Monday’s Headlines to Get You Going
We see London, we see France. Plus all the other news.
By
Blake Aued
12:02 AM EST on January 11, 2021
- The election of Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate in Georgia opens the door to pass ambitious transportation reforms. (Streetsblog USA)
- Fare-free transit would boost ridership and make systems more equitable. (The Appeal)
- College campuses can serve as a model for human-scale cities. (Strong Towns)
- The Federal Transit Administration approved a $530-million grant for Phoenix’s South Central light rail extension (KTAR) and $173 million for the South Shore double-tracking project in northern Indiana (Chicago Tribune).
- Cost estimates for West Seattle’s Ballard light rail line have nearly doubled to over $12 billion. (Seattle Times)
- After the failure of a transportation referendum last year, Portland should try again with a slate of projects focused solely on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (City Observatory)
- Houston needs to slow down drivers to save pedestrian lives, but it will take physical changes. Lowering speed limits isn’t enough. (Kinder Rice)
- Gainesville should re-engineer streets to slow down drivers to improve pedestrian safety, rather than crack down on jaywalkers, says the Sun‘s editorial board.
- The University of Michigan and Federal Transit Administration are building 20 “smart intersections” in Ann Arbor that will alert drivers to dangers. (WXYZ)
- Trips made by bike or on foot rose significantly in London during the pandemic and stayed up even as the lockdown eased. (Eltis)
- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has done it again, this time announcing that she’s turning the Champs-Elysees into an “extraordinary garden,” reducing vehicle space by half. (The Guardian)
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
Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It
Why are some cities forced to charge high fares to World Cup visitors who want to take the train, while others are giving away rides nearly for free?
May 1, 2026
Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health
Transit agencies need to do more to remind policy makers of the connection between good public transportation and good public health, a report argues.
May 1, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Walk Warily
Don't be fooled by declining statistics. Walking in the U.S. is still too dangerous.
May 1, 2026
Boston’s New Climate Plan Is At Odds With Boston’s New Transportation Policies
Mayor Wu's climate plan calls on the city to cut traffic and "transform" its transportation system, but City Hall leadership is cancelling and delaying projects that would actually accomplish those goals.
April 30, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Logistics of Package Delivery
Benjamin Fong on out how e-commerce companies like Amazon have built their logistics systems and the difficulty of last-mile delivery.
April 30, 2026
