Wednesday’s Headlines Are On the Ballot
Transit advocates have high hopes for local referendums this November.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 28, 2026
- More than 20 communities in 11 states have transportation referendums on the ballot this November (Smart Cities Dive). One is a 0.5 percent sales tax in Seattle to support bus service (Seattle Times; paywall). Another is in the Bay Area, where Max Mautner notes that residents pay more in taxes to subsidize highways than they do for transit. And in Florida, an amendment to cut property taxes would devastate transit funding (Tampa Bay Times).
- A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposal would require autonomous vehicles to use cyan lights to indicate there’s no human driver. (The Verge)
- Parking in a garage is much more expensive than parking on the street in most big cities, which is the opposite of the way it should be. (Government Technology)
- Amtrak will have an online public hearing about its restructuring next month. (Trains)
- Chicago’s new transit agencies has broad powers to develop land. (Sun-Times)
- The new Crosslake Connection in Seattle is shifting transit riders from buses to trains, allowing Sound Transit to beef up bus service elsewhere. (Seattle Transit Blog)
- Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s newly hired CEO is under investigation by authorities in Florida, where he previously led Jacksonville’s transit agency. (Dallas Observer)
- Valley Metro is asking for public input on the West Phoenix light rail line’s route. (KJZZ)
- Only one third of New Orleans jobs are accessible by transit, severely limiting opportunities for residents who don’t own cars. (Lens)
- The Birmingham suburb of Clay lacks sidewalks, but Jefferson County has no plans to build any. (ABC 33/40)
- Albuquerque installed a protected bike lane on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. (Journal)
- Seoul started running a self-driving shuttle. (Korea Times)
- London has officially closed shop-filled Oxford Street to vehicular traffic. (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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