Monday’s Headlines Will Be Your Valentine
Find someone who looks at you the way state DOTs look at highways. Image: Kiki Zhang, CC
- A few states like Colorado are moving away from building more highways, but unless more follow suit, an influx of infrastructure funding from the federal government could actually make climate change worse by encouraging people to drive more. (New York Times)
- Teslas in self-driving mode tried to drive down light-rail tracks, failed to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and slammed into a bike-lane bollard, according to a Washington Post investigation.
- The Biden administration is starting to flesh out a $5 billion plan to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers (Route Fifty)
- Once the microchip shortage passes, car prices will come back down, right? Not so fast — automakers intend to keep them artificially high to fund investment in electric vehicles. (Bloomberg)
- Uber is quickly becoming a delivery company, whereas Lyft is focusing growth on bike-shares and e-scooters. (The Verge)
- Minnesota senators want an audit of the over budget and behind schedule Southwest light rail line (MPR) and another bill would transfer control from the Twin Cities' Metro Council to the state DOT (Star Tribune).
- Also in Minnesota, St. Paul has yet to start negotiations with a private railroad company on a key spur for trail and light rail projects, leaving open the possibility that the railroad could sell the land to someone else. (MinnPost)
- A new Seattle highway tunnel is complicating plans for a new passenger rail tunnel underneath downtown. (The Urbanist)
- San Antonio won initial federal approval for a citywide bus rapid transit system. (Express-News)
- Birmingham will receive $24 million for transit from the federal infrastructure law. (Birmingham Times)
- An $8.2 million Pennsylvania state grant will help fund a new transit center, sidewalks and improved bus stops. (Post-Gazette)
- Santa Ana, California, business owners blocked construction of a downtown streetcar line, complaining about loss of business. (Voice of OC)
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