Friday’s Headlines Are Going Back to the Future
What's old is new again, like intercity electric rail and pre-Trump administration environmental rules.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 8, 2021
- A hundred years ago, people went from town to town on electric trains called interurbans. The privately owned trains couldn’t compete with taxpayer-funded highways, but President Biden’s Amtrak investment could create something similar. (Bloomberg)
- The Biden administration is restoring a rule President Trump had weakened requiring federal agencies to consider the impact on climate change when approving a project. (New York Times)
- A Transit Center video delves into the legacy of racism in public transportation.
- Bike shares are a cheap way to cut emissions and encourage people to get out of their cars. (Marketplace)
- Sales of e-bikes rose 240 percent between July 2020 and July 2021. (Electrek)
- Using AI at traffic lights would reduce emissions (Engadget) but so would, you know, driving less.
- Houston transit ridership is down 40% since the start of the pandemic, but many essential workers continue to rely on it. (Houston Public Media)
- Massachusetts lawmakers are considering using American Rescue Plan funds to lower transit fares. (Government Tech)
- An abandoned Seattle streetcar project has reappeared in the city’s 2022 budget. (KING)
- A Philadelphia council member wants to raise the fine for parking on a sidewalk. (Axios)
- After Eugene lost its bike share, a nonprofit stepped in, and it’s now looking to establish bike shares in other Oregon cities. (Eugene Weekly)
- Harford’s only bike shop is essential because many residents can’t afford cars. (Fox 61)
- Charlotte Magazine interviewed former mayor and transportation secretary Anthony Foxx about resistance to the Gold Line project and his work at Lyft, which he sees as a complement to public transit.
- A Paris suburb is using “noise radar” to ticket the drivers whose roaring motorcycles wake people up. (Reuters)
- A Berlin petition seeks to ban cars from the city center. (The Guardian)
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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