- Bike booms in the 1890s and 1970s didn’t last, but the current bike craze doesn’t have to end that way — if the federal government finally stops privileging automobiles and starts embracing bikes. (City Lab)
- AI isn’t just for self-driving cars. It could help create a more efficient and sustainable transportation system. (Cities Today) (It's also helpful for the pushers of conspiracy theories, as NBC News reported.)
- The pandemic is forcing cities to find new and creative ways to gather public input. (The Grist)
- A Congressional Black Caucus study on equity in transportation found that one-fifth of Black households don’t have a car; a quarter can’t use ride-hailing apps because they don’t have a smartphone; and 12 percent of the population is Black, but they make up 24 percent of transit users. (WTOP)
- An Iranian immigrant’s experiences with racism and harassment on the bus led her into the field of planning. (GreenBiz)
- A City Fix podcast examines how street safety is a sustainability issue.
- A California judge says freedom of speech allows Uber to use in-app messages to pressure drivers into supporting Prop 22. (The Verge)
- Service cuts at New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority could cost an estimated 450,000 jobs and $50 billion in lost earnings. (NY Times)
- Maryland’s Democratic congressmen are pressing Gov. Larry Hogan to finish the Purple Line after contractors quit the project due to a dispute over cost overruns. (Washington Post)
- Traffic deaths are up 60 percent in Philadelphia, where drivers have killed 120 people so far this year, compared to 75 at this point last year. (Philly Voice)
- Arkansas’s new 10-year transit plan will shorten trip times and add more frequency in Little Rock and Fayetteville, if voters approved a $42-million tax. (Democrat-Gazette)
- With help from $100 million in federal coronavirus funding, Utah transit will restore almost all pre-COVID service next year. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- A Nashville man is suing the city over an ordinance requiring homeowners to build sidewalks in front of their houses or pay into a sidewalk fund. (WSMV)
- Like many transit agencies, San Francisco’s Muni has a limit on bus passengers during the pandemic. When one driver recently tried to avoid overcrowding the bus, hilarity ensued. (SFist)
- And, finally, some good news about the upcoming civil war: At least Walmart has stopped displaying guns. (NYDN)
Streetsblog
Friday’s Headlines to End the Week in Style
By Blake Aued
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