Thursday’s Headlines Stop Breaking Down
Amtrak is laden with infrastructure and technology that in some cases is more than 100 years old, the New York Times reports.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on August 22, 2024
- Amtrak’s antiquated infrastructure keeps breaking down this summer. It will take billions of dollars and more than a decade to fix. (New York Times)
- Common Edge explores how front porches encourage walkability.
- Car insurance rates are expected to rise 22 percent nationwide this year, including 50 percent spikes in California, Minnesota and Missouri. (CBS News)
- At $5,300 a year, car insurance costs are more than twice the national average in majority Black Detroit, and it’s not because of crime. (Outlier Media)
- Slowing down traffic will encourage children to walk and bike while also reducing injuries, according to a Houston study. (Baker Institute)
- As riders return and the transit agency fills vacancies, Denver’s Regional Transportation District is planning to expand services next year for the first time since 2021. (Colorado Public Radio)
- Bexar County approved $100 million for a San Antonio bus rapid transit line. (KSAT)
- Suburban leaders outside of Davidson County support a Nashville transit referendum even though service won’t extend to their communities — yet. (WPLN)
- The Memphis Area Transit Authority is planning to cut seven of 23 bus routes unless someone ponies up more funding. (Commercial Appeal)
- A mass exodus at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority board continued when the chairman stepped down to focus on his nonprofit. (Times-Picayune)
- Charlotte has spent $10 million on Vision Zero projects but has been unable to thwart speeding drivers. (Axios)
- New housing is rapidly materializing around the soon-to-open Lynnwood Link light rail extension after Seattle instituted land-use reforms. (The Urbanist)
- Four Atlanta city council members voiced strong support for Beltline rail as Mayor Andre Dickens waffles. (Saporta Report)
- Greensboro, North Carolina, is envisioning what it would look like to go car-optional by 2045. (Passenger Transport)
- In contrast to the previous Conservative government that decried a “war on motorists,” the UK’s new transport minister will support communities that want to lower speed limits (City Lab). The Labour administration also plans “unprecedented” funding for walking and biking infrastructure (The Guardian).
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.
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