Wednesday’s Headlines From Around the Nation

Editor’s note: An early version of this post was headlined, “Monday’s Headlines…” We apologize. Sometimes we don’t know if we are coming or going these days!

• You probably already knew this, but with fewer cars on the road, now is a good time to rethink streets and reorient them around people, as cities like Oakland and Seattle are already doing. It will save lives and benefit the environment. (The Conversation, Planetizen)
• Cities have shown they can move quickly to create new bike lanes and outdoor cafes during the pandemic — leaving marginalized residents to wonder why their priorities haven’t been met. It’s because public input and the planning process are inherently unequal. (New York Times)
• Auto-centric design and lack of public transportation are civil rights and social justice issues. To solve them, transit agencies need to put more people of color in charge and stop thinking of transportation as an issue in a vacuum. (City Lab)
• Uber pledged to double the number of Black employees in leadership positions by 2025. (USA Today)
• Car companies are making lots of great subcompacts that provide everything the average driver needs, with a cheap price tag and high fuel efficiency. It’s too bad automakers refuse to sell them in the U.S. (VICE)
• Google Maps will soon give you directions to the nearest bike-share dock in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and six other cities worldwide. (The Verge)
• A 2018 sales tax hike was supposed to double Hillsborough County, Florida’s transit budget. But then a lawsuit tied up the tax revenue, and ridership fell during the pandemic, hitting the Tampa-area agency with a double whammy. (Tampa Bay Times)
• The contract to build the South Shore Line’s new West Lake Corridor came in over $100 million under budget. (Chicago Tribune)
• Boston is exploring the use of cargo bikes for green last-mile deliveries. (Smart Cities World)
• Dallas’ transit agency will debut electric buses, make scheduling changes and start charging $1 to ride the streetcar on Monday. (Rowlett Lakeshore Times)
• South Beach’s famous Ocean Drive is sometimes closed to traffic for festivals. Why not keep it closed permanently? (Miami New Times)
• The small Bay Area city of Santa Cruz could have had six freeways running through it in the 1960s (Sentinel). How did anyone ever think that was a good idea?