Hayden Clarkin (The Transit Guy)
Transportation engineer and transit advocate producing accessible commentary on rail/bus networks, street design, and walkability.
Looking for the Best Food and Fun in Madrid
I’m going to Madrid next week for a Transit Guy surprise. Where should I eat and/or do?
Hypocrisy: Bike Lanes Condemned, Mining Praised in Boundary Waters
So bike lanes and windmills are a “blight”, but mining the Boundary Waters is great?
Amtrak Skips Secaucus, Missing World Cup Revenue
Why is Amtrak not stopping at Secaucus for the World Cup? Seems like a missed revenue and congestion relief opportunity.
Europe’s 36 Daily Madrid‑Barcelona Trains Prove HSR Viable
Going to Madrid next week, there are 36 daily round-trip trains to Barcelona: 3 hours, ~$60. Then you look at Toronto–Montreal and LA–SF with four combined daily trips and wonder why we still debate the need for high-speed rail?
Amtrak Unveils Ambitious 800‑car Long‑distance Fleet Plan
Amtrak released a vision for their new long-distance fleet as they drop an RFP for 800 more cars, and let me tell you, this is exactly how I want to celebrate Tax Day.
Milan's Bike Network Costs a Fraction of a US Highway Interchange
At a cost of $285 million, Milan is building 466 miles of a citywide, grade-separated bike network, representing just 35% of the cost of a single highway interchange in Chicago.
Flat Earthers Hunt Earth's Edge for $50K
Tv idea: it’s like amazing race but we give flat earthers $50k a piece and ask them to find the edge of the earth.
Big Interchanges Belong in Urban Cores, Not Crazy
Don’t ever feel crazy for thinking an interchange like this in a US major city’s urban core is crazy. (Louisville, Smarkreily)
From Near Approval to NIMBY Laughs: Embarcadero Rebuild Unthinkable
NIMBYism is so funny because knocking down the double-decker Embarcadero freeway post-earthquake barely passed in 1991, and yet proposing to rebuild it today would be unheard of and laughable.
Federal Highway Spending Outpaces Gas Tax Revenue by $20B
Last year, the feds spent $20B more on highways than gas taxes/fees actually brought in. Only two states fully fund their roads with user fees, the rest are subsidized. Can’t wait to have the conversation about highway/road spending at some...
Propose Shared Car‑Rail Tunnel Linking Long Island, Connecticut
My most pro-car opinion is that there absolutely should be a shared car/rail tunnel under the Long Island Sound to connect Long Island and Connecticut. Connects LIRR/MNR strategically as well as where car traffic gets bad headed into the city. Am...
Iowa’s $257B Economy Gets Fewer Trains than Swiss Summit Daily
Iowa, an economy with a $257 billion GDP, sees fewer trains in a week than this mountaintop station 6,700 feet above sea level in Switzerland does in a day.
Baltimore Light Rail Land Could Fund Operations 4.5×
A new MTA report showed that there are 839 acres of development potential around Baltimore's Light Rail Line route (8x the size of Disneyland). If those were all developed, it would bring in $260 million in tax revenue, which would...
Cincinnati's Train Station Idle While Stadiums Get Millions
Cincinnati’s Insanely beautiful train station had the capacity to see 216 trains daily, and only sees six now per week. Six. Ohio’s whole budget has a few million for rail, and hundreds of millions for the Cleveland Browns stadium.
Providence Station Renovation Boosts Capacity and Aesthetics
The renovation of the Providence train station looks so good and will greatly expand capacity.