Today’s Headlines
Basics
Monday’s Headlines
Amtrak’s plans to roll out new high-speed trains on its Acela line between Boston and Washington, D.C. in 2021 are likely to be delayed, according to the railroad’s inspector general. (Washington Post) Toyota is rebranding itself as a “mobility” company and building an EPCOT-like “smart city” on the site of a soon-to-be-shuttered auto manufacturing plant. … Continued
January 27, 2020
Friday’s Headlines
Predictably, dense, walkable cities like New York and San Francisco are the “greenest” in the U.S., while sprawling metro areas like Atlanta and Houston are among the dirtiest. Surprisingly, though, some smaller cities like Des Moines ranked high on Streetlight Data’s Transportation Climate Impact Index because, even though they have little to no transit, people … Continued
January 24, 2020
Thursday’s Headlines
Electric scooters may have a bigger environmental impact than you think. E-scooter provider Skip says it will start sharing data on replacement parts — which require resources to produce and dispose of — in hopes of encouraging manufacturers to improve sustainability. (The Verge) Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg — who released a transportation plan last … Continued
January 23, 2020
Wednesday’s Headlines
U.S. mayors identify climate change as an important issue and point to vehicles as a culprit, according to a Boston University survey, but few of them call pedestrian safety a top priority or are willing to tackle the overabundance of cheap parking that’s fueling the problem (City Lab)… …But not in Washington, D.C., where plans … Continued
January 22, 2020
Tuesday’s Headlines
In the 1980s, light rail was supposed to be a less expensive, more reliable alternative to heavy rail that also lacked the stigma associated with buses. Success was mixed: They helped revitalize downtowns and walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods, but ultimately the haphazard networks built with little help from the feds failed to get many people out … Continued
January 21, 2020
Monday’s Headlines: Honoring the Dream Edition
We're off today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but we did want you to have your daily dose of headlines.
January 20, 2020
Friday’s Headlines
Next-day shipping and food delivery services are choking cities with congestion and pollution. The World Economic Forum predicts that if nothing is done, greenhouse gas emissions from delivery vehicles will rise 32% over the next decade. (Scientific American) Leaders in Detroit and three out of four metro counties — Wayne, Washtenaw and Oakland — will … Continued
January 17, 2020
Thursday’s Headlines
The New York Times catches up on the fare-free trend, visiting Lawrence, Kansas, where a two-year experiment is underway, and Boston, where it’s under consideration. The paper found that fare-free transit increases ridership, helps the poor and isn’t as costly as many expect. People in flyover country think of coastal cities like New York, San … Continued
January 16, 2020
Wednesday’s Headlines
U.S. transit ridership rose for two consecutive quarters in 2019 after declining for the past five years. But just two cities — New York and Washington, D.C. — are responsible for most of the gains. Other major cities, like Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia, continued to lose riders. (City Lab) Drivers killed almost as … Continued
January 15, 2020
Tuesday’s Headlines
In perhaps the biggest environmental rollback of his three-year administration, President Trump is exempting major infrastructure projects like pipelines and highways from environmental review (New York Times). Congress vows to fight (Streetsblog). Pete Buttigieg’s $1-trillion infrastructure plan includes a national Vision Zero policy and funding for sidewalks, crosswalks and public transit (City Lab). New Streetsblog … Continued
January 14, 2020