Wednesday’s Headlines Wonder, Where Have You Gone, Amtrak Joe?

As president, Joe Biden has boosted rail and transit spending, but not nearly as much as some supporters hoped, and roads still reign supreme.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on March 6, 2024

Amtrak Joe, in happier times.

|Adam Schultz/White House

"Amtrak Joe" Biden promised us a "second railroad revolution," but his commitment to rail has been underwhelming compared to federal spending on roads. (New Republic)
Also in Amtrak news: more trains are being added in the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and New York City (WTOP). A proposed line from Chicago to Florida looks like it could bypass Tampa (Tampa Bay Times). And powerful Republican Sen. John Thune sounds open to the idea of Amtrak service in South Dakota (Dakota News Now).
Raising gas taxes is good policy, but Donald Trump's claims about Nikki Haley wanting to do that as governor of South Carolina are misleading. (USA Today)
Jeff Speck encourages every city to make a downtown walkability plan. (CNU Public Square)
Pittsburgh is recommitting to Vision Zero after seeing traffic deaths rise 70 percent from 2018 to 2022. (Post-Gazette)
So many members have resigned from the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority board that it no longer has a quorum to do business. (Times-Picayune)
Governing profiled a Minnesota state legislator who spend 22 years fighting against climate change and for public transit.
Seattle's Sound Transit is deploying more security officers in response to an uptick in violence. (MyNorthwest)
Tacoma adopted a plan for one neighborhood that includes more open streets, bike lanes and trees. (News Tribune)
Zoning is complicated, but even for a student at the University of Alabama, it's not hard to understand that parking mandates result in higher rents (Crimson White). (Relax, the author went to Ole Miss and would never disrespect the Tide.)
Sports fans will know that of course Barstool has the most obnoxious opinion possible on bike lanes and fines for drivers who block them.