Today’s Headlines

  • New joblessness figures are raising pressure on the White House for job-creation action, with Oberstar still pressing more infrastructure funding as a solution (WSJ)
  • Illinois area lawmakers pitching a rail tourism corridor (Tribune)
  • Is America headed for a canal trolley-boat comeback? (TNR’s The Vine)
  • In Washington D.C., every locality wants to play host to Northrup Grumman’s new headquarters, and the offered goodies are flying fast and furious (WaPo)
  • Franken pushes for local Minnesota highway project to get stimulus money (Repub-Eagle)
  • Auto industry strutting its stuff this week at annual Detroit auto show, with congressional leaders in tow … (UPI)
  • … while Ford’s CEO unveils his solution to distracted driving: a device that reads tweets aloud to drivers (Caller.com)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Photo: Credit Now Auto Sales

What Comes After the Auto Bubble?

By Tony Dutzik |
Vehicle travel in the United States has experienced a resurgence in the last two-and-a-half years, following an unprecedented decade-long per-capita decline in driving. Low gas prices are likely a big reason why; recent increases in incomes and employment as well. But an additional factor has been relatively unexplored: the effect of changes in credit markets on vehicle purchasing and ownership.

Portland Tries Out "Advisory Bike Lanes"

By Angie Schmitt |
Portland is importing a new kind of bike lane design from the Netherlands. “Advisory bike lanes” allow drivers to use the bike lane space if they have to — and if it’s safe. Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland reports that advisory bike lanes are intended for streets with high bike traffic but not a high volume of […]

Syncing Traffic Lights No Sure-Fire Way to Reduce Emissions

By Angie Schmitt |
From a motorist’s perspective, few things are more frustrating than sitting at a red light when the lights ahead are all green. That would help explain the popularity of traffic signal synchronization, neatly timing lights so that someone traveling the speed limit can expect to wait only every several cycles. Many communities have seized on […]