Friday’s Headlines Are a Home Run

  • Cities shouldn’t just tear down freeways, they should be focused on replacing pavement in general, which covers 30 percent of urban land area. (Next City)
  • In its biggest investment in 50 years, Amtrak is spending $7 billion to upgrade its rolling stock by replacing 40 percent of its trains over the next decade. (Washington Post)
  • President Biden is on the defensive about rising gas prices, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying that’s one reason he opposed a gas or vehicle-miles tax to fund infrastructure  — even though higher gas prices discourage people from driving. (The Hill)
  • Folks in St. Paul had a big legislative win for their Rondo land bridge project, and they’ve privately credited Streetsblog’s coverage with helping them gain the momentum they need to make this happen. (Pioneer-Press)
  • Orange County, California, fought transit for decades, but now it’s building a streetcar. (Los Angeles Times)
  • Madison, Wisconsin’s mayor hopes Gov. Tony Evers has a plan to replace the transit funding the state legislature cut from its budget. (WKOW)
  • A Philadelphia e-scooter startup is looking to break into the bike-share business. (WHYY)
  • London is planning on reducing speed limits to 20 miles per hour, which should make streets safer and encourage people to ride bikes. (Traffic Technology Today)
  • A Toronto web exhibit documents how mass transit in the city has changed over the past 170 years. (Daily Hive)
  • A hero cyclist in Mexico saw a car blocking the bike lane and just … walked right over it. (Mexico News Daily)
  • At the All-Star Game in Denver? Here’s how to skip the rental car and get around on transit. (The Know)
  • This is what happens when drivers speed on wet roads. (Twitter)

 

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Twin Cities Region Grows While Car Use Shrinks

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Residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Region are letting their feet off the gas. According to the Twin Cities’ Metropolitan Council’s decennial travel behavior survey [PDF], vehicle trips in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region dropped 18 percent between 2000 and 2010. People who reside in the area are making almost 1.5 million fewer car trips a day […]

Monday’s Headlines Are Willing to Pay More at the Pump

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Gas prices are emerging as a political issue, but drivers need to get over it. Centrist Democrats in Congress are proposing suspending the gas tax. That’s a bad idea because there’s no proven link between rising gas prices and President Biden’s approval rating, and it will just require spending other revenue on transportation instead. (Bloomberg) […]