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

12:01 AM EDT on July 28, 2023

Sergio Ruiz, SPUR/Flickr, CC |

Surface parking in downtown San Jose, California.

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)