Thursday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on October 31, 2019

Reminder: Drivers kill more children by far on Halloween than any other day of the year. Be careful out there, especially if you’re behind the wheel (Washington Post). And if you live someplace snowy like Denver (KDVR) or Salt Lake City (Fox 13), please be considerate and clear your sidewalk for trick-or-treaters.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao is devoting a paltry $40 million to improving transit for seniors, disabled people and people living in rural areas. (AASHTO)
Uber and Lyft have pretty much killed off the short-term car rental business, but at least one company is still trying to make a go of it. (Automotive News)
Uber is threatening to sue Los Angeles to keep its scooter data a secret. (The Verge)
A 20-year plan to remake Austin’s transit system could include two light rail lines and cost up to $9.8 billion, 40 percent funded by the federal government. Officials are aiming for a November 2020 referendum. (American-Statesman)
The Detroit suburb of Oak Park is getting onboard the road-diet train with a 9 Mile project that includes bike lanes, sidewalks and back-in parking. Despite Oakland County’s generally conservative makeup, nearby Ferndale actually implemented the metro area’s first road diet back in the 1990s, which proved popular despite initial opposition. (Free Press)
Madison officials are proposing a budget amendment to fix dangerous intersections after a rash of injuries and deaths. (Cap Times)
San Francisco Chronicle reporters and editors raced to Chase Center, the Warriors’ new home, by various modes of transportation. Turns out, walking is the fastest. Hailing a ride, driving a car, finding a scooter and riding a bike in downtown San Francisco on a Friday night are all a nightmare, and Muni is slow as hell.
The Uber app has a new feature, launching in Cincinnati, that sends a notification to bike and scooter riders’ phones when they’re near a bike lane. (Soapbox)
Bicycling magazine interviews “House of Cards” actor Michael Kelly, who rides his bike in New York City every day (so does our Streetsblog NYC team!).
Around the world: The massive protests in Chile over public benefits and income inequality started with a subway fare hike (City Lab). The Toronto Star has a fun column about how a group of tactical urbanists used paint and planters to make a street safer for biking in less than a day. British startup Beryl makes a laser to mount on the front of a bike that projects a bike-shaped signal, making it more likely that drivers will see you (Forbes). Vancouver transit riders can now use their TransLink cards to pay for car- and bike-shares in addition to transit (Daily Hive).

Blake Aued

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