Streetsblog
Friday’s Headlines to End the Week in Style
By Blake Aued
- 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)
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Thursday’s Headlines Have a New Pattern
Working from home may have killed the commute, but people are taking more frequent, shorter trips instead. Whether this adds up to less or more driving overall depends on the city.
September 21, 2023
New Calif. Slow Streets Offer a Sampler Platter of Quick-Build Safety Strategies
The city has a sampler platter of quick-build temporary traffic calming installations to experience for the rest of the year.
Wednesday’s Headlines Go Carless
A Washington state advocacy group for the disabled is challenging everyone to give up driving for the week of Oct. 2 to find out how hard it is to get around in most parts of the U.S.
September 20, 2023
Study: How Low-Income People Really Use Micromobility
Shared bikes and scooters are meeting low-income people's basic mobility needs — but they're not being subsidized like it.
September 20, 2023
