- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s confirmation boosts hopes for a massive infrastructure bill. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Chicago is not enforcing President Biden’s new mandate that all transit riders wear masks (Sun-Times). Philadelphia is encouraging mask-wearing, but not fining riders like New York (WHYY).
- Los Angeles Metro CEO Phil Washington is leaving in May and may be headed to the Biden administration. (Streetsblog LA)
- Congress members in the Washington, D.C. area are sponsoring a bill to stabilize Metro funding by providing $1.7 billion a year for the next decade. (WaPost)
- Washington, D.C.’s new Vision Zero law, modeled on one in Cambridge, is being closely watched by other big cities. Any time road work happens, it requires the city to build a bus or protected bike lane if one’s been identified in future plans. (City Lab)
- Rad Power Bikes just got a buttload of funding. (Electrek)
- Denver’s Regional Transportation District, which has laid off 300 employees during the pandemic, received $203 million from the latest coronavirus relief bill. (OutThere)
- Salt Lake City’s plans for busy 300 West include sidewalks, a protected bike path and narrower car lanes. (SL Tribune)
- Madison is thinking about banishing bikes and buses from mostly pedestrian State Street, where cars are already not allowed. (Isthmus)
- Australia has run into political problems taxing land that skyrockets in value as a result of infrastructure projects — a practice known as “value capture” that can help fund those projects. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Also from Down Under, The Driven says e-bikes are succeeding where other bike-shares failed because they appeal to a broader demographic.
- An American diplomat’s wife accused of killing a UK teen while driving in 2019 was working for a U.S. intelligence agency at the time, calling into question her diplomatic immunity. (New York Post)
- British officials say they want half of all trips to be made on foot or by bike within the next decade, but they’re still pushing forward with an expensive road-building program. (Forbes)
Streetsblog
Friday’s Headlines to Round Out the Week
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: Traveling Without the Car
City Nerd focuses on the cities where it's easiest to get into town without a car.
December 20, 2024
Friday’s Headlines Share and Share Alike
It's pretty clear that bike- and scooter-shares reduce car trips, but it may be time to consider a subsidized or nonprofit model for car-shares as well.
December 20, 2024
Inside California’s Messy E-Bike Voucher Launch
Over 100,000 Californians tried to grab 1,500 e-bike vouchers in less than an hour. But does that mean the launch was bungled?
Talking Headways Podcast: Indianapolis’s Blossoming BRT Network
Austin Gibble on bus rapid transit and cycling in Indiana's capital city.
December 19, 2024
