Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines Are Soaking It All In

More details continue to come out about the infrastructure bill, which may or may not have passed the Senate by the time you read this.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on August 9, 2021

The infrastructure bill’s passage is inevitable, and if it hasn’t passed by the time you read this, it will, despite Republican delaying tactics. (Politico)
There are probably things you don’t like about the deal, but the center-left Brookings Institute says it will make the country more inclusive, resilient and competitive.
One of the things not to like: The bill cuts Biden’s proposed $20 billion for dismantling urban freeways to just $1 billion. (NBC News)
If you’ve been hearing about the 80/20 highway/transit split and were wondering what it is and where it came from, here’s your answer. (Eno Center for Transportation)
The infrastructure bill also includes funding for technology to catch people who get behind the wheel drunk and warn them when they leave their kids in the back seat. (New York Post)
The Biden administration reached a deal with automakers to raise mileage, cut emissions and make half of all vehicles produced electric by the end of the decade (Associated Press). We have to re-emphasize, though, that EVs alone won’t be enough to avoid a climate crisis
Uber, Lyft and their users are getting a big dose of capitalism in action. (NPR)
The all-powerful bike lobby is trying to kill San Francisco museums by excluding cars from Golden Gate Park, according to the New York Times.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has thrown her support behind the I-5 expansion in Portland’s Rose Quarter in exchange for a cap over the freeway to reconnect neighborhoods. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
A Baltimore reservoir and park is walled off by wide roads from surrounding Black neighborhoods. Will the city take the opportunity to change that? (Next City)
Richmond has had great success luring riders back to transit by eliminating fares. But can it last? (Governing)
Thanks to loopholes for developers, Tampa Bay is hundreds of years behind on sidewalk construction. Yes, hundreds. (WFTS)
So many people are illegally riding e-scooters on sidewalks that it triggered a ban in downtown Milwaukee. (Independent)
Dallas is seeking input on its Vision Zero plans to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030. (Morning News)
A European study came to the shocking conclusion that cargo e-bikes are faster and cleaner than delivery vans. (The Guardian)