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Thursday’s Headlines Have No Direction Home

A homelessness crisis is keeping some riders away from trains and buses. Transit Center has some ideas for what to do about it.

  • Transit agencies have found themselves unwittingly at the forefront of a homelessness crisis in the U.S., which is keeping some riders away due to perceptions that transit is unsafe. A new Transit Center report based on case studies from several cities offers alternatives to doubling down on policing, such as partnering with shelters and social service providers.
  • Cities across the country are turning parking lots into safe havens for unhoused people who are forced to sleep in their cars. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, both Democrats, have introduced a bill that would provide $200 billion over five years for high-speed rail, expanding passenger rail service and electrifying the most polluting rail lines.
  • Prisoners, jail inmates and detained immigrants are particularly vulnerable to climate change-driven natural disasters. (Slate)
  • Florida employers often cover it up when workers die of heat-related causes. (Tampa Bay Times)
  • Startup Empower is competing with Uber and Lyft by undercutting them on price, but it's operating illegally in Washington, D.C. in a throwback to the early Wild West days of ride-hailing apps. (New York Times)
  • Our Streetsblog Chicago colleague John Greenfield suggests that Illinois divert federal "flex funds" from highways to transit to avoid a looming fiscal cliff.
  • If the North Carolina legislature doesn't allow metro Charlotte to move forward with a transportation sales tax referendum, there is no Plan B. (Observer)
  • The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is overhauling its bus lines to provide more frequent service on the most popular routes. (AJC)
  • New Orleans' Riverfront streetcar will be out of service for two weeks due to vandalism and theft. (Times-Picayune)
  • Drivers have killed 14 pedestrians in Anchorage this year, and top officials' response is to push for recriminalizing jaywalking. (Daily News)
  • Visitors to city centers who arrive by bike or on foot spend less than drivers, a Dutch study found, but they also visit more frequently, so they spend more per month. (Dutch Cycling)
  • Greece is lowering speed limits on most urban streets from about 30 miles per hour to less than 20. (Ekathimerini)
  • England's equivalent of the U.S. surgeon general is in favor of 15-minute cities. (Forbes)

From the editors: Streetsblog provides high-quality journalism and analysis for free — which is something to be celebrated in an era of paywalls. But the work Streetsblog does is not free; we rely on the generosity of our readers to help support our reporters and editors as they advance the movement to end car dependency in our communities.

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If you aren’t a supporter yet, please join us and help us push for a more livable, walkable, bikeable, equitable and enjoyable country for all. And happy holidays from the Streetsblog team!

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