Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines Are Going for a Walk

People who can afford it are willing to pay through the nose to live in a walkable neighborhood. Maybe we should build more!

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EST on February 6, 2023

People want to live in walkable neighborhoods so badly that they’ll pay a 35 percent premium to buy property and 41 percent more to rent. That’s because walkable neighborhoods are so scarce. (Slate)
The U.S. DOT’s new “Safe Streets and Roads for All” grant program will fund Vision Zero plans in places where more than half of Americans live. (Streetsblog USA)
With stimulus funds running out and ridership still down from before the pandemic, transit agencies that rely on fares are struggling more than those that don’t. (Smart Cities Dive)
Lyft is coming out with a new generation of docked e-scooters. (Tech Crunch)
Utah Transit will be fare-free for 10 days centering around the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 19, and Gov. Spencer Cox is proposing $25 million in funding for a year-long fare-free pilot program. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Oregon developers are building more homes now that the state has eased regulations requiring a certain amount of parking. (Sightline)
Iowa is taxing kilowatt-hours to replace road maintenance funds lost as gas tax revenue declines. (Grist)
Las Vegas adopted a Vision Zero plan aiming to eliminate pedestrian deaths by 2050. (3 News)
Charlotte is looking to Jersey City, which successfully eliminated traffic deaths last year, as inspiration for its Vision Zero program. (WCNC)
Supporters of rail on the Atlanta Beltline are firing back after a Georgia Tech professor penned a column poo-pooing the idea (Urbanize Atlanta). Meanwhile, Mayor Andre Dickens says he supports extending the streetcar to the Beltline, but isn’t taking a stance on the Clifton Corridor light rail vs. bus rapid transit debate (AJC).
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is offering to pay for two-thirds of city employees’ transit passes. (Herald)
Houston Chronicle readers submit their nominations for the city’s worst sidewalks.
Yes, The Federalist, we are coming for your big, scary, polluting, dangerous trucks.