Hey Toronto! Make good trouble. I wish I could join you (but I'm in Madagascar).

HT Reddit u/Marslettuce

As someone who has been living #carfree in #Vermont for over 3.5 years—I am now in my 4th Winter with no car—it's very important to me to have better #bicycle #infrastructure, and I am not alone.

#Brattleboro needs to do much better in this regard. We need to find ways to divert motor vehicle traffic from our downtown. We need protected bicycle paths to replace on-street parking. We need more and better places to park and secure bicycles with weather protection, and we need snow removal. #VTpol

On my way back from a completely #carfree #ski and #snowboard trip in Les Masses, #Switzerland. The folks at the vacation rental were quite confused that we didn't need any parking :D.
I have to admit, it's not the easiest way to do it. Groceries were tricky, but the store was very close to the slopes, as was our rental. So we could fill our backpacks at the end of the day and just (carefully!) ski and board back home.

Theory: increased mobility enables people to find better work.

Reality: people find the same or worse kind of jobs, further away from home. At the same time, equivalent jobs nearby are taken by other people commuting from places that are more distant.

Heartwarming: The Guardian profiles #portland 's bike bus, a safe, fun, music-packed way for #children to #bike to school. #carfree #hopepunk
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/20/cycling-to-school-almost-became-extinct-until-one-man-revived-the-bike-bus

Ikea bags are fantastic.

Lugging my new Breville bread maker home on the bus from Woden to the Inner North of Canberra.

It is possible to be car free/lite. It just takes a little bit of planning.

#carfree #carlight #fuckcars #transit community will be amused by this: Who benefits by prioritizing high birth rate areas for transportation projects? Wealthier, Whiter Drivers.
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/02/11/who-benefits-from-trump-birthrate-funding-scheme-wealthier-whiter-drivers

"When [a car] gets above that average weight of the overall fleet, you're basically already as safe as you're going to be from raw weight alone," said Sam Monfort, senior statistician at the Institute and the author of the report. "But you can keep increasing risk to other people as you add more weight onto your vehicle."

Buying an absurdly large car does not make you safer, it just endangers everyone else more.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/02/05/study-youre-not-that-much-safer-in-a-4000-pound-car

Just setting up our fedi! Here's a joyful photo from our event last Saturday!

One-third of Americans don't have driver's licenses and young people are increasingly choosing not to drive. @TeenVogue talked to author and disability advocate Anna Zivarts about how the U.S. isn't designed for non-drivers, and why it should be.

https://flip.it/Y0rYS9
#Driving #Cars #CarFree #Cities #UrbanPlanning #Disability #Accessibility

Since I'm now in my 4th #carfree Winter in Northern New England ski/snow country, people often ask me how I stay warm on my bicycle in the Winter.

My preferred outerwear is the Land's End Squall Waterproof insulated raincoat and snow pants (mine are black instead of creme, as on the model here). I also have a red Land's End Expedition Parka (650 fill down, rated to -30°F) that I wear when the temps are super cold (like below 10°F/-12°C). #BikeTooter

People easily come up with simplifying assumptions such as "I need a car anyway," or "I have a driver's license and a car already." And when discussing #PublicTransport, we're sure to hear someone falsely asserting "everyone has a car."

Let's instead take the opposite assumption, one that's much easier to prove: "not everyone can drive a car," so there must always be at last skeletal public transport. And then we can discuss not "is having public transport profitable", but "is extending public transport beyond the bare minimum beneficial."

Well, I am changing my name, so a
new #introduction seems apt...

I'm Raven!

#nurse
#photography is cool,
#Linux nerd
#trans, #polyamory
heckin #bi,
#vegan,
#leftist,
star stuff (hail #carlsagan )

I'm #pdx based!

Starting the process of moving away from #meta owned platforms is going to be hard, and IDK how to get other folks on here, but I love this space more than Bluesky or anything else really.

I like using #Signal for comms and stories, so I guess that part is figured out.

Other interests I have...

#sewing
#rockclimbing
#webdesign (check out my #hugo theme: https://betterwebsites.dev)
#carfree inspired by @notjustbikes
#jiujitsu
#union activism

If any of that resonates with you, feel free to reach out!

My blog is: https://ravenwinters.org

On Sunday, I discovered Mexico City's Paseo Dominical (Sunday roads) quite by chance. On the first three Sundays of each month, from 8 AM to 2 PM, major streets blossom into vibrant car-free zones for cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians. What a delightful scene awaited me as I stepped out of the metro into this urban oasis.

The next question is from @nix:

Q2. I'm trying to go entirely #carfree I have a lovely cargo ebike (Globe Haul ST) that I can use in good weather. But I live in #StLouis where we get a large variety in weather. This week is a little extreme, but for example, it's been below freezing all week, and snowy.

Is there anyone that lives in a similar clime and bikes rain, sleet, or snow? Freezing or boiling? And if so, how do you do it?

I love San Jose's periodic #VivaCalle street parties, but Mexico City has us beat - they do it every single Sunday! It was great fun on vacation to bike up Paseo de Reforma with hundreds of other bikers, joggers, kids, dogs and everyone. #CarFree #Mexico #SanJose