Monday’s Headlines Reconnect With Pete

• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attended a conference of Black mayors to tout $3.3 billion in grants the Biden administration is distributing to address the damage caused to minority communities by past transportation decisions. (CNN)
• Cities should be building more protected bike lanes because paint does little to keep cyclists safe. (Real Clear Energy)
• Funding transit instead of highways would lead to cleaner air and save people money they’d otherwise spend on driving. (Other Words)
• The Biden administration is issuing $150 million in federal grants to reduce truck idling and emissions at ports. (American Journal of Transportation)
• New book “The Northeast Corridor” explores how trains linked the East Coast cities from Boston to Washington, D.C. into one giant megalopolis. (The Conversation)
• In addition to larger contributions from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the D.C. Metro plans to address a $750 million deficit by raising fares and shifting funding from maintenance to operations. (WTOP)
• With federal COVID funds drying up, Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA is facing a $240 million deficit July 1, and its CEO is asking the city for $117 million to leverage state funding. (NBC 10)
• Hearings have started in a lawsuit seeking to kill Austin’s Project Connect transit expansion plans. (KUT)
• Once a supporter of Beltline transit, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is now starting to question the cost. (11 Alive)
• Portland traffic deaths hit an all-time high of 69 last year. (Axios)
• Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $3 billion transportation plan has “something for everybody,” including bus riders, cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. (Governing)
• Angry over cost overruns on the Southwest Light Rail project, Minnesota lawmakers are pushing to reform the Twin Cities’ unelected Met Council. (CBS News)
• St. Paul officials are proposing to build 100 miles of protected bike lanes over the next 15 years. (Axios)
• Oakland and Caltrans are spending millions to make Bay Area streets safer. (San Jose Mercury News)
• Charlotte is considering extending the Gold Line streetcar and allowing it to bypass traffic, potentially boosting its low ridership. (WCNC)
• A $3.6 million federal grant will spare Des Moines’ transit agency from service cuts for the next two years. (Register)
• Lots of people in West Hartford bike or take the bus even though the area was built for cars. (CT Insider)
• The first phase of revamping New Orleans’ Claiborne Expressway is a new marketplace that opened underneath the elevated highway that divides a Black neighborhood. (Louisiana Weekly)
• Chicago has removed its famous “rat hole” sidewalk. (NBC News)

source https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/04/29/mondays-headlines-reconnect-with-pete