Friday’s Headlines
- Jalopnik says the National Transportation Safety Board should have come down harder on Uber for putting self-driving cars that weren’t ready for prime time on the road, one of which killed a pedestrian in Tempe. The NTSB also indulged in a little victim-blaming by noting that the woman who was killed was not at a crosswalk and had drugs in her system.
- New research suggests that focusing on transit investment on existing cities, rather than serving suburban sprawl, brings a greater return on investment. (Phys.org)
- Curbed mulls ideas like more compact housing and pedestrian-friendly design that could drag suburbs into the 21st century.
- A City Lab writer who uses a power wheelchair had a standoff with a delivery robot that convinced her they're a menace to the disabled, and designers need to bring people with disabilities into the process.
- The New York Times picks up on the brewing war over ending the practice, long cherished by drivers, of allowing free curbside parking in NYC—and the Times, as usual, sides with the drivers.
- Memphis is getting its first bus rapid transit line, connecting downtown and the University of Memphis, with 30 stops and 10-minute headways. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2021. (WMC)
- Transit agency MARTA has started planning a new light rail in Southwest Atlanta, but maybe it will be bus rapid transit instead? (AJC)
- When it comes to Boston's traffic congestion, employers aren't helping. Most have policies that steer workers toward cars over transit. (CommonWealth)
- Norfolk is looking to rejuvenate stagnant transit ridership by emulating a successful bus system overhaul in nearby Richmond. The city is also considering a north-south light rail line. (Greater Greater Washington)
- A Gwinnett County man says police ticketed and then Tased while he was trying to cross a road to get to a job interview in the notoriously pedestrian-unfriendly Atlanta suburb. (WSB)
- A sobering new study shows that ride-hailing services are driving us to drink — or at least allowing us to drink more without driving. The study found that UberX’s arrival in a city coincides with a spike in the frequency of alcohol consumption and the amount consumed, especially in rural areas with poor transit. (The Takeout)
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