Monday’s Headlines to Really Start the New Year

  • Cities worldwide installed temporary bike and pedestrian facilities during the pandemic, and now they have a chance to permanently reconsider how much of the street they devote to cars. (Fast Company)
  • Car and Driver looks ahead to 2021’s safety trends, like Pete Buttigieg’s promise of a national Vision Zero strategy, a pilot program to lower speed limits nationwide, seizing reckless drivers’ vehicles and using ignition interlock to stop drunk driving.
  • Environment America‘s 2021 agenda includes expanding transit and electric vehicle charging stations in California, banning fossil-fuel-burning cars in Washington, EV rebates in Texas and a gas-tax hike in Missouri.
  • The $1 billion in the federal coronavirus stimulus bill for Bay Area transit agencies will stave off cuts for now, but the long-term funding picture remains unclear. (San Jose Mercury News)
  • Michigan transit agencies are also worried about what happens in October, when emergency COVID funds run out. (Detroit News)
  • Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to crack down on speeding drivers and raising the gas tax to help close a $1.2-billion budget deficit. (Tribune)
  • Austin built new bike lanes, lowered speed limits and reduced crashes at intersections in 2020. (KVUE)
  • Richmond’s new route system, including a bus rapid transit line, is dismantling the legacy of racism in transportation. (Greater Greater Washington)
  • The NAACP won a lawsuit against Charleston alleging that the city discriminates against African-American tourists who come to town for a “Black Bike Week” event. (WBTW)
  • The Texas DOT is making progress on complete streets, but not enough. (KFOX)
  • Uber is raising fares in Seattle as the city’s new minimum wage law for drivers takes effect. (KOMO)

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