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High-speed rail

Friday’s Headlines From Around the Nation

12:01 AM EDT on May 22, 2020

    • Massachusetts congressman and noted train fanatic Seth Moulton wants to spend $205 billion on high-speed rail, including lines linking Chicago and Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Dallas and Houston, and Portland and Vancouver. (Wired)
    • Social distancing is leading to a new vision of permanently pedestrian-friendly cities with better sidewalks, shared streets and more public space. (The City Fix)
    • Race and class are often missing from the debate when people talk about how to redesign cities in the wake of COVID-19. (Curbed)
    • Bike commuting is up 20 percent over the past decade, much of that increase due to bike-shares, according to a University of Washington study. (MinnPost)
    • Scooter companies are testing remote-controlled scooters in Georgia in hopes that the technology will be more convenient — riders can bring the devices to them — and reduce sidewalk clutter. (The Verge)
    • The pandemic delivery boom is accelerating a shift in the autonomous vehicle industry from moving people to moving packages. (Reuters)
    • Uber and Lyft have long used venture capital to subsidize rides in an effort to win market share, but those days might be ending. Rising ride-hailing prices could drive people back to transit. (Quartz)
    • President Trump has taken to “announcing” transit grants on Twitter that were actually awarded weeks ago. (SFGATE)
    • Virgin Trains says it won’t restart passenger rail service in Florida for months. (Bloomberg)
    • Portland voters extended a gas tax that goes toward maintaining streets and safety improvements. (KATU)
    • Detroit’s MoGo bike share is expanding into the suburbs next month. (Daily Detroit)
    • Six years later, Pittsburgh drivers still hate the Penn Avenue bike lanes, but data shows they’re drastically improved safety. (Bike PGH)
    • Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s coronavirus hot takes are costing him his loyal fan club. (The Atlantic)

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