Thursday’s Headlines Need to Cool Down

What's cooler than being cool? Ice cold! But if you don't have air conditioning, you can't even avoid heat stroke without a way to get to a cooling center.

By Blake Aued

12:26 AM EDT on August 24, 2023

Ketut Subiyanto

During deadly heat waves, cooling centers set up by cities often go unused because people who don't have cars or access to transit can't get there. (The Grist)
A carbon tax that makes pollution less profitable for corporations would be more fair and effective than putting the onus on consumers. (Fast Company)
The argument against one-way streets grows even stronger when considering that any gains drivers make in speed on them are mostly offset by traveling farther. (Transfers Magazine)
Despite his mercurial nature and willingness to put profits above the national interest, Elon Musk has become a de facto cabinet secretary without portfolio whose permission is needed from the federal government to proceed on anything from the war in Ukraine to space travel. (New Yorker)
A California proposal to raise bridge tolls to fund mass transit is now on hold. (CBS News, Streetsblog CAL)
The Los Angeles mayor's office only learned about the widely-ridiculed La Sombrita bus shelter from a press release, reinforcing how important communication is within city governments (L.A. Public Press)
Meanwhile, Houston is working on a sturdier bus shelter with solar-powered panels to keep waiting passengers cool. (Chronicle)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed a bill setting a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers. (Minnesota Reformer)
An influential Colorado state senator is working on a bill to boost funding for transit. (Colorado Public Radio)
Raleigh banned new drive-throughs along bus rapid transit corridors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from idling cars. (WRAL)
Milwaukee's Lakefront streetcar extension opens Oct. 29 (Urban Milwaukee).
Development around Seattle's Capitol Hill light rail station lacks enough density, public space or a daycare center nearby residents demanded. (The Urbanist)
Pressure to charge for the Tampa streetcar apparently stems from St. Pete Beach residents who want homeless people to stay out of their quiet beach community. (Tampa Bay Times)
Crediting Streetsblog with inventing the term, Baltimore residents are starting to talk about developing the "parking crater" around the Camden Yards baseball stadium. (Fishbowl)
Dressed as referees, Toronto residents handed out yellow cards to illegally parked drivers during the Women's World Cup. (Momentum Mag)