Friday’s Headlines Are In Demand
Widening highways increases demand for even more highway lanes, while building rail increases demand for property near rail lines.
By
Blake Aued
11:59 AM EDT on June 2, 2023
- More evidence of induced demand: Between 1993 and 2017, 100 U.S. cities expanded highway capacity by 42 percent. Yet traffic congestion still rose by 144 percent. (Random Lengths News)
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to require all new cars and SUVs to come equipped with automatic emergency braking that would save pedestrians’ lives. (Washington Post) But there are some caveats. (Streetsblog USA)
- More than half of highway contractors reported that a crash occurred in their work zone last year. (Construction Dive)
- In California, old-school lefties’ suspicion towards developers — and towards change in general — is clashing with younger progressives’ push for bike lanes and housing. (New York Times)
- Minnesota Democrats say they’ve created a nationwide model for transportation funding with a budget that pours hundreds of millions into Twin Cities transit and intercity rail. (Governing)
- California transit agencies continue to ramp up pleas to the state government for help. (Government Technology)
- Austin’s light rail project can move forward after Texas Republican lawmakers ran out of time to derail it. (Austin Monitor)
- Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is bringing back the City Center Connector streetcar, a controversial project even among transit advocates. (Seattle Times)
- Proving that transit is in demand, real estate prices in Florida are rising fastest near rail stations. (Florida Realtors)
- Denver is redoubling its Vision Zero efforts as traffic deaths have continued to rise since the program began. (Denverite)
- Portland’s Pedalpalooza bike festival kicked off on Thursday. (Mercury)
- Given the chance to name Charlotte’s new bike-lane sweeper, voters chose the creative moniker of Sweepy McSweepface. (WCNC)
- “The Dukes of Hazzard” was a documentary. (WCTV)
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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