Friday’s Headlines Shoot Themselves in the Foot
Gas taxes pay for transit, too, so what happens when politicians pander to voters, and the highway trust fund runs dry?
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 23, 2026
- The national Highway Trust Fund is already underfunded. Now Congress is facing pressure to cut fuel taxes, draining more money for transit as well as road construction. Yonah Freemark and Thomas Brosy present options for refilling the fund’s coffers, and the best one seems to be raising gas taxes once prices drop — if it becomes politically feasible. (Tax Policy Center)
- Robotaxi company Waymo is planning to quadruple its fleet to 20,000 vehicles by the end of next year. (Gizmodo)
- One Musk to rule them all … (24/7 Wall Street)
- Taking transit instead of driving saves San Francisco workers almost $20,000 a year. (Examiner)
- New speed cameras in Tacoma caught an incredible 400,000 drivers going over the speed limit in one month alone, which was more than three-quarters of all drivers at that intersection. The sheer number overwhelmed the vendor responsible for sending out tickets. (News Tribune)
- Colorado residents are pushing for more passenger rail connecting Denver and surrounding cities like Boulder. (Colorado Public Radio)
- D.C. residents are fighting new development because they’re worried about parking. (Greater Greater Washington)
- Utah is still a half billion dollars short for a rail line that’s essential for the 2034 Winter Olympics. (Axios)
- Tampa is creating its first downtown north-south protected bike lanes. (Bay News 9)
- St. Paul agreed to pay $180,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by an anti-bike lane group. (Star-Tribune)
- Sound Transit tried to assure Ballard, Washington residents that their light rail line is still happening. (The Urbanist)
- A Cleveland university and hospital are joining forces to demolish buildings for more surface parking. (Cleveland Magazine)
- Costs are rapidly rising for MARTA to renovate its primary transit hub in Five Points downtown. (Urbanize Atlanta)
- Do Ottawa voters want a mayor who cuts transit fares, raises them to improve service, or focuses on fare enforcement? They’ll decide on Monday. (CBC)
- NBA star Luka Doncic paid for Laker’s fans parking (Fox News). Would’ve been cooler if he paid for transit passes instead.
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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