Monday’s Modest Headlines
A new online atlas looking at nine metrics for sustainable transit shows that it's not the size of the system that matters, it's how many people it serves.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on July 8, 2024
- Poland’s third-largest city lacks a subway, but it does have the second-most sustainable transit system in the world behind Prague with 86 percent of residents living near transit lines, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Just goes to show that the fanciest is not always the best. (City Lab). StreetsblogUSA covered the same story in May.
- The Biden administration is making available $600 million in grants to reconnect neighborhoods divided by urban freeways. (Clean Technica)
- San Jose Spotlight warns readers about the bad-faith anti-transit arguments of conservative think tanks like the Cato Institute.
- In May, all three of Chicago’s transit agencies recorded their highest ridership numbers since 2019, an increase of 14% over the previous year. (Mass Transit)
- Minnesota hit its limit just 18 minutes after opening an online portal for residents to apply for $1,500 e-bike rebates. More than 60,000 people attempted to apply for about 1,300 rebates. (Star Tribune)
- Unlike Minnesota’s first-come-first-served program, Atlanta’s e-bike rebates are by lottery. About 9,000 people signed up for a chance at a rebate, with a total of $500,000 available. (Axios)
- Houston Public Media asked listeners what they would change about Houston’s roads, with many of the comments focused on a desire for narrower streets, wider sidewalks and more transit.
- Residents of Washington, D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood are “throwing an epic tantrum” about the prospect of better bus service. (Greater Greater Washington)
- A heat wave is causing delays on Portland light rail. (KGW)
- Indianapolis received a $22 million federal grant for the bus rapid transit Blue Line. (Recorder)
- Recognizing the dangers of speeding cars, a fast-growing small town in Texas is building more sidewalks where it’s never needed them before. (KXAN)
- “You’ll never catch me alive!” a self-driving Waymo told Phoenix cops. (Fox 10)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
How To Push A Livable Streets Project Forward — Even in the Era of Federal Clawbacks
A livable streets superstar is launching a new organization to push forward some of America's most iconic sustainable streets projects — even if Congress is clawing back their funding
April 7, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Take an Axe to Transit
The Trump administration wants to cut transit and rail funding to help pay for the war against Iran.
April 7, 2026
The Financial Costs of the Pedestrian Death Crisis Are Still Stratospheric
The human costs of the pedestrian death crisis are unacceptable even as deaths begin to fall. And the financial costs aren't any better.
April 6, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Only Hurt Ourselves
Climate change has cost global economies tens of trillions of dollars. The U.S. is both the biggest culprit and biggest victim.
April 6, 2026
State Bill Would Stop Highway Expansions Near Vulnerable New Yorkers
Assembly Member Emerita Torres's Stop Highway Community Harm Act would ban the state from expanding highways within 200 feet of public housing or in ZIP codes with the highest asthma-related emergency room visits in the state.
April 3, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.