Friday’s Headlines Are Getting a Jump on Holiday Shopping

Business owners think their sales will nosedive if the city takes away parking. But often, the opposite is true.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on November 3, 2023

Photo: Kevin Dowling

Contrary to many shop owners' fears, getting rid of on-street parking can actually attract more shoppers rather than drive them away. (Business Insider)
Whether it's fares or sales taxes, transit agencies rely too much on one source of revenue, making them susceptible to a "fiscal cliff" like the one many are facing now, according to a new Urban Institute report. They need to find more diverse sources of funding, as well as ways to shore up their workforces. (Route Fifty, Transit Center, Streetsblog USA)
The new book "Justice and the Interstates: The Racist Truth About Urban Highways" explores how redlining, single-family zoning and federal highway spending conspired to destroy Black neighborhoods. (Arch Daily)
Cities should be building infrastructure and writing regulations to support the growing cargo-bike delivery business. (Government Technology)
The U.S. DOT awarded $82 million in grants for safe streets planning and quick-build projects to 235 communities. (Smart Cities Dive)
The League of American Bicyclists has named 39 universities as bicycle-friendly for 2023. (Momentum Mag)
New digital tools make it easier to envision what landscapes look like without cars. (Forbes)
Baltimore's Red Line would take six to 12 years and cost $2 billion to $7 billion to build, depending on whether it's light rail or bus rapid transit and how much drilling is involved. (Maryland Daily Record)
Despite the statistics saying Memphis is a dangerous place to bike, avid cyclists say Bluff City has a growing bike culture, poor infrastructure and humidity notwithstanding. (Commercial Appeal)
A city audit found that San Diego is severely underfunding Vision Zero projects. (KPBS)
Texas state police are severely underreporting the role of drugs and alcohol in fatal crashes, according to an Austin Vision Zero report. (CBS Austin)
Removing the Metro from Met Council oversight wouldn't necessarily improve governance of the Twin Cities transit agency. (MinnPost)
Amazon's hometown of Seattle is looking at digitizing parking in part to curb delivery trucks. (Axios)
The Tennessee DOT is trying to make road-work zones safer. (Nashville Scene)
The Cincinnati suburb of Dayton, Kentucky, has a new "traffic garden" where kids can learn how to play safely. (Northern Kentucky Tribune)
Richmond's queer and BIPOC cyclists are carving out safe spaces for themselves. (Commonwealth Times)