Nick Zaiac
@zaiac.bsky.social
Regional Planner in VT after years of running the Norman Rockwell town. YIMBY and former DC transportation wonk. Personal account.
Pinned
Nick Zaiac
@zaiac.bsky.social
· Jun 16
Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech depicts a 1942 Arlington town meeting where the lone dissenter to the town's announced plans to build a new school is given a chance to speak
Jim Edgerton agreed but was concerned about the tax burden of the proposal as his family farm had been ravaged by disease
Jim Edgerton agreed but was concerned about the tax burden of the proposal as his family farm had been ravaged by disease
My my wife’s grandmother was one of the leaders of the effort to build this school after the previous one burned down.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.
Excited to see pro cycling return to the Battenkill Valley just over our western border. www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/...
USA gets another UCI race as Battenkill returns to pro calendar
New York event adds men's UCI 1.2 race
www.cyclingnews.com
October 3, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Excited to see pro cycling return to the Battenkill Valley just over our western border. www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/...
Just finished a study on regionalizing local ambulance agencies.
Consolidation is likely, but whether it’s private, public or in between was the question. Decision made more difficult with the lack of a meaningful county government. www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/p...
Consolidation is likely, but whether it’s private, public or in between was the question. Decision made more difficult with the lack of a meaningful county government. www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/p...
Public meetings to begin on EMS regionalization study
A study report on regionalization options for Southshire rescue squads will be rolled out to the public in a series of meetings.
www.benningtonbanner.com
October 1, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Just finished a study on regionalizing local ambulance agencies.
Consolidation is likely, but whether it’s private, public or in between was the question. Decision made more difficult with the lack of a meaningful county government. www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/p...
Consolidation is likely, but whether it’s private, public or in between was the question. Decision made more difficult with the lack of a meaningful county government. www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/p...
Vergennes fact of the day: they recently realized they had the municipal borders wrong, to the tune of 1/3 more acres than their legal boundary.
(vtdigger.org/2025/08/27/v...)
(vtdigger.org/2025/08/27/v...)
September 29, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Vergennes fact of the day: they recently realized they had the municipal borders wrong, to the tune of 1/3 more acres than their legal boundary.
(vtdigger.org/2025/08/27/v...)
(vtdigger.org/2025/08/27/v...)
Got word that a local highway crew set the regional record for most culverts replaced in a day at 8, spread over more than a mile.
A good plan, good weather, fast operators, and correctly-sized equipment really can yield excellent gravel road infrastructure.
A good plan, good weather, fast operators, and correctly-sized equipment really can yield excellent gravel road infrastructure.
September 24, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Got word that a local highway crew set the regional record for most culverts replaced in a day at 8, spread over more than a mile.
A good plan, good weather, fast operators, and correctly-sized equipment really can yield excellent gravel road infrastructure.
A good plan, good weather, fast operators, and correctly-sized equipment really can yield excellent gravel road infrastructure.
Politics season in the Shires of Vermont.
September 22, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Politics season in the Shires of Vermont.
Reposted by Nick Zaiac
Maybe the most important fact about governance is there is just way more surface area than there are people who can cover it. Which means there are way more places for you to genuinely contribute bc no one else is working on something and also fewer guards blocking the way bsky.app/profile/step...
I feel every few weeks there's a meticulously researched
@stephenjacobsmith.com post that's like "here's this one dude in charge of the California Doorknob Industry Commission who has statistically caused 67k more people to be homeless"
@stephenjacobsmith.com post that's like "here's this one dude in charge of the California Doorknob Industry Commission who has statistically caused 67k more people to be homeless"
Your 20s are for believing everything is structural and your 30s are for learning that actually it's often just some guy or small group of guys (gender neutral)
September 16, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Maybe the most important fact about governance is there is just way more surface area than there are people who can cover it. Which means there are way more places for you to genuinely contribute bc no one else is working on something and also fewer guards blocking the way bsky.app/profile/step...
Reposted by Nick Zaiac
Your 20s are for believing everything is structural and your 30s are for learning that actually it's often just some guy or small group of guys (gender neutral)
September 16, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Your 20s are for believing everything is structural and your 30s are for learning that actually it's often just some guy or small group of guys (gender neutral)
Campaign staff: “Ali, we need to know how to pronounce your name”
Ali (who somehow ended up treasurer of the campaign): “Why???”
Staff: “TV ad run in the Burlington market”
And this is how Vermonters somehow learn to pronounce our last name.
Ali (who somehow ended up treasurer of the campaign): “Why???”
Staff: “TV ad run in the Burlington market”
And this is how Vermonters somehow learn to pronounce our last name.
"Fighting Together" | John Rodgers for Lt. Governor (:30)
YouTube video by John Rodgers
youtu.be
September 16, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Campaign staff: “Ali, we need to know how to pronounce your name”
Ali (who somehow ended up treasurer of the campaign): “Why???”
Staff: “TV ad run in the Burlington market”
And this is how Vermonters somehow learn to pronounce our last name.
