- In 2020, people drove less, but they drove more recklessly due to a combination of empty streets, less traffic enforcement and a surge in mental health and substance abuse problems. That could continue even after the pandemic ends if former commuters keep working from home. (Wired)
- The pandemic emptied out commuter trains because “super commuters” who traveled more than an hour to the office started working from home instead, probably for good. But while long hours stuck in traffic on the freeway are soul-sucking, those hours on the train had their moments. (City Lab)
- Cities can advance equitable transportation by prioritizing transit over roads, funding transit for essential workers, finding more progressive sources of revenue than sales taxes and doing a better job of engaging community leaders and residents. (Urban Institute)
- For micromobility to succeed, it needs to be as safe and easy to park a scooter or e-bike as it is to park a car. (Smart Cities Dive)
- A parting gift from the Trump administration: Federal agencies finalized a pilot program allowing two states to conduct their own environmental reviews for transportation projects, avoiding federal oversight. (Progressive Railroading)
- Phase II of the Silver Line, 16th Street bus lanes and a new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge with bike and pedestrian paths are among the transportation projects Washington, D.C. residents can look forward to in 2021. (WAMU)
- Civil Beat looks back on how a Honolulu light rail line went off the rails in 2020.
- The Washington state legislature is gearing up for a fight over whether carbon taxes should be spent on transit, as well as a $16-billion transportation package that has lots of money for bridges and widening freeways. (Seattle Times)
- The Post and Courier calls on Charleston to treat cyclists as well as it does drivers after the city closed a bike lane for six months for road work.
- We believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. (The Conversation)
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Wednesday’s Headlines with Georgia on Our Minds
By Blake Aued
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