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
Where the Hottest Blocks in Your City Are — And How To Cool Them Down
A cutting-edge tool is helping city leaders identify where they most badly need street trees, bus shelters, and more.
April 15, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Hop on Board Carefully
Riding the bus is safe. Walking to and from the bus stop, not so much.
April 15, 2026
Ask An Insurance Industry Insider: Safe Streets Are The Best Way To Bring Down Insurance Costs
Insurance companies and personal injury lawyers exist because streets aren't safe. So shouldn't we start there instead of tweaking a broken system?
April 15, 2026
What If All Cars Were Autonomous, Electric, and Free?
Can we really solve the problems of car dominance just by making cars less destructive?
April 14, 2026
“Why Do We Do This Bill?”: Preparing Congressional Staff for Surface Transportation Reauthorization
A top advocacy organization is preparing Congress to take a critical look at the upcoming transportation reauthorization — and it's not easy.
April 14, 2026
