Friday’s Headlines Want Real Complete Streets
Memo to DOTs: Complete streets is a process and a way of thinking, not a highway with some paint slapped on it for bikes.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EDT on April 21, 2023
- The term “complete streets” is being co-opted to greenwash highway projects. Slapping a sidewalk and a painted bike lane on a high-speed road doesn’t make it safe. (Smart Growth America)
- Cracking down on fare evasion widens inequality gaps and isn’t a very cost-effective way of raising revenue. (City Lab)
- Community engagement and funding are the two key ingredients in safer streets. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Cargo bikes are the future of urban transportation. (Momentum Mag)
- The success of a bus-only lane and protected bike lane in downtown Culver City shows that Los Angeles doesn’t have to be ruled by cars. (L.A. Times)
- Officials at the Charlotte Area Transit System knew about maintenance and other problems before a May derailment. (Axios)
- Phoenix-area cities are working on a Plan B in case light-rail-hating Republicans scuttle plans to renew a transportation sales tax. (Axios)
- E-scooter ridership in Portland is up even as the program is in flux and cycling has declined. (Bike Portland)
- The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is bringing on-demand transit to the Philadelphia suburbs that’s cheaper than Uber or Lyft. (NBC 10)
- A Boston suburb with a fare-free transit system will keep fares at zero for another year. Worcester’s transit system is also the only one in the state with a higher ridership than before the pandemic. (MassLive)
- Huntsville, Alabama, wants to eliminate traffic deaths by 2055. (Rocket City Now)
- The head of the France’s state-owned railway company wants to tax road and air travel to pay for a 100 billion-Euro expansion of the national rail system. (Rail Tech)
- This South Florida alligator must be a New York City transplant, because it told drivers, “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!” (NBC Miami)
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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