Tuesday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued

12:44 AM EST on January 14, 2020

In perhaps the biggest environmental rollback of his three-year administration, President Trump is exempting major infrastructure projects like pipelines and highways from environmental review (New York Times). Congress vows to fight (Streetsblog).
Pete Buttigieg’s $1-trillion infrastructure plan includes a national Vision Zero policy and funding for sidewalks, crosswalks and public transit (City Lab). New Streetsblog senior editor Kea Wilson gives it a mixed review, though, citing additional funding for highways, some vague promises and the lack of a funding source.
Transportation planners apparently don’t understand supply and demand: Make driving more expensive, and drivers will do less of it. (City Observatory)
Virginia’s $3.7-billion plan to expand passenger rail service by building a new bridge over the Potomac and buying hundreds of miles of tracks from freight hauler CSX is a “game changer,” according to the Washington Post.
Lime is pulling its e-scooters out of Atlanta, citing the city’s impound fees and nighttime ban (AJC). And it's leaving San Diego, even after successfully defending its permit (10 News). Add Boston to the list, too (Globe). All in all, Lime has pulled out of 12 cities, including San Antonio and seven in Latin America, and laid off 100 employees (Fox Business).
Drivers killed or severely injured 45 pedestrians in Cincinnati last year, down from 77 in 2018 (WCPO). In Denver, though, drivers killed 71 people last year — the city’s deadliest year on the roads since 2000 (Denverite).
It only took four hours for Washington, D.C. to lose any chance of reaching its Vision Zero goal in 2020. Drivers killed four people in the first few days of the year — all of them on streets that residents have complained about, and where fixes have yet to be implemented. (Greater Greater Washington)
Ridership on the TEXRail commuter rail line between Fort Worth and Dallas isn’t meeting expectations. But additional rail cars, more frequent service and the completion of transit-oriented developments along the line could change that. (Star-Telegram)
Memphis business leaders are backing a Shelby County plan to pump $10 million into transit, saying car-less employees need a reliable way to get to work. (Flyer)
A California Assembly member wants to put a bus-only lane on the Bay Bridge. (NBC Bay Area)
Elected officials in the San Diego area approved a $90-million bond issue to start building 70 miles of new bike lanes, over the objections of those who wanted to spend the money widening highways instead. (Union-Tribune)
Milwaukee’s streetcar, The Hop, will stay fare-free through 2020. (Business Journal)
Here's yet another video, this one posted by a Reddit user, of a driver sideswiping a cyclist. According to the poster, cops in Greensboro, North Carolina refused to view the footage and didn't ticket the driver.
We're happy that Prince Harry and Meghan — or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, both per Times style — finally got Queen Elizabeth's approval to "step back" from being royals. But is no one going to consider the carbon implications of their new bi-continental life?
And finally, you know you wanna check out the pantsless train passengers in Phoenix last Sunday. (AZ Central)

Blake Aued

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