- It's not quite the Olympics, but hosting a political convention like the DNC in Chicago next week gives cities an incentive to get transit projects built faster. (ABC News)
- Heat forces trains to slow down to avoid damaging the tracks, and as the climate gets hotter, this is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. The infrastructure can be fixed, but it will be incredibly expensive. (The Atlantic; paywall)
- "Battery passports" allow companies and regulators to digitally track where the materials to manufacture them came from, offering reassurances that child labor or environmentally damaging mining weren't involved. (Politico)
- Firefighters are making streets less safe by demanding wider lanes for their huge fire trucks. (Jalopnik)
- The Washington Post has an interactive feature about Barcelona's pedestrian-friendly superblocks.
- Boston's transit system is underfunded and falling into disrepair, and it's hurting the city's economy. (City Lab)
- Opponents of widening I-5 in Portland filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Rose Quarter Project. (Willamette Week)
- Portland announced multi-year contracts with Lime and Lyft to expand their e-scooters fleets, and will make the micromobility program permanent. (Bike Portland)
- Minneapolis is considering changing parking rules in residential neighborhoods to encourage people to drive less. (MinnPost)
- Tech billionaires have pulled their plans, for now, to build a whole new city in Silicon Valley. (Fast Company)
- A San Francisco woman who was pinned to a wall during a jaywalking arrest has filed an excessive force complaint against the officer. (NBC Bay Area)
- Social media influencers in Atlanta are posting about their car-free lifestyles. (AJC)
Today's Headlines
Friday’s Headlines Go the Conventional Route
Political conventions give a boost to host cities' transit projects, like a Milwaukee streetcar and a new L station in Chicago.
By Blake Aued
Milwaukee promised Republicans that a streetcar extension would be completed before it hosted the GOP convention.
|Aaron VolkeningRead More:
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Confirmed: Non-Driving Infrastructure Creates ‘Induced Demand,’ Too
Widening a highway to cure congestion is like losing weight by buying bigger pants — but thanks to the same principle of "induced demand," adding bike paths and train lines to cure climate actually works.
January 9, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Are Unsustainably Expensive
To paraphrase former New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, the car payment is too damn high.
Talking Headways Podcast: Poster Sessions at Mpact in Portland
Young professionals discuss the work they’ve been doing including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking and improving buses.
January 8, 2026
Exploding Costs Could Doom One of America’s Greatest Highway Boondoggles
The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project and highway expansion between Oregon and Washington was already a boondoggle. Then the costs ballooned to $17.7 billion.
January 8, 2026
Mayor Bowser Blasts U.S. DOT Talk of Eliminating Enforcement Cameras in DC
The federal Department of Transportation is exploring how to dismantle the 26-year-old enforcement camera system in Washington, D.C.
January 8, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are Making Progress
By Yonah Freemark's count, 19 North American transit projects opened last year, with another 19 coming in 2026.
January 8, 2026
