Black Friday Headlines
It's the busiest shopping day of the year — so take the #IWishThisParkingWas challenge. Plus other news.
By
Blake Aued
8:09 AM EST on November 27, 2020
- Fifty million people are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, down 10 percent from the usual numbers, but still a record for the pandemic. (City Lab)
- Parking lots are emptier than usual due to the pandemic, so Strong Towns is tweaking its annual #BlackFridayParking tweetstorm. Instead of taking photos of parking lots are are still partially empty on the busiest shopping day of the year, use the hashtag #IWishThisParkingWas to talk about, well, what amenity you wish your city had instead of that parking.
- Joe Biden has promised high quality, zero emissions transit in every city of more than 100,000 people. Spending just $2.2 billion a year would improve transit service by an average of 30 percent, according to Yonah Freemark. (Urban Institute)
- Curb space and access to the electric grid will drive the third wave of micromobility. (The Conversation)
- Uber and Lyft signed a five-year, $810-million contract to provide ride-hailing services to federal employees. (The Verge)
- Maryland reached a $250-million settlement with Purple Line contractors that had quit work and sued over $800 million in cost overruns. (DCist)
- Philadelphia’s transit agency is losing $1 million a day, thanks to coronavirus. (Philly Voice)
- A passenger train between Ann Arbor and Traverse City, Michigan, is expected to start test runs next year. (MLive)
- A California town has settled with four teenagers who had their phones taken by police when they tried to record their jaywalking arrests. (Reason)
- The Spokane Tribune-Review looks back on how buses replaced streetcars.
- An alliance of Dutch governments and businesses is contributing more than 1 billion Euros to two passenger rail projects in Amsterdam. (International Railway Journal)
- Tech Crunch looks at how Paris, Barcelona, London and Milan have embraced micromobility.
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.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
Inside Baseball: Kuntzman To Step Down At Streetsblog; David Meyer To Take Over
Streetsblog's longtime editor will take on new challenges. And so will his successor.
October 9, 2026
Friday Video(s): Two Urban Cycling Trips Worth Taking
Choose your own urban cycling adventure: domestic or international edition.
October 9, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Pay a Lot for Parking
The average apartment-dweller pays $200 a month for a parking space, included in their rent, whether they use it or not.
October 9, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Long Road to Real Transit Progress
Jeff Wood and Reece Martin discuss China’s lessons for American infrastructure.
October 8, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are Another Front in the Culture War
David Zipper explains how transportation, once an issue with broad consensus, became politically polarized.
October 8, 2026
