- Politico unearthed more evidence that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao meets far more often with people from her home state of Kentucky than other states — often at the urging of staffers working for her husband, Kentucky Senator and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
- A landmark study by the L.A. Metro found that women use transit more often than men, name safety as the main barrier to riding transit and have a hard time maneuvering with children in tow, among many other findings. (Metro Magazine)
- We were happy to see The New York Times followed our story last week about the Trump administration’s crackdown on rainbow crosswalks. The Times story had a link to Streetsblog, but Forbes did not.
- Pinellas County, Florida has a $400-million transportation wish list, including money for new transit lines, crosswalks and filling sidewalk gaps. While many officials are leaning toward asking voters to approve a sales tax to pay for the projects, a gas tax or property tax hike is also on the table. (Tampa Bay Times)
- Richmond’s new transit chief has a five-point plan to boost ridership. (NBC 12)
- An experimental on-demand microtransit system in Kansas City that costs just $1.50 per ride has been a big success. (Star)
- A judge has nixed Nashville Mayor David Briley’s plan to privatize city parking — for now. (WSMV)
- Activists marched down the Atlanta Beltline last weekend demanding that transit officials keep their promise to build light rail along the walking and biking trail (AJC). In Austin, dozens of people marched to remember a teenager who was killed by a driver while walking (American-Statesman).
- Amsterdam is combining carrots (all-night transit on weekends, and no fares for kids) and sticks (narrowing streets, taking away parking) in an effort to go car-free. The key is the “knip,” or “cut,” a barrier that closes off a street to cut-through traffic but still allows it to be accessed. (City Lab)
- Meet the Minnesota Twins pitcher who was driving for Uber last spring (USA Today). The guy was just trying to catch a break, but, of course, Yankees fans used it against him (NY Post).