Monday’s Headlines from the Long Weekend
Well Los Angeles embrace congestion pricing? That and so many other stories just one click away.
By
Blake Aued
12:33 AM EDT on July 6, 2020
- The House passed Democrats’ $1.5-billion infrastructure bill focusing on climate change last week (New York Times), but Mitch McConnell has already declared it DOA in the Senate (The Hill). Kea Wilson writes at Streetsblog about what the bill would do and how McConnell is inadvertently helping the cause by demonizing it.
- Fare-free subways would help the environment and low-income riders, and improve the system’s efficiency at a relatively low cost. (Energy Institute at Haas)
- Service cuts in response to the coronavirus pandemic have exposed the inequality in transit systems. (Marketplace)
- Planetary treasure Carlton Reid writes in Forbes about how the current trend of blocking off streets to motorized vehicles is nothing new.
- Coord, a Sidewalk Labs-backed curbed management company, is creating “smart zones” providing drivers with mobile app data on loading zones in Aspen, Omaha, Nashville and West Palm Beach. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Uber and Lyft continue to fight California’s efforts to get them to follow a new state law and treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Will Los Angeles — perhaps America’s most car-centric city — embrace congestion pricing? (Bloomberg)
- A court ruling on Bay Area bridge tolls could finally free up $4.5 billion for road and transit upgrades. (Press-Democrat)
- A $100-million road diet on Shepherd and Durham in Houston will create new bike lanes leading to planned transit along I-10. (Chronicle)
- Seattle’s Sound Transit received another $100 million from the Federal Transit Administration for the Federal Way light rail extension. (Mirror)
- Despite a recent collapse in support, the Oregon DOT will press on with the Rose Quarter I-5 widening project. (Bike Portland)
- The L.A. Metro is halving the number of parking spots at stations along its new Gold Line. (Next City)
- Honolulu is the latest city looking at quick-and-dirty projects to slow down traffic and create more space for pedestrians. (Civil Beat)
- Baltimore has long played second fiddle to the Washington, D.C. suburbs when it comes to state-run transit in Maryland. A new initiative would create the city’s own transit agency. (Streetsblog)
- Here’s what Denver transit would look like if RTD chooses to focus on maximizing ridership, serving the densest areas, serving the largest geographic area or equity. (Colorado Public Radio)
- The Paris Metro has a reputation for being dirty, but it’s now leading the way in safety by requiring masks, doling out hand sanitizer and spacing out passengers. (City Metric)
- Thinking of taking a trip? Don’t. But you can still read Conde Nast Traveler‘s listicle of 10 cities it says are becoming more pedestrian-friendly: Auckland, Milan, Oakland, Rome, Paris, Vilnius, Seattle, Athens, Tel Aviv and San Diego.
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
‘Our Roads Are More Than Just Highways’: Democrats Urge U.S. Senate to Fund Transit Programs
A Trump administration proposal recommends massive cuts to popular programs – and it will cost American communities more than they can afford, Senate Democrats say.
May 14, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Pump It Up
Until you can feel it (gas prices, that is). But you don't really need it (suspending gas taxes).
May 14, 2026
Study: Trump’s Transit Proposal Would Cost the Country So Many Jobs — And Not Just in Cities
... but an increase in funding would be a job-creating juggernaut.
May 13, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Are Bought and Paid For
The Union of Concerned Scientists explains how the highway lobby keeps so many of us in our cars.
May 13, 2026
Opinion: It’s Time to Rethink Our Congestion Obsession
Policymakers constantly suggest that we need to spend billions of dollars and bulldoze countless acres of land to fix traffic jams. But do we?
May 13, 2026
