- Reports of cities' death are greatly exaggerated. Data doesn't back the media narrative that people are fleeing the pandemic for greener pastures. If anything, real estate prices are spiking everywhere because of low interest rates, lack of housing stock for sale and pent-up demand after lockdowns ended. (Curbed)
- Congress has until the end of the month to pass new highway and coronavirus relief bills, or transit agencies will be forced to start slashing services. (Roll Call)
- Uber and Lyft are marshaling right-wing news sites and online trolls to help them pass Prop 22, a California referendum that would allow the ride-hailing companies to continue classifying employees as contractors without benefits. (MSN Money)
- Transit agencies are facing the same problem as the post office: It's hard to succeed as a public service when the public expects the service to be run like a business. (City Lab)
- The L.A. Metro will no longer send police to handle nonviolent crimes and appointed a committee to recommend other community safety reforms, like homeless outreach and disarming officers (Transit Center). Instead of relying on off-duty police, Austin's Capital Metro is considering starting its own police force, with a mix of unarmed security guards and a smaller number of armed sworn officers with the power to make arrests (Community Impact).
- The pandemic forced shelters to close and pushed homeless people onto transit. The Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is working with social services agencies to get them help. (Metro)
- When demand for transit declined, one California agency shifted to delivering meals and medicine, and converted buses into mobile COVID-19 testing labs. (Governing)
- Sidewalks have been a low priority for racing capital Indianapolis, but the city will have to build more if it expects people to get out of their cars and walk enough to meet climate-change goals. (Star)
- Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley wants to keep charging fares for the once-free Bell Connector streetcar — and divert the revenue to police rather than spend it on transit. (Enquirer)
- Drivers are allowed to park on the sidewalk in parts of London, but that practice could end to clear the way for parents with strollers and people with disabilities. (The Guardian)
- Vienna is taking over the city’s bike-share system after the previous, private operator shut down half the docking stations. The Austrian capital plans to not only restore the docks, but expand the network. (Shift)
Streetsblog
Wednesday’s Headlines From Both Sides of the Atlantic
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: The Utopia of London’s Low-Traffic Neighborhoods
Streetsfilms follows an urban planner around the “low-traffic neighborhood” of St. Peter’s in the London borough of Islington.
November 7, 2025
Friday’s Headlines Got Lucky
Crash data doesn't nearly capture the near misses cyclists have to endure.
November 7, 2025
San Diego Is Latest California City to Welcome Waymo
The Alphabet-owned company announced plans to begin mapping city streets and launching limited operations sometime next year — but whether that move will help advance San Diego’s safety and climate goals remains to be seen.
Talking Headways Podcast: Why Are We Going Backwards?
A very special discussion about why America keeps building highways, how President Trump is targeting transit and how we can all get a better federal transportation bill if we want it.
November 6, 2025
Transit Wins Big Again In Local Elections Across America
Several candidates who ran on ambitious transportation reform platforms won at the ballot box on Tuesday — but even more communities said yes to supporting transit directly.
November 6, 2025
