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Today's Headlines

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Back to Laboring

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend! U.S. high-speed rail is having a moment, Henry Grabar on the spreading anti-parking movement and more in today's headlines.

12:01 AM EDT on September 5, 2023

High-speed rail under construction in CA’s Central Valley. Photo via CAHSRA

  • Is high-speed rail finally starting to spread outside the Acela corridor? As Brightline opens an extension of its South Florida commuter rail line to Orlando, the company is eyeing a Las Vegas line to California, a Texas high-speed rail line is looking to get back on track, and Amtrak is preparing for its largest expansion in 50 years. (Washington Post)
  • States that charge electric vehicle owners hefty fees are discouraging people from ditching gas-powered cars. (Frontier Group)
  • Chargers for e-bikes and scooters are missing from the U.S. EV strategy. (Streetsblog USA)
  • First we take Manhattan: Starting with New York, cities are discovering that there are better things to do with vast swaths of public right-of-way than move and store cars, writes Henry Grabar. (NY Times)
  • The Times also reports that Paris has banned shared e-scooters over pedestrian safety concerns, although the devices were a lifeline for late-night workers and an alternative to the crowded metro and confusing bike-share system.
  • Neither Los Angeles nor San Francisco is anywhere close to achieving its Vision Zero goals, probably because it seems like someone has to die before improvements to a street or intersection are made. (L.A. Times)
  • Chicago bike advocates want more protected lanes and lower speed limits. (Sun-Times)
  • Plans are nearly complete for Indianapolis' Blue Line bus rapid transit project. (WFYI)
  • Uber and Lyft used bullying and threats to defeat minimum wage legislation in Minneapolis, writes on MinnPost columnist.
  • A 100,000-strong conservative group in Portland is turning its attention to transportation, opposing a median on Southeast Division that they say makes it harder for drivers to turn. (Bike Portland)
  • West Seattle NIMBYs are still opposed to light rail. (West Seattle Blog)
  • What was once one of the largest streetcar systems in the U.S. is now buried underneath Denver's streets. (KDVR)
  • "It's so frustrating we can't do this in the U.S.," said one Twitter user who posted a viral clip of bike infrastructure in "the Netherlands." Turns out we can: The clip was from the famously bike-friendly town of Cambridge near Boston. (Globe)
  • "Silent walking" is the latest TikTok trend. (Today)

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