Wednesday’s Headlines Are Done Negotiating
Biden cuts off talks with Senate Republicans, already massive SUVs are made even deadlier by heavy batteries, Amtrak restores service and more headlines.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on June 9, 2021
- President Biden is done talking to Senate Republicans and will instead try to cut an infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of 20 senators in hopes of getting 60 votes for a bill. (Politico)
- An electric Hummer weighs 9,000 pounds — as much as three Honda Civics. The extra battery weight protects people inside, but makes the vehicle much deadlier to everyone else (CNN). Meanwhile, Ford announced it will start producing a small, cheap hybrid pickup that gets 40 miles per gallon (CNBC).
- Amtrak is restoring daily service on 12 long-distance routes after receiving emergency funding from Congress. (Reuters)
- Transportation for America likes House Democrats’ transportation bill. And a California bill eliminating parking requirements near transit gets a nod from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
- The aforementioned U.S. House bill would put climate change at the center of nearly every federal transportation policy. (The Hill)
- The pandemic taught planners not to be afraid to experiment with streets, despite past failures of pedestrian malls. (Public Square)
- Get used to sky-high Uber and Lyft prices — it’s the only way their business model is sustainable. (Curbed)
- Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillebrand want $500 million for cybersecurity after someone hacked New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (NY Daily News)
- The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority advisory board wants to create a new governing body to deal with budget issues and falling ridership. (Boston Globe)
- The Arizona Daily Sun reminds Flagstaff drivers to be on the lookout for bikes.
- This week in road rage: Two people were arrested and charged with shooting and killing a 6-year-old boy on a California freeway after his mother made “a perceived unsafe lane change,” according to police (CNN). In Canada, a driver plowed into a truck and killed four people because the family were Muslims (Chicago Sun-Times).
- The world’s most expensive parking space was $387,000 in 2012, which seems like a bargain now. (Car and Driver)
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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