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Wednesday’s Headlines as We Get a New President

Joe Biden is tapping the recently resigned head of the New York City DOT as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s top deputy to help with issues like congestion pricing, transit funding and the Gateway Project, a train tunnel under the Hudson River. (Gothamist) While grappling with climate change, Biden should look to California, which is phasing … Continued

By Blake Aued

10:02 AM EST on January 20, 2021

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Joe Biden is tapping the recently resigned head of the New York City DOT as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s top deputy to help with issues like congestion pricing, transit funding and the Gateway Project, a train tunnel under the Hudson River. (Gothamist)
While grappling with climate change, Biden should look to California, which is phasing out gas-powered vehicles, and help it complete high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco. (USA Today)
After its Prop 22 victory in California, Uber is escalating its attacks on labor rights (Jacobin). The Biden administration should provide basic protections for ride-hailing drivers (New York Times).
In comic-strip form, The Nib chronicles how the far right adopted the terrorist tactic of ramming protesters with vehicles — like one did at a Black Lives Matter rally in Indiana — and the authorities don’t really seem to care.
Washington State identified the need for safe, low-carbon transportation over a decade ago, but has made little progress since. Now it’s trying again. (Crosscut)
In a familiar story, Charlotte is getting pushback from suburban leaders who say their constituents would pay for light-rail expansion but won’t see any benefits. (WSOC)
Ohio might have to halt new road construction due to a decline in gas-tax revenue (Columbus Dispatch). Like that’s a bad thing?
New York City’s new Moynihan Train Hall doesn’t quite recapture the glory of the old Penn Station (City Lab). But Streetsblog NYC already said that.
Myrtle Beach is planning a bike hub, a rail-trail and its first-ever downtown bike lanes. (WBTW)
London’s transit agency wants a piece of the revenue from congestion pricing to become self-sufficient. But the politics are complicated, and the plan could lead to service cuts. (BBC)
Elon Musk says he’s talking to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about drilling Tesla tunnels in Miami. Just one problem: As one geologist points out, the city is already built on top of a honeycomb. (Twitter)

Blake Aued

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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