Friday’s Headlines Are Short on Cash

In most of the U.S., a car is a necessity for getting to school, work or the doctor, but the cost is getting more and more unaffordable.

By Blake Aued

12:32 AM EDT on August 18, 2023

The sticker always hides the true cost of car ownership … on the owner and society.

Cars are more expensive than ever, but the unfortunate reality is that most Americans can't afford not to own one either. (Marketplace)
Urban highway construction cost displaced residents billions of dollars in home value, and cities lost millions in property tax revenue, according to studies of Atlanta and Washington, D.C. (City Lab)
Amtrak is using eminent domain to move forward on replacing a 150-year-old Baltimore rail tunnel. (Washington Post)
Dallas Area Rapid Transit removed a downtown subway from its long-range plans, leading to questions about the future of the project. (D Magazine)
Washington state Democrats are pushing for high-speed rail connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. (KING)
Tacoma's Hilltop streetcar extension opens next month. (The Urbanist)
Transit Center has the inside scoop on how Minnesota advocates managed to secure $2 billion in state funding for transit.
Conservative media like Fox News and OAN are blaming California legalizing jaywalking for pedestrian deaths that happened before the law passed. In reality, pedestrian deaths are down since January 2023 after a surge in 2022.
CalMatters argues that California should stop towing cars just because people don't have enough money to pay their tickets.
The North Carolina DOT is providing guidance for cities along a future Richmond-Raleigh rail corridor to plan for transit-oriented development. (Mass Transit)
New Jersey's "transit villages," towns where development is designed around bus and train stations, are growing fast. (Planetizen)
Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA is painting more bus-only lanes red after a pilot program found that it sped up buses. (WHYY)
Colorado is accepting applications for its statewide e-bike rebate program. (Axios)
Charleston is backing off plans for a bike lane on busy King Street. (Post and Courier)
BikePortland offers tips on safe cycling.
India will spend $7 billion buying 10,000 electric buses for 170 cities. (Reuters)
Here's a list of nine European cities that are car-free. (The Mayor)

Blake Aued

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