Transportation planner and economist. Founder, Siegman & Associates. Formerly Principal & Shareholder at Nelson\Nygaard. LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/5cekhrjhhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.bizhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlyyydajek25Americans tend to be libertarian when they move in and communitarian when disaster strikes. I want a country that doesn’t let us have it both ways. If you pick libertarian, you shouldn’t get FEMA bailouts. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 23:32 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlyyydajek25https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlyxqcnahc2hI am now old enough to have lived through a time when people were extremely worried about rapid population growth and a time when people were extremely worried about rapid population decline.16 May 2026 23:09 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlyxqcnahc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlxxeg75jk2tGood point. Canadian planners seem to be turning away from the old religion.🙂 It’s funny, though, how they left a few quirky exceptions. A Vancouver resident can now build a car-free apartment building, except they still have to install a curb cut & driveway to access a visitor parking space or two? [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlxxeg75jk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlvgid4uz22eHousing and urban design preferences cannot be fairly determined in cities that impose minimum parking mandates and exclusionary zoning. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 13:22 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvgid4uz22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlvfvzjvkc2dAmong US planners, minimum parking requirements are almost a religion. The Squamish Nation doesn’t share that faith. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvfvzjvkc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mltgsbvjnk2qAt #CNU34 listening to Dallas leaders explain how they reformed building codes to make missing middle housing (triplexes, etc.) more affordable. https://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/resolutions/2025/04-23-25/25-0688.pdf [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 May 2026 18:23 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mltgsbvjnk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlrenwivs22jAt #CNU34, listening to Raj Chetty explain how much, and why, better urban design led to better outcomes for the children who grew up in revitalized public housing projects. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 May 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlrenwivs22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlm4eu2bis2j“It took me moving to Bayern, Germany, to really understand how different our codes were…” If every architecture, planning, and fire protection engineering program in the US required a year of overseas work experience, all 50 states would rapidly legalize tall single-stair buildings. #CNU34 https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2026/03/23/why-single-stair-reform-leads-more-livable-adaptable-infill11 May 2026 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlm4eu2bis2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mllgl7wc6k2pMy old firm developed a reputation for being ”innovative” because we kept hiring foreigners, who would tell us about practices their native lands had adopted 20 years earlier. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 13:57 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllgl7wc6k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mllfjq5oxs2pWhy does America have so many empty storefronts? Maybe we started this century with too many and zoning codes keep demanding more? [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 13:39 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllfjq5oxs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mljhqu7nac2uIs there a fire station anywhere in the United States or Canada with as many bays? Have any US fire departments adopted the German approach? If not, maybe we should. Germany’s fire death rate is a lot lower than America’s (even though they allow much taller single-stair apartment buildings). https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/the-fire-station/the-station-articles/is-a-47-bay-fire-station-too-small/10 May 2026 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mljhqu7nac2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlhtkb44dc2pSan Francisco Chronicle endorses fire code reformer!😊 https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/scott-wiener-pelosi-san-francisco-22224455.php10 May 2026 03:39 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhtkb44dc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlgz6ewwmc2bSwitzerland doesn't require fire sprinklers in "residential accommodations." That's according to the European Fire Sprinkler Network. Am I right in thinking that this recently-built 25-story single-stair tower doesn't include them? [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 May 2026 19:47 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgz6ewwmc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlgsgbtaic27@sierraclubnc.bsky.social‘s “lobbying team joined partners to support House Bill 369,” which abolishes minimum parking mandates statewide. This is the @sierraclub.org America needs.😊 Now we need to help @sierraclublp.bsky.social and @surfrider.org become just as progressive. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 May 2026 17:46 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgsgbtaic27https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlcqd2u7722m“Putting solar panels on parking lots…requires more labor and materials, which makes costs significantly higher than a comparable ground-mounted system. The aluminum beams that support MSU’s solar carports are more than 14 feet off the ground.