Look Both Ways with David & Wes

Wes Marshall

Join David Zipper & Wes Marshall for a podcast offering pragmatic conversations about all things transportation. If it involves moving on a street, a sidewalk, or on tracks, it’s fair game – from autonomous vehicles to bikes to subways. Research will be discussed, policies dissected, and favorite drinks shared...

  1. 4H AGO

    Episode 15: The High Cost of Parking Meters + Devaluing that Asset (Taylor’s Version)

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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:  🔹 Amtrak quiet cars… and maybe some party cars? 🔹 The future of useful transit 🔹 Trump’s love for mini-cars (he may be right) Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation. Additional resources: Chicago parking meter deal: City's meters sold to another private company, Mayor Johnson says 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... Tiny Cars, Big Opportunity  What Do US Vehicle Regulators Have Against Tiny Cars?

    56 min

  2. JAN 22

    Episode 14: The Great Autonomous Vehicle Debate + David Under Fire

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 The quick start to the Mamdani era in NYC 🔹 Listener questions & what mode of transportation would win Survivor 🔹 A rehash of our first ever in-person Rail Drinks in DC Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation. Additional resources: Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver NCHRP Project 17-97: “Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night” David’s Original Stories… Bloomberg: We Still Don’t Know if Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers Financial Times: Europe doesn’t need driverless cars And the back-and-forth... Why David Zipper is Wrong Why David Zipper is Right (by Peter Norton) NYC doing things… Mamdani Takes the Bite Out of ‘the Bump,’ Paving Over Hated Road Hazard Mayor Mamdani Announces City to Complete Redesign on McGuinness Boulevard Fast Buses: Mamdani Administration Moves Forward With Stalled Madison Avenue Bus Lane Project

    59 min

  3. JAN 8

    Episode 13: Lessons From a Robotaxi Meltdown + How We Bike All Winter (or Not)

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 The quiet power of city sidewalks 🔹 Best ways to keep biking in the winter 🔹 The uncertain future of transportation & urban planning research under Trump 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

    52 min

  4. 12/16/2025

    Episode 12: The End of Year Extravaganza!

    In this special end-of-year episode of Look Both Ways, 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 biggest laugh of the year (pedestrians told to keep to the left in Melbourne) 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 (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    1h 3m

  5. 12/05/2025

    Episode 11: Cities Pushing Back on Waymo + Our Most Memorable Road Trips

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 Memorable road trips & how they shaped our thinking about transportation, freedom, & access 🔹 The purported death of a major eBike player & what that signals about the micromobility market 🔹 New words for access & why the language we use matters for how transportation problems get framed Then, we take listener questions and partake in some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about transportation.  Some additional resources: ‘Attack on our way of life’: Debate around autonomous vehicles heats up in Boston 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 (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    51 min

  6. 11/21/2025

    Episode 10: What Happens When We Defund Transit + Rethinking Access

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 How we learn about transportation in a new city & what those first impressions reveal 🔹 What we mean when we say access & why the word often obscures more than it explains 🔹 Transportation trends in Europe that are not going the way we’d hope  Then, some listener questions and rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! Some additional resources: Elements of Access: Transport Planning for Engineers, Transport Engineering for Planners (2017) by David Levinson, Wes Marshall, & Kay Axhausen 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 (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    51 min

  7. 11/13/2025

    Episode 9: The New New York City Transportation Agenda + Back to the Future

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 Where we went, what we saw, & how seeing cities up close shapes our transportation thinking  🔹 Back to the Future & how flying cars seem long overdue, but do we even want Marty McFly's future? 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 (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    48 min

  8. 10/21/2025

    Episode 8: The Hidden Harm of Traffic Noise + Advice for a Young Engineer

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, 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: 🔹 Trick-or-Treating & how it's the more dangerous day of the year for kids 🔹 A proliferation of anti-car books & what this moment says about shifting public attitudes 🔹 The trials & tribulations of a young engineer trying to do better & Wes' advice for how to handle the ethical tensions 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: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-10/car-brain-is-making-the-us-unhealthy-and-dangerous-evs-won-t-fix-it And "The Traffic Noise Externality: Costs, Incidence and Policy Implications" paper by Enrico Moretti & Harrison Wheeler:  www.nber.org/papers/w34298 Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    55 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Join David Zipper & Wes Marshall for a podcast offering pragmatic conversations about all things transportation. If it involves moving on a street, a sidewalk, or on tracks, it’s fair game – from autonomous vehicles to bikes to subways. Research will be discussed, policies dissected, and favorite drinks shared...

Information

  • Creator
    Wes Marshall
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Look Both Ways with David & Wes

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