Speeding Cars, Transit Funding, and Speed Limits | Ask Strong Towns Anything | July 2, 2025

💬 What We Talked About

This month’s Ask Strong Towns Anything covered a wide-ranging discussion grounded in real-world member questions. We explored:

• ✅ What it takes to get rezonings approved—and how one member did just that
• 🚗 Whether mini-roundabouts and stop signs are realistic traffic-calming alternatives
• 🚌 What to do when your transit system is physically in place… but can’t afford to operate
• 💡 The invisible “political valley of death” that makes good policy so hard to implement
• 🔧 The problem with snowplow excuses, bus procurement rules, and federal transit funding strings
• 🧠 Why transit apps and route design matter more than vehicle tech
• 💥 Stories of members facing real challenges, from traffic light outages to hyper-local zoning battles

As always, the questions came straight from you—and the insights were informed by Strong Towns principles, real-world experience, and our growing network of strong citizens.

🌟 Member Highlights

🙌 Aaron Caldwell (Fayetteville, AR)

“Thanks for the advice last week. All rezone requests were approved!”

✅ Aaron followed Strong Towns principles and saw success at city council—proof that grassroots action works.

🧠 Jonathan Chiarella (New York)

“You also have the so-called political valley of death… even if you have a majority against Policy X, after one year those same people become fans.”

🔄 An insightful lens on why public resistance often flips after implementation. Stay the course.

🚦 Sean Graham (Ontario)

“Our one traffic light failed... traffic moved smoothly. Everyone treated it like a 4-way stop.”

👀 A fascinating lived example showing that simpler interventions can outperform expensive signals.

📚 Resources Shared

🔁 Next Steps

Want more? Check out these action steps you can take today:

• 🎧 Explore past ASTA sessions
• 📝 Browse Strong Towns Academy
• 📣 Share your local story—email us or post in the Action Lab

💌 Stay Connected

If you’ve got questions, ideas, or challenges from your community, we want to hear them. Submit your questions anytime via the Ask Strong Towns Anything portal, and join us next week!