Streetsblog
Friday’s Headlines with Secretary Pete on a Bicycle!
By Blake Aued
- Stop the presses: U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was spotted on a bicycle yesterday in D.C. (Michael Stafford via Twitter)
- Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Memphis Rep. Steve Cohen have reintroduced their bill to federally fund Complete Streets — this time with Democrats in power. (Smart Growth America)
- Having a dedicated, free parking space is a major influence on whether city-dwellers own cars, so less parking within developments results in fewer cars on the road, according to a new study. (Journalist’s Resource)
- The pandemic at least temporarily reversed the long-term trend toward congested mega-cities. (Arch Daily)
- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told a U.S. Senate committee that Baltimore could have its own version of the Purple Line — if the private sector is interested. He also clashed with Democrats over his decision to cancel the Red Line. (Baltimore Sun)
- The effect of the pandemic on Atlanta’s MARTA has been catastrophic, if not as severe as on some transit systems. In Atlanta, though, the economic downturn and drop in ridership come just before the agency embarks on its largest-ever expansion. (Atlanta Magazine)
- The Utah Transit Authority’s five-year plan envisions a system with more midday and late-night service and buses on core routes that run every 15 minutes. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Opponents of widening I-5 in Portland are worried that the Oregon DOT could eventually turn 12-foot shoulders shown in documents into travel lanes. (Willamette Week)
- Philadelphia will ask the Federal Transit Administration whether it’s OK to spend $40 million in coronavirus relief funds on the King of Prussia rail project. (Inquirer)
- A Virginia legislator has pulled a budget amendment that would have withheld funding from the D.C. Metro unless it named a station after a bank. (Washington Post)
- Planners and business groups want Illinois to take the politics out of transportation projects and use objective criteria to decide what to fund. (Crain’s Chicago)
- Pittsburgh is asking for feedback on plans to install 100 miles of new bike lanes. (Feedback: Do it.) (WPXI)
- Northwest Arkansas’s transit authority is considering a restructuring that would give a greater voice to urban areas. (Democrat-Gazette)
- The Asheville city council is asking the North Carolina legislature for permission to hold a referendum on a sales tax for transit. (Citizen-Times)
- Lyft, which swears it’s not a taxi company, is trying to attract Florida seniors by letting them request a ride by phone. (CNN)
- It’s taking Denver longer to build a two-way bike lane than to widen a freeway. (Denverite)
- Designers of a Montreal light-rail system thought one section was so ugly, they quit. (RT&S)
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