Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines to Start the Week

Traffic is back, but not transit ridership, as San Francisco's BART is experiencing headed into its 51st year.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on September 12, 2022

Traffic congestion is back to pre-pandemic levels, but not transit ridership. (NPR)
A writer at the conservative Heritage Foundation makes the controversial argument that bike lanes actually make cyclists less safe. (Forbes)
Bay Area Rapid Transit celebrated its 50th anniversary last week (San Francisco Chronicle). But the future is unclear with ridership still less than half of pre-pandemic levels and federal COVID funds running out (ABC 7).
Boston transit officials say they’re confident the Orange Line will reopen within 10 days with new train cars. (Globe)
Disabled Portland residents are suing the city for allowing people to camp on sidewalks, saying blocking them violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
North Carolina’s transportation funding formula prioritizes drivers over alternatives like walking and biking. (Center for American Progress)
A Philadelphia parking mogul is spending $100 million to acquire more surface lots in other states and build commercial developments on them. (Inquirer)
Seattle officials are looking at ways to improve Third Avenue, the busiest bus corridor in the country. (The Urbanist)
Orlando-area transit riders can only access 5,600 jobs within a half-hour commute, and a November referendum in Orange County on a sales tax for transportation aims to change that. (Mass Transit Mag)
Phoenix’s South Central/Downtown Hub light rail project is halfway complete. (Fox 10)
The Twin Cities’ Met Council hopes to find $534 million to plug a budget gap in the Southwest light rail project’s budget by the end of the year. (Star Tribune)
Uber Eats and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro are delivering food via robot cars in Houston and Mountain View, California. (The Verge)
Denver pedestrian advocates are seeking to decriminalize jaywalking. (Westword)
Rhode Island announced a fare-free pilot program on its most popular transit route connecting Providence and Pawtucket. (Cities Today)
Urbanize Atlanta wants to hear from readers on what transit agency MARTA should do with the city’s much-derided streetcar.
Americans value prime parking spots so much that Golf Digest wrote an article about Players Championship winner Cameron Smith having his taken away after ditching the PGA for Saudi-funded rival LIV. In fact, parking is so valuable that in San Francisco a space costs about the same as a down payment on a house (USA Today).

Blake Aued

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.

Streetsblog

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.