Wednesday’s Headlines
- E-scooter and bike rentals doubled to 84 million in 2018. Most of the increase came from e-scooters and dockless bikes, but experts say docked bike-shares are more likely to be sustainable. (Deseret News)
- Google subsidiary Sidewalk Labs is preparing a detailed report on its controversial plan to remake Toronto’s waterfront as a “smart neighborhood” with heated sidewalks and robots making deliveries — and everything collecting data on everyone. (NY Times)
- Hoping to appease critics of its proposed expansion, Stanford University is offering Santa Clara County, Calif., $4.7 billion to address affordable housing and transportation issues — including $1.1 billion for transit improvements. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Lacking funding to extend Metrorail lines themselves, Miami officials are looking to China for help with supposedly cheaper maglev technology. However, only American-built transit systems qualify for federal grants, and a city analysis said maglev likely wouldn’t save money over elevated ordinary rail lines. (Herald, Streetsblog)
- President Obama’s transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, is among those will serve on a new safety review board looking into Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operations after a series of derailments. (Boston Herald)
- The death of the Durham-Orange light rail line has a silver lining: It could free up funds for Chapel Hill, N.C., bus rapid transit. (Herald-Sun)
- Milwaukee will lose $8 million in funding every year city officials delay extending its streetcar line. (Urban Milwaukee)
- Opponents of Minneapolis’s Southwest light rail line have seized on bee habitats as their latest tactic to stall the project. (WCCO)
- Public hearings on New Orleans transit updates start Monday. (WWNO)
- Two D.C. suburbs recently rejected road diets after citizen outcry, even though the projects would make those streets safer and hardly affect traffic at all. (Greater Greater Washington)
- Some people will do almost anything to save a few seconds behind the wheel. A London woman even posed as a dead cyclist’s aunt to oppose a separated bike lane. (The Guardian)
Read More:
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Tuesday’s Headlines Triple the Fun
Amtrak is staffing up and ready to spend the $66 billion it received from the bipartisan federal infrastructure law.
Pols: Congress Must Bolster Sustainable Commutes to Reduce Carbon and Congestion
The feds should bolster sustainable commuting modes and transportation demand management strategies.
Monday’s Headlines Are All About Pete
From trying to avert a government shutdown to promoting rail safety, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in the midst of a busy week.
What is the Life of a Dead Pedestrian Worth?
A Seattle police officer sparked outrage when he joked that the death of pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula might be settled for as little as $11,000. Some families get even less.
Why Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled Matters
“Our job now is to prioritize solutions that mitigate the impacts of climate change while equitably improving quality of life. To do so we need to rethink how we build so Californians can drive less."
