Thursday’s Headlines
- Omaha is the latest city that will have to decide if a streetcar is a frivolous amenity or an important transportation tool. Backers point to the success of Kansas City's streetcar, while others fret about gentrification and whether it will serve minority communities. (Next City) Vancouver is also studying potential routes for a future downtown streetcar. (Daily Hive)
- Voters in suburban Gwinnett County, Ga., are sharply divided by age and race on whether to join the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. A referendum is scheduled for March. (AJC) Metro Atlanta's other big suburban county, Cobb, will host town hall meetings next month to discuss an upcoming transportation tax referendum and its inclusion in The ATL, metro Atlanta’s newly formed regional transit authority that oversees MARTA and others. (Marietta Daily Journal)
- Increased frequency, bus-only lanes and charging at park-and-ride lots could push more Seattle-area residents to use transit. (Everett Herald)
- After a freight train derailed onto a Pittsburgh light-rail line in August, the Port Authority is reconsidering a plan to allow double-stacked train cars on tracks near the city's busiest bus route. (Post-Gazette)
- Transit is not a high priority for Ohio’s Republican House speaker. (WVXU)
- Fort Lauderdale taxpayers will get refunds for the canceled Wave streetcar project. (Sun Sentinel)
- Toronto Mayor John Tory is fed up with drivers who block streetcars by parking illegally and wants the city to do a better job of clearing snow off sidewalks. (Sun)
- The Rails to Trails Conservancy is planning a 4,000-mile cross-country bike trail that will run through 12 states. (Curbed)
- Our Streetsblog NYC colleagues broke a huge story about how Google is now tipping off drivers to the locations of speed cameras.
- Forget flying cars. Uber users in Mumbai can dodge traffic by hailing a boat. (Fortune)
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