Monday’s Headlines Are Stuffed Full of Stories
Enjoy this mega-post while you digest the rest of your Thanksgiving leftovers.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on December 2, 2024
- High transportation costs are a major problem for many American households that can be left destitute by a car crash or legal costs stemming from a ticket. The answer isn’t to further subsidize car ownership, according to a new study, but to unbundle parking from housing costs and encourage other modes of transportation. (Planetizen; summary on StreetsblogUSA)
- Immediately after taking office, the Trump administration plans to ramp up oil drilling off the U.S. coast and on federally owned land. (Reuters)
- Surely it’s unintended, but Trump’s tariffs could have the positive effect of making people drive a little less by raising gas prices an estimated 70 cents. (CBS News)
- The Federal Transit Administration wants transit agencies to look at ways to reduce crashes with pedestrians on at-grade light rail lines. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Low pay is leading Uber and Lyft drivers to use their customer networks to start their own businesses. (Insider)
- East Coast cities are paving the way for the rest of the country when it comes to walkability and safer streets. (Eye on Annapolis)
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro may have bailed out the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, but the state legislature still needs to come up with a long-term funding solution. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Part of Shapiro’s $153 million SEPTA lifeline came from repaving a Pittsburgh freeway, but that project will probably only be put off for a year. (Post-Gazette)
- A 7.5 percent SEPTA fare hike kicked in Dec. 1. (Metro Philadelphia)
- King County, home to Seattle, is testing bus-mounted cameras to catch drivers in bus lanes. (KOMO)
- Even in San Francisco, many residents choose to blame pedestrians for their own deaths, rather than drivers or dangerous street designs. (Standard)
- The Kansas City Streetcar Authority is hiring armed private security. (KMBZ)
- Michigan educators are alarmed about a Republican plan to shift gas tax revenue from schools to roads. (Fox 25)
- The Missoula Current profiled the Montana city’s transportation planner and his work to make streets safer for all.
- A 100-foot stretch of Honolulu sidewalk collapsed due to ocean erosion, and no one knows when the city will fix it. (Civil Beat)
- A Minnesota minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers took effect Sunday. (Reformer)
- The New York Times describes a cyclist’s recent death as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s “war against cars,” when in reality it’s enraged drivers who’ve declared war on cyclists.
- The Ontario legislature passed a bill to remove three Toronto bike lanes and ban cities from building others (Toronto Sun), which Momentum Mag pointed out will lead to more congestion more deaths, more emissions, higher health care costs, mental health problems, a less motivated workforce and hurt businesses.
- Montreal bikeshare Bixi has already set a new record for ridership with 13 million in 2024. (Gazette)
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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