iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

- Drivers are increasingly evading enforcement by removing or defacing license plates. "Rejected events," when a speed camera takes a photo but no violation is issued, rose from 15% to 45% over the decade. The fraction of rejected events caused by plate fraud also rose, reaching 65% in 2023.

Two graphs. The first shows "rejected events" rising from 15% in 2014 to 45% in 2023. The second shows "rejects caused by license plate fraud" rising from 25% in 2014 to 65% in 2023.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

That stat and quote are from a 2024 report, whose data also indicates: - Drivers change behavior: tickets per camera per day dropped 94% over the decade - Behavior change is quick: 74% of drivers getting tickets in 2023 got only one or two.

Graph showing that as speed cameras were rapidly deployed from 2014 to 2023, violations per day per camera dropped dramatically.

Histogram showing number of violations issued in 2023, grouped by number of violations that vehicle received. 74% of all violations were issued to vehicles receiving only one or two violations.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

An excellent start. To give you a sense of what's possible, NYC started with 14 speed cameras in 2014 and reached *2,277* by 2023. As NYC's DOT says: "When drivers believe that there could be a speed camera anywhere, they are discouraged from speeding everywhere."

Map of New York City showing thousands of speed cameras dotted almost uniformly across the city.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Providing a little positive reinforcement!

Five postcards thanking each of the five councilmembers who voted for the SEPA reform legislation for doing so

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Thank you @seattledot.bsky.social! Especially for adding the barriers. They're definitely needed, given I took this photo on Saturday.

Unoccupied SUV parked squarely in the new Yesler Way bike lanes.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Waiting 15 minutes in SODO for the 50 is never great. But a fun new twist: the "CAUTION VEHICLE EXITING" alarm for the USPS annex parking lot is stuck on, so the other passengers and I get to listen to this for 15 minutes straight.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

An ad for car crash lawyers, an ad for asphalt paving, and a slip lane: a microcosm of compounded poor transportation choices.

A photo of a street showing two ads and a slip lane as described in the post.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Here's a speed survey I did there over half an hour in 2024.

Vehicle speed survey filled out by hand. It shows most vehicles exceeding the 25 MPH speed limit, with some reaching 42 MPH.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Please write to them this weekend! It takes just a minute. Here's what I wrote:

Screenshot of a message. It says:

BILL:
SB 5156 - Concerning elevator standards in smaller apartment buildings. (For)
MESSAGE:
Please support this bill! It's critical that we get more affordable, ubiquitous elevators, especially in mid rise buildings that today wouldn't have an elevator at all.

And please REJECT Rep Peterson's amendment that would remove language about harmonizing with international standards. It nakedly caters to the elevator oligopoly in the US that makes our elevators uniquely expensive and rare.

Thanks

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Here's what I wrote. You can do so too!

Screenshot of email reading:

Hello,

My name is Riley Avron, and I live in Washington. I oppose SB 5609 and ask that you do the same.

We are in a decades-long housing shortage precisely because we have made it slow, difficult, and expensive to build more homes in our state. Recognizing this, we categorically exempted infill development from SEPA, because it is unconditionally good for the environment: infill homes are more energy efficient, consume less of our agricultural land, and reduce or eliminate polluting commutes.

In fact, I live in such an infill development, and as a direct result, I drive a car only once every few months. All my daily needs are within a short walk or bus ride.

SB 5609 would undo that good policy, once again subjecting the projects we need and want to tens of thousands of dollars in costs (which will translate into yet higher home prices) and months of additional delay.

Please oppose it. Thank you.

--
Riley

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Just sent Hollingsworth a postcard. Thanks to @hacksandwonks.bsky.social for helping me hold officials to their commitments.

A postcard addressed to council member Hollingsworth. Pasted on the back is an excerpt from an interview in which the council member stated their opposition to a SPOG contract that does not provide subpoena power to the offices of police accountability and the inspector general, as well as one that does not remove certain limitations on OPA investigators.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Yep, the address should be live here shortly

Screenshot of video title card reading "Mayor Harrell Address to People of the City of Seattle"

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Please ensure your ballot was counted. And while you're there, sign up for emails and/or texts to notify you of any issues in future elections.

Screenshot of ballot tracker, indicating that the ballot has been verified and counted.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Yeah, there's always some new excuse. Inspired by this essay, I've resolved to stop caring about the technical issues, and demand more homes all the same. venat.substack.com/p/how-the-an...

An excerpt from an essay:

Meanwhile, there's no point in playing a game where you hold zero power. Planners have home field advantage in technical discussions, but citizens possess something far more potent: constitutional authority. The democratic system grants you, as a voter, the power to set terms of engagement that bypass technical complexity entirely.

This is precisely the game that NIMBYs keep playing and winning. They don't debate angular plane calculations or heritage character assessments. They express emotions, demand specific outcomes, and threaten political consequences if those outcomes aren't delivered. When planners respond with technical objections—citing guidelines, referencing best practices, invoking institutional wisdom—NIMBYs hold the ultimate trump card: they don't care.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

I received the same response to my email and just sent this reply

Screenshot of email reading:

Thank you for the thoughtful response, Wendy.

As you say, Sound Transit is already required to do extensive public outreach, which is published in exhaustive detail on its website. The councilmember's amendment adds requirements to Sound Transit, asking them to do more work and produce more public documents. This additional work is not free — it takes time and money.

Bold change in Seattle frequently succumbs to death by a thousand cuts, well-meaning though each additional requirement may be. After ten years of planning and literally thousands of hours of community meetings, the overwhelming sentiment of Seattlites is: just build it. Weighed against the cost of further delay, I hope it will be clear that this amendment is both unnecessary and harmful.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

And if you hurry, you might catch the WSBC Bike Everywhere station!

About a dozen bicyclists standing near a bike path, chatting and eating baked goods.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Yep. I want to put this graph, from the same report, on a poster, show it at an upcoming public hearing, and say "we all agree we want to see more stacked flats, but the city-funded analysis says that the proposed rules will mean that NONE are feasible."

A bar graph showing how many feasible sites there are in Seattle for middle housing, grouped by housing typology. Notably, "stacked flats" are effectively zero.

This is Exhibit 6 from ECOnorthwest report at following URL: https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPCD/SeattlePlan/OneSeattlePlanMiddleHousingReportECONorthwest.pdf

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

This is for a proposed building near me which is going through design review and it's honestly a miracle we build anything at all.

A screenshot of design review board feedback that is picky and overly detailed.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Want to know why new multi family buildings in Seattle look *like that*? In part, it's because our design review boards demand it.

Graphic depicting how the new building will have odd protrusions

Graphic showing three options for building massing, all of which give the building odd protrusions

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Yeah, that would be excellent. The GSD was only possible because its handlebars fold down:

A Tern GSD ebike with its handlebars folded down against the frame

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I've had the privilege of visiting a few international cities that are much more laissez-faire with lighting downtown (e.g. Shanghai, pictured) and — it's really cool! Then I return to Seattle and we can't have some small illuminated signage.

A photo of Shanghai showing off how many buildings downtown are lit up at night.

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

There were so many great comments yesterday supporting SB 5184 which would limit costly parking mandates in Washington state. But Joe Kunzler's of Whidbey Island was far and away my favorite, with Sen. @jessbateman.bsky.social and Sen. Alvarado smiling as he shouted to be heard. #waleg

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Riley Avron @ravron.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

No. Here is how he described it in his most recent newsletter: mailchi.mp/seattle.gov/...

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