Look Both Ways with David & Wes

Parking Meters – David & Wes unpack the recent multi-billion-dollar resale of Chicago’s parking meter lease and why it matters. They explain the contract, including the compensation clause, and how it continues to hamstring Chicago’s ability to improve transportation. They also explore the less-discussed reality that some good has come from the deal such as a city that actually charges market rates for curbside parking. Then, borrowing a lesson from Taylor Swift, they explore how Chicago could someday afford to buy back their meters.

Other topics: 

Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources:

Henry Grabar’s Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World

RTD’s CEO says charging for parking, focusing on events could help transit recover

And David’s Mini-Car Stories...

What Do US Vehicle Regulators Have Against Tiny Cars?

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

AV Safety – David & Wes explain why an online kerfuffle about autonomous vehicle safety unexpectedly put David himself in the spotlight. They unpack why autonomous vehicle debates so often generate more noise than insight, how narratives take on a life of their own, and what cities should be paying attention to right now. Listeners will come away with a clear sense of where autonomous vehicles truly stand and why context, logic, and governance matter more than bold promises.

Other topics:

Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources:

NCHRP Project 17-97: “Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night”

David’s Original Stories…

Financial Times: Europe doesn’t need driverless cars

And the back-and-forth...

Why David Zipper is Right (by Peter Norton)

NYC doing things…

Mayor Mamdani Announces City to Complete Redesign on McGuinness Boulevard

Fast Buses: Mamdani Administration Moves Forward With Stalled Madison Avenue Bus Lane Project

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Robotaxi Meltdown – David & Wes discuss how robotaxis affect urban resilience after a blackout brought mayhem to San Francisco’s streets. As robotaxis expand in cities across the United States and Europe, how will they react to emergencies and unforeseen events? If autonomous vehicles freeze en masse, transportation networks could grind to a halt.

Other topics:

Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources:

Info about the Waymo meltdown during the San Francisco blackout

David’s recent Bloomberg article questioning whether AVs really are safer than humans

Wes' paper with Peyton Gibson on the disparate approaches cities take to maintaining roads and sidewalks

Wes' paper with Nick Coppola about municipal policy impacts sidewalk availability & width

Wes' paper with Nick Coppola about how much static obstructions affect the clear width of sidewalks

David’s 2025 article in Bloomberg about Denver’s innovative sidewalk program

Crossroads, the “TRB alternative” taking place in DC Jan 15

David’s 2025 article about transportation research censorship under Trump

Music by Charlie Van Stee

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End of Year Extravaganza – David & Wes toss the usual format aside to look back at the transportation stories that defined 2025. From policies and headlines that made them hopeful to moments that were equal parts absurd and infuriating, they reflect on what the past year revealed about the state of streets, transit, and transportation more broadly. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of the trends that mattered, the narratives that fell apart, and the questions that still haven’t been answered.

The episode wraps with a look ahead to 2026, including what we will be watching closely in the coming year and why some unresolved fights are likely to resurface. And yes, we still close things out with a few rail drinks.

Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Some additional resources:

David’s favorite dress from Toronto’s 2025 bike wars

David’s most promising innovation: DADSS

David’s favorite article of the year, about vehicle blind zones changing over time

David’s most thought-provoking book: More and More and More by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Waymo in Cities – David & Wes explore why cities are beginning to push back on Waymo and other robotaxi companies, and what that resistance reveals about local control, safety, and trust in emerging technologies. Using Boston’s response as a case study, they dig into the tensions between innovation narratives and municipal responsibility. Listeners will come away with a clearer understanding of why cities are asserting themselves now, what’s at stake in these confrontations, and how regulation shapes the future of automated mobility.

Today, we're also talking about:

Then, we take listener questions and partake in some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about transportation. 

Some additional resources:

The rise and fall of Rad Power Bikes: From breakout success to the brink of shutdown

CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Batteries for E-Bikes from Rad Power Bikes Due to Fire Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Defunding Transit – David & Wes examine the growing efforts to defund transit through mechanisms like the Highway Trust Fund. What happens when transit funding is threatened and slowly hollowed out? Rather than treating these moves as abstract budget debates, they focus on the real-world consequences for reliability, coverage, and who gets left behind. 

Today, we also talk about:

Then, some listener questions and rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation!

Some additional resources:

Politico Article: Trump administration proposals seek to eliminate transit funding

Politico Article: Graves pans DOT proposal axing mass transit account

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

New York City – David & Wes break down Mamdani's New York City’s new transportation agenda and & the priorities it elevates and avoids. We examine how political vision, implementation, and street-level realities align or clash... and what all this signals about where cities may be headed next. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of what’s genuinely new in the agenda, what feels recycled, and why meaningful change often arrives later than promised.

Today, we also talk about:

Then we dive into the mailbag & have some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation!

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Traffic Noise – David & Wes dig into traffic noise as an overlooked public health problem and a quiet but pervasive form of harm in cities. Moving beyond annoyance, we explore how constant exposure to noise affects health, equity, and quality of life, and why it remains largely invisible in transportation decision-making. Listeners will come away with a better understanding of why noise matters, how it reflects deeper design choices, and what acknowledging this externality would change about how streets and cities are planned.

Today, we also talk about:

Then, we have some rail drinks...stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation!

Here is David's article on the Anti-Car Books:

And "The Traffic Noise Externality: Costs, Incidence and Policy Implications" paper by Enrico Moretti & Harrison Wheeler: 

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Transit Funding – David & Wes dive into the growing threats to U.S. transit funding and why they matter far beyond agency balance sheets. By looking at how federal decisions shape what cities can build and operate, they unpack why transit in the United States costs so much, delivers so little, and remains perpetually vulnerable to political whims. Listeners will come away with a clearer understanding of how funding structures quietly undermine reliability, access, and public trust in transit systems.

Today, we also talk about:

At the end, we have some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation. 

Here is David's article (the first of its kind) on Why US Cities Pay Too Much for Buses:

And some other resources that might help your cause:

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]

Robotaxis – David & Wes look ahead to the arrival of robotaxis and what cities should be doing (or not doing) to prepare. Rather than asking whether autonomous vehicles will “work,” they focus on the decisions cities actually control. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of why waiting for technology to mature is not a plan, and how today’s choices could lock in decades of consequences for safety, access, and street life.

Today, we also talk about:

And then some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation!

If you are interested, here is David's new article on Cities & Self-Driving Cars:

and his old one on MaaS:

Here is Wes' paper on how cities with more protected & separated bike lanes are safer for everyone:

(if you don't like academic papers, this video explains our results: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwYeNz1jCkM)

as well as the back-and-forth...

Music by Charlie Van Stee

Email us at [email protected]