Irvin Dawid discovered Planetizen when a classmate in an urban planning lab at San Jose State University shared it with him in 2003. When he left San Jose State that year, he took with him an interest in Planetizen, if not the master's degree in urban & regional planning.
As a long-time environmental activist, he formed the Sustainable Land Use committee for his local Sierra Club chapter and served six years on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Advisory Council from 2002-2008. He maintains his interest in air quality by representing Sierra Club California on the Clean Air Dialogue, a working group of the Calif. Environmental Dialog representing business, regulatory and public health/environmental interests.
Major interests include transportation funding, e.g., gas taxes, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, road tolls and energy subsidies that lead to unlevel playing fields for more sustainable choices.
He hails from Queens (Bayside) and Long Island (Great Neck); received an AAS in Fisheries & Wildlife Technology from SUNY Cobleskill and a B.S. from what is now Excelsior College.
After residing for three years on California’s North Coast, he’s lived on the San Francisco Peninsula since 1983, including 24 years in Palo Alto. Home is now near downtown Burlingame, a short bike-ride to the Caltrain station.
He’s been car-free since driving his 1972 Dodge Tradesman maxi-van, his means to exit Long Island in 1979, to the junkyard in 1988.
Major forms of transportation: A 1991 'citybike' and monthly Caltrain pass, zone 2-2. "It's no LIRR, but it may be the most bike friendly train in America."
Irvin can be reached at [email protected]

Funding Approved for Interstate 10 Express Lanes in Southern California
Construction of 10 miles of dual express lanes on I-10 received the go-ahead last month after a TIFIA loan closed for $225 million of the $925 million project planned by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.
Atlanta-Bound Bus Commuters Benefit from New Express Lanes
More evidence that express (toll) lanes benefit public transit when buses operate in the corridor. Riders on Georgia's Xpress buses, which use the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes, saw trip times reduced by 15 minutes.

Bike Prices to Soar in U.S. Thanks to Trump's Trade War with China
Depending on the type of bicycle for sale, the price may jump 25 percent due to new tariffs paid by importers and consumers (not China as the president would have you think) if it arrives in the United States after June 1.

Gov. Cuomo Signs Street Safety Legislation For New York City on Mother's Day
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took his mother to work on Sunday so she could join him in a panel where he signed life-saving, street safety legislation to reinstate and expand the school zone speed camera program in New York City.

Studies on Media Coverage of Bike and Pedestrian Crashes Reveal Bias
Road safety advocates, particularly those who promote walking and biking, have long understood the importance of language, such as using "crash" rather than "accident." Two new media studies shed more light on bias in media coverage of crashes.