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Tuesday’s Headlines Are Blocked In

Cities and regional governments could do a better job of spending federal transportation money than states, argues the Brookings Institute.

  • The Brookings Institute says the federal government should use regional block grants to fund transportation, much like housing, under the logic that cities and regions would be more likely than states to spend money on transformational projects.
  • The New Yorker's rising star Zach Helfand had a brutal takedown of U.S. DOT Secretary Sean "Road Rules" Duffy.
  • A Massachusetts startup is working on smaller and cheaper solid-state batteries that could revolutionize the electric vehicle industry. (New York Times)
  • The CEO of Flixbus and Greyhound urges Congress to fund intercity bus stations. (The Hill)
  • Momentum lists its picks for the best new bikeways in the U.S., including projects in Chicago, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
  • A bill that could kill Dallas Area Rapid Transit passed out of a committee in the Texas legislature. (Dallas Observer)
  • In Oregon, Democrats want to raise taxes to fund transit, while Republicans want to cut transit funding entirely. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
  • In a new podcast, reporters for The Oregonian ponder how Portland transit agency TriMet lost 30 million riders a year.
  • Better transit would encourage more housing development in Philadelphia by raising property values. (Citizen)
  • A Montana bill would let municipal transit agencies expand beyond city limits. (Daily Montanan)
  • The new Redmond light rail project near Seattle also includes new bike trails. (Seattle Bike Blog)
  • The University of Washington developed a handlebar sensor cyclists can use to map collisions and close calls.
  • What should be the new Popemobile? (Jalopnik)

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