Monday’s Headlines to Start Your Week
California has the worst roads, e-bikes are all the rage, and more stories you'll want to click on.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on August 24, 2020
- All three of the U.S. cities with the worst roads — San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles — are in California, which ranks second among states behind Rhode Island. While many cities and states are fast-tracking maintenance projects during the pandemic, when traffic is light, in many places budget cuts mean potholes will be getting worse. (Bloomberg)
- Unfortunately, MPOs that make transportation plans for metro areas aren’t paying much attention to reducing vehicle-miles driven or climate change, according to a Duke paper. (Smart States Transportation Initiative)
- E-bike sales were up 190 percent in June compared a year earlier. (Axios)
- Small cities that have focused on building up their downtowns and provided help to local businesses are in the best position to deal with the COVID recession. (Governing)
- Why does Trump keep talking about the suburbs? Because although that’s where the majority of Black Americans live, it’s also where racial polarization is the worst. (New York Times)
- The technology might be a ways off, but it’s never too early for cities to start thinking about how to regulate autonomous vehicles. (Government Technology)
- Arch Daily has 10 ways to make streets safer for children, and many of them — like protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks and slowing down traffic — would work for adults, too.
- D.C. Metro ridership was up last week after the transit agency returned to nearly full service for the first time since the pandemic hit. (Washington Post)
- Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s new transit plan will focus on basics like improving sidewalks and bus service. But unlike his predecessor Meghan Berry’s more ambitious, failed proposal, there’s no dedicated source of funding. (Nashville Post)
- The Philadelphia Tribune lists the services transit agency SEPTA says it will be forced to cut if the state doesn’t step up with funding.
- Atlanta’s new transportation department will improve equity, make streets safer and help the city meet its climate goals. (NRDC)
- The St. Petersburg city council votes Thursday on awarding contracts to e-bike vendors. (WFLA)
- Boise is ending its bike-share program this fall and relaunching next spring with e-bikes. (Idaho Statesman)
- Portland is turning empty parking lots into “traffic gardens” where kids can safely ride their bikes and skate. (Bike Portland)
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.
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