- Parking has devastated once-vibrant downtowns, with 30 percent of U.S. cities devoted to storing cars. (The Conversation)
- Forty million Americans live in urban heat islands, where materials like asphalt absorb and retain heat. (NBC News)
- A U.S. House committee is holding hearings on regulating autonomous vehicles. (Smart Cities Dive)
- A new Transit Center report outlines how transit agencies that are struggling with staffing can attract and retain employees. Streetsblog has the summary.
- Audi's new taillights will warn cyclists when they're about to get doored. (Autocar)
- Lyft is looking to sell off its bike-share operations in New York, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and four other cities. (Bicycle Retailer)
- Sixty years after urban renewal, South Carolina is still building highways through Black communities. (The Guardian)
- Alabama is likely to go $1 billion into debt to build a new rural highway that even some advocates for widening existing freeways don't think is necessary. (1819 News)
- The Federal Transit Administration is not going to fund Research Triangle commuter rail. (Axios)
- Philadelphia's transit agency is considering building a $50 million parking garage on land near a station that could be used for mixed-use development instead. (Billy Penn)
- Tampa may kick bikes off the popular Riverwalk trail — and blaming "rogue cyclists" for riding irresponsibly. (Tampa Bay Times)
- Kalamazoo debuted a new type of street configuration with a single car lane and two bike lanes that drivers can also use to pass (MLive). Will drivers figure it out? Jalopnik is skeptical.
- Sleeper trains are making a comeback in Europe. (CNBC)
Today's Headlines
Friday’s Headlines Want More Parks and Less Parking
The average U.S. city is about one-third parking, which contributes to heat islands that exacerbate the effects of climate change.
By Blake Aued
Surface parking in downtown San Jose, California.
|Sergio Ruiz, SPUR/Flickr, CCRead More:
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Confirmed: Non-Driving Infrastructure Creates ‘Induced Demand,’ Too
Widening a highway to cure congestion is like losing weight by buying bigger pants — but thanks to the same principle of "induced demand," adding bike paths and train lines to cure climate actually works.
January 9, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Are Unsustainably Expensive
To paraphrase former New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, the car payment is too damn high.
Talking Headways Podcast: Poster Sessions at Mpact in Portland
Young professionals discuss the work they’ve been doing including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking and improving buses.
January 8, 2026
Exploding Costs Could Doom One of America’s Greatest Highway Boondoggles
The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project and highway expansion between Oregon and Washington was already a boondoggle. Then the costs ballooned to $17.7 billion.
January 8, 2026
Mayor Bowser Blasts U.S. DOT Talk of Eliminating Enforcement Cameras in DC
The federal Department of Transportation is exploring how to dismantle the 26-year-old enforcement camera system in Washington, D.C.
January 8, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are Making Progress
By Yonah Freemark's count, 19 North American transit projects opened last year, with another 19 coming in 2026.
January 8, 2026
