Today's Headlines
Tuesday’s Headlines
By Blake Aued
- Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, torched international leaders for not acting to halt climate change in a speech at the UN Monday (CNN).
- In related news, Streetsblog NYC torched Mayor Bill de Blasio for refusing (again) to give up his car for even a day. And in Washington, D.C., more than 30 climate change protesters were arrested Monday after blocking traffic (Post, Streetsblog).
- Jacobin argues that we should ban private jets because the rich can get around other ways — Thunberg took a carbon neutral yacht — the top 1 percent have a carbon footprint 175 times that of someone in the bottom 1 percent, and it's the first big step toward a green new deal.
- Parking guru Donald Shoup says cities that require developers to build off-street parking are increasing congestion and pollution, encouraging sprawl and making neighborhoods less walkable. He suggests ending those requirements, balancing supply and demand through on-street parking rates, and spending that revenue on public services so citizens can see the dollars at work (City Lab). Almost half the land in downtown Detroit is occupied by surface parking lots because of city zoning and tax policies (Free Press).
- More women are biking because they perceive it as safe, but it’s really not. Cities have only created the illusion of safety. (Governing)
- Indianapolis has the worst public transit of major cities in the country, and Seattle has the best, according to WalletHub's ratings, which looked at accessibility, safety, reliability and resources for transit.
- The Tampa Bay Times congratulates the Hillsborough County commission for restoring transit funding to a transportation plan voters overwhelming approved but one commissioner challenged in court.
- Uber is suing New York City seeking to block a law limiting the amount of time drivers can cruise around in empty cars, waiting for passengers. (NY Post, StreetsblogNYC)
- Lyft now includes bike lanes on its app's maps. (The Verge)
- Bus-only lanes on H and I streets in Washington, D.C. will become permanent. (WAMU, StreetsblogUSA)
- A petition is circulating to impeach Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her (likely dead) proposal to raise the gas tax. (WXYZ)
- A Sacramento college student alleges that, after he confronted a driver about being parked in a bike lane, the driver hit him with his car, then got out and physically attacked the student. The driver has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. (CBS 13)
- An SUV driver's misadventure inside a Chicago mall drew snickers online, since everyone was OK. Streetsblog Chicago's John Greenfield writes that the incident encapsulates the insanity of American car culture.
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