Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines Are Not Gonna Pay a Lot for This Gas

Seriously, if you're mad about gas and/or muffler prices, and you live in a place with transit and/or bike-share, you have alternatives.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on March 14, 2022

Monday’s Headlines Are Not Gonna Pay a Lot for This Gas

Whatever number you see at the pump shouldn't influence how you vote. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

With gas prices high, transit agencies have an opportunity to boost ridership. (CityLab, Marketplace)
Neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s still have worse air pollution more than 80 years later. (New York Times)
The $1.5 billion federal omnibus spending bill Congress passed last week includes $16 billion for transit and $3 billion for rail. (Mass Transit)
The federal mask mandate on transit has been extended through April 18. (Roll Call)
Speaking of high gas prices, already Tucson residents are looking for alternatives (KGUN). Omaha’s bike-share is marketing itself as a cheaper alternative to driving (KPTM). And BikePortland has a guide to saving money by leaving your car at home, be it by bike or transit.
As the link between the Capitol and the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue is important symbolically, but not for actually transporting cars. So federal and D.C. officials want to remake it as a bike-friendly corridor and linear park. (Washington Post)
Consultants are urging Charlotte to choose the Silver Line light-rail route that attracts the most riders, but the city is intent on choosing the route that’s least expensive. (WFAE)
Private high-speed rail company Brightline is planning a new line between Tampa and Orlando. (WUSF)
The Federal Transit Administration awarded Ohio transit agencies $33 million to upgrade facilities and older buses. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Houston is forging ahead with future bus rapid transit projects despite disappointing ridership on the Silver Line. (Chronicle)
Sam Massell, the Atlanta mayor who laid the groundwork for MARTA’s heavy rail system in the late 1960s, has died at age 94 (AJC). Although historically resistant to transit, the city he once led is now embracing tactical urbanism to reduce cyclist and pedestrian deaths (Smart Cities Dive).
Osceola County is the first county in Central Florida to start a Vision Zero program. (WESH)
A new California report shows how a simple jaywalking ticket can lead to financial disaster for homeless and other low-income residents as the fees and fines stack up. (Raw Story)