Monday’s Headlines and We’re On Our Way
Let's start the week with a news roundup!
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on May 24, 2021
- President Joe Biden cut $500 billion from his infrastructure plan to entice Republicans, but predictably, the GOP still isn’t interested. (Politico)
- Polls show that infrastructure spending is popular, and voters would likely support raising gas taxes, corporate taxes or taxes on the wealthy to fund it. (Forbes)
- The number of pedestrians killed by drivers rose 21 percent last year despite a drop in overall travel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, most likely because of speeding and driving under the influence. (Route Fifty)
- The problem with Ford’s new electric F-150 is its sheer weight makes it a menace to pedestrians that damages roads and pollutes the air with tire and brake dust. (Slate)
- COVID-19 showed that access to transportation is a key component to health care, especially for Black and Latinx patients. (Transfers Magazine)
- Reorienting commuter rail away from white-collar office workers and toward subway-style service in the wake of pandemic-driven changes in travel habits is going to be expensive. (Governing)
- Citizen engagement is the key to restoring confidence in transit. (Cities Today)
- Cities like Eugene and Ann Arbor are leading the way in creating more walkable communities where everyday needs are a 20-minute walk, bike ride or transit ride away. (Washington Post)
- Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to fund light rail on the Beltline walking and biking trail during Buttigieg’s visit to Atlanta on Friday. (AJC)
- A new maintenance facility near Seattle will allow Sound Transit to triple its light-rail fleet. (My Northwest)
- A new Arizona law makes it illegal for drivers to even partially block a sidewalk so that a wheelchair can’t get by. (ABC 15)
- Designing a freeway system doesn’t take a lot of brains — it’s so simple a slime mold could do it. (Jalopnik)
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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