Wednesday’s Headlines Build Bridges Not Roads
AASHTO, the powerful lobbying group for state DOTs, is coming around to the idea that building roads isn't the be-all-end-all.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on December 21, 2022
- The election of longtime transit and safe streets advocate Roger Millar to lead the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a sign that at least some of the powerful organization’s member states are moving beyond just building more roads. (Washington Post)
- As the safety net breaks down and more homeless people take refuge on buses and trains, it puts transit agencies in the untenable position of doubling as social service providers. That conflict is exacerbated when transit goes fare-free. (The American Prospect)
- The National Review supports the free market until the market rate for a ride to get a sandwich is $67. But the story has a happy ending — the editor took the subway instead!
- Houston and Harris County have agreed to let the Texas DOT’s I-45 expansion move forward as long as the state pays to replace public housing and the expansion is kept within the existing footprint. But they’ll have to wait for USDOT to resolve its civil rights investigation into the project first. (Chronicle)
- The Milwaukee neighborhood of Piggsville has already been victimized by urban freeway construction, and now an I-94 widening project will take out the gas station that’s the only place within a mile to buy food. (Jalopnik)
- While Washington, D.C. is eliminating Metrobus fares, state law currently prevents Virginia from following suit. (Mercury)
- A new east-west bus rapid transit line in Madison could open as soon as late 2024. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
- The 60-mile Marquette Greenway will connect Chicago with lakeside communities in Indiana and even Michigan. (CBS News)
- Barcelona is considering taxing delivery services like Amazon, whose trucks pollute the city and cause congestion. (Cities Today)
- A proposal to cap bus fares in England at 2 pounds would take an estimated 2 million cars off the road this winter. (The Guardian)
- Streetsblog NYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman — who has been un-defacing defaced license plates (don’t ask, it’s a New York thing) — will take his “criminal mischief” series to a national audience with a live radio interview with Michael Smerconish on SiriusXM’s POTUS Politics show at 11 a.m. It’s channel 124 on your satellite radio dial.
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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