Streetsblog

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Biden Their Time

Frustration grows over President Biden's gas policies. Plus, sexual assaults are down but traffic deaths are up on Ubers.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on July 5, 2022

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Biden Their Time

Image: Gage Skidmore, CC

Democrats entered the Fourth of July holiday frustrated over President Biden’s proposal for a gas tax holiday (The Hill, Streetsblog). Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos slammed Biden’s call for oil companies to lower prices (Bloomberg).
The mass shooting in Highland Park inspired a dead-on thread by Georgetown Law professor Heidi Feldman linking gun violence to the erosion of democracy itself. It’s worth a read.
Sexual assaults dropped from nearly 6,000 in 2017-18 to 4,000 in 2019-2020, according to a new Uber safety report, but more drivers and passengers died in car crashes. (New York Times)
The U.S. DOT is offering $573 million in grants for safer railroad crossings (Railway Technology). Another $1 billion aims to reconnect communities cut off by highways (Mass Transit), but it’s way too small (Streetsblog).
California’s new budget includes $4.2 billion to finish a high-speed rail line in the Central Valley (San Jose Mercury News), but Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pledge to make transit free for three months didn’t make it (SFGate).
D.C.-area roads, airports and bike-shares are as busy as they were before the pandemic, but transit continues to struggle. (Washington Post)
Denver needs better bike infrastructure to help people get to transit stations. (Colorado Newsline)
A Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has recommended bus rapid transit over light rail on the Campbellton Corridor. (CBS 46)
The Pinellas County transit agency’s proposed budget includes employee raises and funding to buy zero-emissions buses. (Tampa Bay Times
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed a resolution committing the city to Vision Zero (Journal-Sentinel)
A move to override Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of 24-hour bus lanes on Hennepin Avenue fell one vote short on the city council. (CBS Minnesota)
Chicago plans to add concrete barriers to all bike lines by the end of 2023. (ABC 7)
A judge is allowing protected bike lane construction to move forward in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the first U.S. city to mandate adding bike lanes during all road projects, after business owners and residents sued. (Cambridge Day)
Cincinnati’s streetcar is back on track after a building collapse blocked part of its route. (Fox 19)
Pittsburgh’s bike share donated 450 retired bikes to a community group. (Post-Gazette)