Streetsblog

Friday’s Headlines From Around the Nation

More on transit woes, the coming carpocalyse, a surge in biking and walking — and even a little Elon Musk, all just one click away.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on May 15, 2020

Transit officials from New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Atlanta are lobbying for an additional $33 billion in coronavirus relief from the federal government. (Politico)
Uber says it has secured 23 million masks and will spend $50 million providing them, along with gloves and hand sanitizer, to drivers. (Tech Crunch)
The murder of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, is causing African-Americans to think twice before taking a walk (City Lab). Over at Streetsblog Chicago, Courtney Cobbs explores the friction between the open streets movement and people of color who don’t feel safe in public spaces.
The Weather Channel is predicting a 90 percent of chance of a carpocalypse.
Scooter companies are on the verge of collapse as demand for micro-mobility devices plummets (The Verge). Nevertheless, Grand Rapids is bringing hundreds of e-bikes and e-scooters to town this summer (M-Live).
Massachusetts’s transportation secretary wants to slow down a planned commuter rail upgrade because ridership has dropped to almost nil and is unlikely to recover anytime soon. (Commonwealth)
In what might be a harbinger of things to come for other cities, Santa Monica’s new budget includes massive cuts to sustainability and transportation programs that make streets safer and get people out of their cars. (Daily Press)
New York City recently went 58 days without a non-homicide pedestrian death — the most since the city started tracking them in 1983. (ABC News)
The D.C. Metro will continue waiving bus fares until the spring of 2021. (Reuters)
Memphis is experiencing a surge in walking and biking during the pandemic. (Flyer)
Atlanta’s Streets Alive festival, which draws 100,000 people a year to take over auto-centric streets, is moving online for 2020, with a virtual 10th anniversary celebration scheduled for Wednesday. (Atlanta Intown)
Elon Musk didn’t let the birth of X Æ A-12 or his coronavirus birtherism distract him from completing his subway tunnel for cars in Las Vegas. (Electrek)