Streetsblog
Thursday’s Headlines Are Reconnecting
The Claiborne Avenue Expressway. Photo: CNU, CC
By Blake Aued
- The Biden administration awarded 45 grants totaling $185 million for communities to develop plans for mitigating the damage of highways (Washington Post). Meanwhile, a committee in the California legislature is also considering ways to reconnect neighborhoods split by highways (CalMatters).
- Carbon emissions from SUVs rose to nearly 1 billion tons last year as sales of the gas-guzzling vehicles soared. That's as much carbon as the United Kingdom and Germany produce combined. (The Guardian)
- The U.S. pedestrian death rate rose nine times faster than the population during the COVID pandemic. (Streetsblog)
- Amtrak is popular among people making shorter trips like Memphis to New Orleans, particularly in the Southeast, fueling efforts to expand service. (Trains)
- On-demand transit is becoming more important in rural areas as the population ages. (KCUR)
- Uber is more likely to deactivate drivers' accounts after complaints if those drivers are people of color or immigrants. (Wired)
- Bay Area Rapid Transit and other agencies around the country are spending the last of their emergency COVID funding and staring down a fiscal cliff. (Governing)
- Several groups combined forces to upend the status quo and keep San Francisco's JFK Promenade closed to cars. (CNU Public Square)
- A review of Seattle's not-very-successful Vision Zero program suggests doing more of the same. (Public Cola)
- The Portland Bureau of Transportation is offering carless downtown travelers free coffee and gift cards to encourage walking, biking and taking transit. (Bike Portland)
- Hawaii legislators want to spend an extra $50 million on street safety this year. (Civil Beat)
- A Nebraska state senator wants to extend the Omaha streetcar before it's even built. (WOWT)
- France is investing 100 billion euros in rail through 2040, mainly on express commuter trains in cities outside Paris. (Reuters)
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