Monday’s Headlines Because We’re Doing This
It's Amtrak week! Plus other news.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on May 3, 2021
- On Amtrak’s 50th birthday, President Biden pushed for an $80-billion investment in passenger rail, including high-speed lines connecting Charlotte and Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit, Los Angeles and Las Vegas and more. (Politico)
- Over the weekend, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff visited Raleigh (WRAL) and Buttigieg rode Amtrak with “Weekend Today” to talk up Biden’s infrastructure plan.
- Spending $1 trillion on infrastructure would create 1.2 million jobs and put $1,800 in the average family’s pocket. (The Hill)
- The “open streets” movement during the pandemic has led cities to rethink what roads are for. (City Lab)
- Cities are too reliant on parking for revenue. (Next City)
- Nashville is a big city now and quickly getting expensive. Approving Mayor John Cooper’s $1.6-billion transit plan would keep residents from having to choose between transportation and affordable housing. (WKRN)
- Charlotte is tweaking the route for the future Silver Line. (WFAE)
- St. Paul is considering doing away with minimum parking requirements for new developments (Star Tribune). Pittsburgh is also considering easing off-street parking requirements, as well as limiting curb cuts (Trib Live)
- Jacksonville city council members who are opposed to a proposed gas-tax increase to fund a Skyway expansion and other transportation projects want to put the hike before voters. (Daily Record)
- Dallas approved its first-ever transportation plan. (Morning News)
- Everything you wanted to know about Philadelphia’s Indego bike-share but were afraid to ask. (Citizen)
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.
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