“ https://bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/why-not-put-michigan-solar-farms-parking-lots-instead-farmland/08 May 2026 02:58 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlcqd2u7722mhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlbpcfvtac2jThe retired farmworkers who will live in these homes don't have cars. They can't afford them! They've explained that to the Council. Yet Half Moon Bay Councilmembers would kill this affordable housing if they could, by insisting on more parking. This is why America needs statewide parking reform. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 May 2026 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbpcfvtac2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlblyjjafc2s@sierraclub.org, why isn’t Mike Ferreira of @sierraclublp.bsky.social upholding the Club‘s national policy of supporting infill housing? Trying to block 40 affordable homes for retired farmworkers, on a previously developed downtown site, because he wants more parking? Who speaks for the club? [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 May 2026 16:08 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlblyjjafc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mlabva4p4c23If you're in California and agree that it's wrong to make regular people pay high fees to find out what the law is, email fabian.dearmas@mail.house.gov at Ted Lieu's office. I did! Something short and sweet is fine. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 May 2026 03:34 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlabva4p4c23https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3mla56gyx6s2fUS model fire codes demand wide roadways (with 20 or more feet of clear width), even on very low-traffic residential streets. Am I right in thinking that few if any other nations demand such wide streets? [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 May 2026 02:10 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mla56gyx6s2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml7vad6ps224"When cities are built around cars instead of people, our subsidy bill will continue to rise." Minimum parking mandates ➡️more cars, more driving➡️more gas burned ➡️growing fuel subsidy bill for Malaysia's government➡️strained budget, unpopular subsidy caps https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2026/05/06/malaysias-fuel-problem-is-also-an-urban-planning-problem06 May 2026 23:48 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7vad6ps224https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml7uq3avn224"St. Petersburg residents could see new buildings constructed without parking spaces..." If you read this, remember that the only thing cities need to do to successfully remove minimum parking mandates is to manage curb parking, using prices and/or permits, to keep it readily available. https://news.moovitapp.com/en/news/st-pete-reviews-parking-free-development-policy_1345_2026-05-04_177789600577306 May 2026 23:39 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7uq3avn224https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml7tvpbvys24"Kansas City Council voted to eliminate...minimum parking requirements across much of the city. The old rules drove up construction costs, kept storefronts empty & made it harder to build affordable housing. This is how we build a more walkable, more affordable Kansas City" – Mayor Quinton D. Lucas06 May 2026 23:24 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7tvpbvys24https://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml7hhspeuk2jI'm reviewing the online prep course for the Congress for the New Urbanism's CNUa accreditation exam. The section on parking mandates and parking reform is (appropriately) dominated by quotes from, articles by, and interviews with Donald Shoup, @citizen-cate.bsky.social, and @tonyjordan.bsky.social. https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2023/03/23/parking-reform-snowballing06 May 2026 19:42 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7hhspeuk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml75t4bn5k2sInstead of just blaming others, US fire officials should look in the mirror and ask: "What have WE done to drive up apparatus prices?" Our firefighters' unions should do the same. So should US elected officials, at the federal, state, and local levels. If you can't think of anything, think again. [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 May 2026 16:49 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml75t4bn5k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml5cbaijws2hMahan: "We were the first big city in the country to eliminate parking minimums. (Editor’s note: This is true depending on how you define a big city. Buffalo, New York; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Minneapolis all eliminated parking minimums before San Jose.)" Parking reform is popular, but... https://www.sfchronicle.com/video/article/california-governor-election-matt-mahan-22236792.php05 May 2026 23:03 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml5cbaijws2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml5bw2ltmc2b"...parking minimums have long been identified as a barrier to more affordable housing in Hawaiʻi. This session, two bills took aim at them. Senate Bill 2356...targeted transit-oriented development zones. Senate Bill 2981 cast a wider net, covering new developments near transit hubs statewide." https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/05/beth-fukumoto-some-bills-are-perennial-losers-for-hawai%CA%BBi-lawmakers/05 May 2026 22:57 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml5bw2ltmc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/siegman.biz/post/3ml3cccws5c2vAccording to the U.S. Fire Administration, the fire death rate in Switzerland is "less than a sixth of the United States rate." [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 May 2026 03:58 +0000at://did:plc:qcrpdkcfapeoom7d7d4adht2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml3cccws5c2v