Friday’s Headlines, Land Ho!

Transit agencies own a bunch of land, and some say they should sell it for housing to create more ridership.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on March 15, 2024

David Wilson |

A transit-oriented development in Plano, Texas.

Building more housing near transit is harder than it seems, because transit agencies often focus on expansion into well-to-do neighborhoods with strict zoning laws, and there's little cooperation between the locals and the feds (Route Fifty). For example, 74,000 acres of land around New Jersey transit stops are underutilized (Newsweek).
U.S. tax law encourages higher emissions by allowing writeoffs on heavy vehicles and private jets. (Greenbiz)
The Federal Highway Administration now wants to drop President Biden's "buy American" requirement to speed up highway construction projects. (Construction Dive)
President Biden was in Milwaukee yesterday to tout his efforts to reconnect Black neighborhoods divided by past infrastructure. (Journal Sentinel)
Do you not see well and want to use public transit? There's an app for that. (Next City)
Los Angeles voters' approval of Measure HLA will force the city to complete more than 1,000 miles of bike lanes and sidewalks. (Bloomberg)
St. Paul could build a bus rapid transit line for $121 million instead of a $2 billion streetcar. (Star Tribune)
Bring on more developments purposefully designed for no cars, says CleanTechnica.
A neglected part of Houston will receive $43 million for sidewalks. (Chronicle)
New Orleans is getting $66 million for shared-use trails along I-10 service roads. (Axios)
Raleigh is scrapping its traffic signal cameras even though they're feared by drivers who might be tempted to run that red light. (ABC 11)
Cincinnati's Red Bike bikeshare is shutting down, although some city officials say they're committed to saving it. (WCPO)
This Kansas City Star columnist has clearly thought too hard about the psychology of parking, and yet somehow still missed the point.
As TikTok users probably already know, actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. took the subway to the Oscars. (New York Times)