Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog

Wednesday’s Headlines as We Get a New President

10:02 AM EST on January 20, 2021

    • Joe Biden is tapping the recently resigned head of the New York City DOT as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s top deputy to help with issues like congestion pricing, transit funding and the Gateway Project, a train tunnel under the Hudson River. (Gothamist)
    • While grappling with climate change, Biden should look to California, which is phasing out gas-powered vehicles, and help it complete high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco. (USA Today)
    • After its Prop 22 victory in California, Uber is escalating its attacks on labor rights (Jacobin). The Biden administration should provide basic protections for ride-hailing drivers (New York Times).
    • In comic-strip form, The Nib chronicles how the far right adopted the terrorist tactic of ramming protesters with vehicles — like one did at a Black Lives Matter rally in Indiana — and the authorities don't really seem to care.
    • Washington State identified the need for safe, low-carbon transportation over a decade ago, but has made little progress since. Now it’s trying again. (Crosscut)
    • In a familiar story, Charlotte is getting pushback from suburban leaders who say their constituents would pay for light-rail expansion but won’t see any benefits. (WSOC)
    • Ohio might have to halt new road construction due to a decline in gas-tax revenue (Columbus Dispatch). Like that’s a bad thing?
    • New York City’s new Moynihan Train Hall doesn’t quite recapture the glory of the old Penn Station (City Lab). But Streetsblog NYC already said that.
    • Myrtle Beach is planning a bike hub, a rail-trail and its first-ever downtown bike lanes. (WBTW)
    • London’s transit agency wants a piece of the revenue from congestion pricing to become self-sufficient. But the politics are complicated, and the plan could lead to service cuts. (BBC)
    • Elon Musk says he’s talking to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about drilling Tesla tunnels in Miami. Just one problem: As one geologist points out, the city is already built on top of a honeycomb. (Twitter)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Local Culture and Development

We chat with Tim Sprague from Phoenix about supporting local culture through development projects and the importance of sustainable development and transportation.

September 21, 2023

How and Why to Start a Walking School Bus

Any caregiver for a kid in institutionalized education is familiar with the challenge of getting them where they’re going safely, on time, every single day, well before your own day’s assignments come into play. Here's how a walking school bus could help.

September 21, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines Have a New Pattern

Working from home may have killed the commute, but people are taking more frequent, shorter trips instead. Whether this adds up to less or more driving overall depends on the city.

September 21, 2023

New Calif. Slow Streets Offer a Sampler Platter of Quick-Build Safety Strategies

The city has a sampler platter of quick-build temporary traffic calming installations to experience for the rest of the year.

September 20, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines Go Carless

A Washington state advocacy group for the disabled is challenging everyone to give up driving for the week of Oct. 2 to find out how hard it is to get around in most parts of the U.S.

September 20, 2023
See all posts