lanes.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And while pedestrianizing North Congress Avenue is great, the real gift is moving 7.5k state government jobs from leased offices around the metro area into new offices in the walkshed of the 15th Street LRT Station
Schematic from the Austin Light Rail final EIS plans, showing the 15th Street Station platforms. The block of the Texas Capitol Mall viewed in the thread’s first post is highlighted.Plan of Phase I & Phase II of the Texas Capitol Complex. Note the block of the Capitol Mall viewed in the first post is highlighted, which slightly throws off the color coding of the legend in the bottom right.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Looks like the fourth, and last, block of the Texas Capitol Mall is now fully up to grade and they’ve paved most of the hardscape! I already see bollards installed along the 16th Street crossing
Construction camera photo of the site from 9:32 AM on Sunday, Sept 27th, 2026, looking down in the last block of the Texas Capitol Mall
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 27/09/2026
Gotta find a way to get all of these anti-data center candidates to care about the codes forcing diesel generators into ordinary apartment buildings www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Data Center Opposition Spawns a Surge of First-Time Candidates
Activists who cut their teeth fighting data center projects in their towns are now riding a wave of AI tech pushback to seek office in local elections.
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CapMetro @capmetroatx.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
While service was suspended, our Bikeshare team kept planned system updates moving by installing 6 new electrified Bikeshare (EBS) stations that automatically charge e-assist bikes while they're docked.🔋 We're planning to add 25 more EBS stations in 2027! Learn more: capmetro.org/bikeshare
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Rosedale school rezoning passed at City Council today on all three readings! 10-1, with only CM Duchen voting against it. Duchen’s specific words were he wants to see “more Anita Coys and fewer Rosedales”, referring to an even bigger project on the east side in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood 🤨
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Infrastructure Weak @infrastructureweak.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This looks like an early example of the international best practice, circulation planning-based bus priority measures that @chittimarco.bsky.social details in the Transit Priority Atlas. tpa.transitcosts.com
"Busway Turn Map" of Tremont Ave in the Bronx. The busway extent is a one-mile stretch of Tremont, across ~11 one-way cross streets. Cars are permitted to enter Tremont by turning right or left from the one-way cross streets approaching it, or to cross Tremont on the same streets. However, they must turn right to exit Tremont at the first opportunity along it. 

Source:
https://newyorkyimby.com/2026/08/construction-begins-on-tremont-avenue-busway-in-tremont-the-bronx.html
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Joel Pinckney @jpinckney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is where we’re at right now for folks in North Austin who are not white:
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Gut-wrenching essay about a man that ICE disappeared in North Austin the day before they shot Wilber
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This man is so predictable lol
WaPo exclusive
‘I am the code’: Trump clashed with ballroom architect over safety issues
James McCrerh II resigned in October after warning that the president was insisting on designs that violated fire and ferry codes
Today at 5:00 AM EDT

Photo of a reference image for the Epstein memorial ballroom, with Trump’s handwriting in sharpie circling the Doric capitals of the pilasters between the ballroom windows and writing “JAMES - GREAT LOOK - BUT CORINTHIAN COLUMNS”
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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It's been so cathartic to see all these grifters and influencers suddenly finding themselves penniless because they're no longer getting bankrolled by Budapest.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Everyone remain calm and ask your friends if they're registered to vote before October 5th
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Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 22/09/2026
New: The Texas Rangers appear to be pursuing criminal charges against Camp Mystic, saying in a search affidavit they believe camp leadership committed manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide during last year’s July 4 floods, according to The New York Times.
texastribune.org
Texas Rangers pursuing Camp Mystic criminal investigation
In an affidavit, the Rangers said they believe camp leaders committed multiple crimes including manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 27 campers and counselors in the July 2025 flood.
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Ryan Cummings @weakinstrument.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
4/n: This matters much more for PADD 1A than anywhere else in the country because in New England, diesel isn't just for industrial uses; *half* of homes in Maine use diesel (No 2. fuel oil) for heating. Over a million people in MA use it for home heating.
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Ryan Cummings @weakinstrument.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
2/n: Banning diesel exports would *temporarily* provide some price relief for most of the country, but not for New England. Because pipelines don't run that far north, PADD 1A has to import large amounts of diesel, which means it's competing with a (structurally short diesel) Europe for barrels
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Congressman Greg Casar @repcasar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks to the community speaking up, Wilber has left the detention center to get medical care. This is important news & a positive first step. Now, we have to make sure he fully recovers, is reunited with family, & gets to tell law enforcement the full story of how he was shot in the back by ICE.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Would be lights out for the GOP in Tarrant County, the last bastion of urban republican politics in Texas
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Strong executives always seem like a great idea to people who imagine themselves in the comfy chair
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Chris Ingraham @cingraham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Big news from @ij.org: A federal judge in Alabama has just ordered ICE and CBP to stop warrantless raids of construction sites, to stop detaining people without individualized suspicion, and to stop detaining people who present valid ID. More to come shortly.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
according to the article, it took hours after the personal intervention of the mayor for his family to even get basic information about him. that information included that he had been transferred to ICE custody hours after being shot. no amnesty
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Statesman has photos of the crime scene and the protest Car has two bullet holes in the front passenger side door, two more in the rear passenger side window, a massive dent in the front door & smaller dents closer to the rear on that same side www.statesman.com/news/article...
statesman.com
Photos: Officials, protesters respond after ICE agent shoots, wounds man
Protests broke out at the scene after a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Austin, while local officials held a press conference to call for a local investigation.
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Parker Welch @parkerwelch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Basically the same reasons I think the 290 stub will be the first highway in Austin that actually gets removed; with the added purpose of reconnecting the St. John & Coronado Hills neighborhoods, which are hemmed in by three highways right now
Apple Maps image of Austin with the 290 stub beginning in the east at 183 and ending just west of I-35
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel said he has been briefed with preliminary information and that ICE appears to have shot a man in the back.
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