Tuesday’s Headlines

Streetsblog’s annual December donation drive continues — so we’ll start by asking for a small contribution, but also give you something in return: Today’s headlines!

Enjoy all the news:

• Big idea of the day: With today’s plethora of transportation options — transit, ride-hailing, bike shares, etc. — all modes should be overseen by one regional transportation authority, rather than the Balkanized system most cities have now. (City Lab)
• Officials broke ground Friday on the Twin Cities’ Southwest Light Rail project, a 14-mile extension of the Green Line connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul that will serve several suburban communities. (WCCO)
• As Duke University dithers on whether to pull out of a Research Triangle, N.C., light rail project, the heads of the project and the local housing authority penned a Herald Sun column on the importance of light rail to the city’s affordable housing. More than 1,000 public housing units are within a short walk of a proposed light rail station, offering those residents access to jobs and education opportunities.
• This may come as a shock to New Yorkers, but Philadelphia officials recently visited the Big Apple to find out why its streets are so safe and uncongested. In particular, Philly is looking to replicate NYC’s 3,400-strong traffic enforcement bureau — except, of course, the part where officers are constantly illegally parked, we hope. (Inquirer)
• The Stranger says Seattle should ban cars from its frustratingly slow streetcar’s tracks to speed things up a bit.
• Jacksonville’s third bus rapid transit line started running Monday — this one connecting the city to nearby beaches. (WOKV)
• Streetsblog already covered it, but it bears repeating: Half of all parcels in downtown Detroit are surface parking lots, far more than most cities with good transit, and far more than a city that needs to wean itself off the automobile should have. The Free Press delves into who owns them — and how the money they make off them warps planning and development decisions.
• Another ICYMI: As covered by Streetsblog here and here, the Long Beach Post reports that people are driving too much for California to reach its 2030 climate change goals.
• A powerful real estate firm is quietly lobbying to have London’s flagship bike superhighway ripped up. (The Guardian)
• We advocate flushing parking down the toilet, but we didn’t know Santa Fe, N.M., would take us literally. Santa Fe is planning to build 40 public restrooms on the site of a city-owned parking lot. (New Mexican)