Ali (who somehow ended up treasurer of the campaign): “Why???”
Staff: “TV ad run in the Burlington market”
And this is how Vermonters somehow learn to pronounce our last name.
Deep dive on river management with my colleague Jim.
He’s personally done more for the Battenkill watershed than anyone has, or ever will.
He’s personally done more for the Battenkill watershed than anyone has, or ever will.
Letting the river roam: Surveying the scars left by Irene 15 years later - VTDigger
To river scientists and conservationists, a collapsing slope in southern Vermont is a case study in what happens when decades of flood‑control instincts collide with more recent extreme weather.
vtdigger.org
September 9, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Deep dive on river management with my colleague Jim.
He’s personally done more for the Battenkill watershed than anyone has, or ever will.
He’s personally done more for the Battenkill watershed than anyone has, or ever will.
Pretty sure I’m the only one who ever works from our library
September 3, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Pretty sure I’m the only one who ever works from our library
Reposted by Nick Zaiac
“Total EMS travel time, combining response to the scene and transport to the hospital, declined by nearly 63–70 seconds, or almost 5–6 percent” #congestionpricing #ems https://www.nber.org/digest/202609/urban-congestion-pricing-and-response-times-emergency-medical-services
Urban Congestion Pricing and the Response Times of Emergency Medical Services
www.nber.org
September 1, 2026 at 8:16 PM
“Total EMS travel time, combining response to the scene and transport to the hospital, declined by nearly 63–70 seconds, or almost 5–6 percent” #congestionpricing #ems https://www.nber.org/digest/202609/urban-congestion-pricing-and-response-times-emergency-medical-services
Finally building the federally-funded sidewalk I inherited.
www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/a...
www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/a...
August 27, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Finally building the federally-funded sidewalk I inherited.
www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/a...
www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/a...
Small town planning diaries:
Realized planning meeting I was speaking at tonight wasn’t legally warned. Couldn’t get in touch with anyone in the government.
Knew where the zoning admin likes to walk in the afternoon, 10 minutes out of town. Successfully found them and got the meeting cancelled.
Realized planning meeting I was speaking at tonight wasn’t legally warned. Couldn’t get in touch with anyone in the government.
Knew where the zoning admin likes to walk in the afternoon, 10 minutes out of town. Successfully found them and got the meeting cancelled.
August 27, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Small town planning diaries:
Realized planning meeting I was speaking at tonight wasn’t legally warned. Couldn’t get in touch with anyone in the government.
Knew where the zoning admin likes to walk in the afternoon, 10 minutes out of town. Successfully found them and got the meeting cancelled.
Realized planning meeting I was speaking at tonight wasn’t legally warned. Couldn’t get in touch with anyone in the government.
Knew where the zoning admin likes to walk in the afternoon, 10 minutes out of town. Successfully found them and got the meeting cancelled.
Put in public WiFi at East Arlington fire station during COVID because there wasn’t a free WiFi location in East Arlington Village. Almost nobody uses it, but it makes for my favorite secret mobile office spot in what was, for a time, the first political center in the state.
August 21, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Put in public WiFi at East Arlington fire station during COVID because there wasn’t a free WiFi location in East Arlington Village. Almost nobody uses it, but it makes for my favorite secret mobile office spot in what was, for a time, the first political center in the state.
And we’ve broken ground on Arlington’s Recreation Park Access project, just over 6 years since I joined the project and probably 60 years after it was first needed.
The project faced major delays due to unclear state ROW first delineated in the 1700s.
The project faced major delays due to unclear state ROW first delineated in the 1700s.
August 18, 2026 at 2:55 PM
And we’ve broken ground on Arlington’s Recreation Park Access project, just over 6 years since I joined the project and probably 60 years after it was first needed.
The project faced major delays due to unclear state ROW first delineated in the 1700s.
The project faced major delays due to unclear state ROW first delineated in the 1700s.
New listing in the Jameson Flats development in Manchester. The project is a floor plan experiment by the local developer mixing SFH and duplex in a cottage court adjacent to downtown.
This kind of housing development will get Act 250 exemption under Tier 1B in most large towns statewide.
This kind of housing development will get Act 250 exemption under Tier 1B in most large towns statewide.
August 18, 2026 at 11:35 AM
New listing in the Jameson Flats development in Manchester. The project is a floor plan experiment by the local developer mixing SFH and duplex in a cottage court adjacent to downtown.
This kind of housing development will get Act 250 exemption under Tier 1B in most large towns statewide.
This kind of housing development will get Act 250 exemption under Tier 1B in most large towns statewide.
Primary over. Now for some VT YIMBY-friendly endorsements.
House:
Thomas West in Bennington-4
Will Greer in Bennington-2
Jonathan Cooper in Bennington-1
Senate:
Ashley Bartley in Chittenden North
House:
Thomas West in Bennington-4
Will Greer in Bennington-2
Jonathan Cooper in Bennington-1
Senate:
Ashley Bartley in Chittenden North
August 12, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Primary over. Now for some VT YIMBY-friendly endorsements.
