Wednesday’s Headlines Are Inducing Demand

Photo: B137, CC
Photo: B137, CC
  • How is it that, despite all evidence to the contrary, anyone still believes widening roads will reduce congestion? (Planetizen, City Observatory)
  • While intercity bus ridership is recovering, stations are continuing to close, and a driver shortage persists, putting pressure on state and local governments to stem the tide lest carless travelers be stranded. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • Psychedelics could be used to treat cyclists suffering from pain and depression after crashes, according to a new study. (New England Journal of Medicine)
  • Thank Missouri Rep. Cori Bush for the $214 million in climate-change relief funds for transit agencies in President Biden’s most recent budget. (The Nation)
  • Just making it easier and safer to walk is an often overlooked way to fight climate change. (Environment America)
  • With the car losing its grip on cities, planners should make required parking a thing of the past. (Chicago Sun-Times)
  • High construction costs are forcing Austin officials to make difficult decisions on what will be a generation-defining expansion of transit. (KXAN)
  • Venture capital is drying up for Pittsburgh’s driverless car startups. (Post-Gazette)
  • A hit-and-run driver killed a Reno cyclist, and the city’s habit of plowing snow from roads into bike lanes and sidewalks could be to blame. (This Is Reno)
  • Planners in Northwest Arkansas are seeking federal help to upgrade bus stops in low-income areas. (Democrat-Gazette)
  • Ben Affleck can’t parallel park, proving once again that celebrities, they’re just like us! (TMZ)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

In Portland, Construction Can’t Kill a Bike Lane

|
This temporary bike lane is actually wider than the permanent one that’s being blocked by construciton. (Photo: Portlandize) Here’s an indicator of how important bike lanes are in the city of Portland. From Streetsblog Network member Portlandize comes a report on a case in which a bike lane was recently closed because of streetcar construction. […]

Bus Bulbs Useless Without Enforcement

|
A story about the new bus bulbs on Lower Broadway in the New York Times highlights the role that enforcement will have to play if DOT’s plan to make the boulevard more bus-friendly is to work. (Bus Rapid Transit, of course, will face similar issues when it rolls out later this year.) The story points […]