House:
Thomas West in Bennington-4
Will Greer in Bennington-2
Jonathan Cooper in Bennington-1
Senate:
Ashley Bartley in Chittenden North
House:
Thomas West in Bennington-4
Will Greer in Bennington-2
Jonathan Cooper in Bennington-1
Senate:
Ashley Bartley in Chittenden North
Thank you to whatever weirdo wrote me in for High Bailiff of Bennington County but the idea of running around the county trying to arrest the sheriff, while amusing, is wildly impractical.
August 12, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Thank you to whatever weirdo wrote me in for High Bailiff of Bennington County but the idea of running around the county trying to arrest the sheriff, while amusing, is wildly impractical.
This was the crux of a letter my county Transportation Advisory Committee sent legislators amid a local police staffing crunch a couple years ago. They’re particularly helpful in rural areas where police enforce from a limited set fixed spots already.
One of the advantages of speed cameras is that they provide enforcement without actually needing police to be involved. Unless by "police state" you just mean "state in which there are consequences for breaking the law".
August 7, 2026 at 3:53 PM
This was the crux of a letter my county Transportation Advisory Committee sent legislators amid a local police staffing crunch a couple years ago. They’re particularly helpful in rural areas where police enforce from a limited set fixed spots already.
New GIS tech is asleep on the job
July 30, 2026 at 12:34 AM
New GIS tech is asleep on the job
Reposted by Nick Zaiac
🎉 Big win in Michigan! 🎉
Single-stair buildings up to 4 stories are now law!
Lower building costs, more home choices that Michiganders can afford. HUGE congrats to @abundanthousingmi.bsky.social for their hard work to help make this happen. 🙌
Single-stair buildings up to 4 stories are now law!
Lower building costs, more home choices that Michiganders can afford. HUGE congrats to @abundanthousingmi.bsky.social for their hard work to help make this happen. 🙌
Whitmer signs state budget, education funding and housing bills into law • Michigan Advance
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed her eighth and final education budget into law Tuesday at an event in Southfield, celebrating wins in continuing to fund free school meals, free pre-K, free community coll...
michiganadvance.com
July 22, 2026 at 2:26 PM
🎉 Big win in Michigan! 🎉
Single-stair buildings up to 4 stories are now law!
Lower building costs, more home choices that Michiganders can afford. HUGE congrats to @abundanthousingmi.bsky.social for their hard work to help make this happen. 🙌
Single-stair buildings up to 4 stories are now law!
Lower building costs, more home choices that Michiganders can afford. HUGE congrats to @abundanthousingmi.bsky.social for their hard work to help make this happen. 🙌
Of all the policy writing I’ve done, today’s study on emergency medical services is up with writing about the Flint water crisis as most jarring. Writing that response times could rose until the lack of ambulance service is so intolerable people take a class and start their own service is… 😬
July 22, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Of all the policy writing I’ve done, today’s study on emergency medical services is up with writing about the Flint water crisis as most jarring. Writing that response times could rose until the lack of ambulance service is so intolerable people take a class and start their own service is… 😬
Hate that I felt the need to warn my intern, an aspiring Boston-area planner, about the frequency of traffic violence deaths among transportation planners earlier this week.
This morning a driver struck and killed Louisa Gag, a biking advocate and transportation planner.
Gag had coauthored a Vision Zero Action plan: visionzeronetwork.org/wp-content/u...
Gag had coauthored a Vision Zero Action plan: visionzeronetwork.org/wp-content/u...
Boston transportation planner fatally struck by car near Roxbury Crossing, family says - The Boston Globe
Louisa Gag, 36, "was a dedicated public servant to the City of Boston and passionately advocated for safer streets,” her sister said.
www.bostonglobe.com
July 10, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Hate that I felt the need to warn my intern, an aspiring Boston-area planner, about the frequency of traffic violence deaths among transportation planners earlier this week.
I may be extraordinarily biased but downtown Bennington couldn’t be in better hands.
www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/b...
www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/b...
Better Bennington Corporation names new executive director
BENNINGTON — An Arlington woman with a range of work experience in education and human service positions has been named the new executive director of the Better Bennington Corporation.
www.benningtonbanner.com
June 18, 2026 at 6:33 PM
I may be extraordinarily biased but downtown Bennington couldn’t be in better hands.
www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/b...
www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/b...
My my wife’s grandmother was one of the leaders of the effort to build this school after the previous one burned down.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.
Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech depicts a 1942 Arlington town meeting where the lone dissenter to the town's announced plans to build a new school is given a chance to speak
Jim Edgerton agreed but was concerned about the tax burden of the proposal as his family farm had been ravaged by disease
Jim Edgerton agreed but was concerned about the tax burden of the proposal as his family farm had been ravaged by disease
June 16, 2026 at 10:07 AM
My my wife’s grandmother was one of the leaders of the effort to build this school after the previous one burned down.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.
Turns out the guy was right, but early. The tax base was not enough to support desired school investments long term, but it will have taken about 90 years to prove it.