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Friday’s Headlines So We Can Finish This Week Already

Lots of bad news, but some good, in our daily news digest.

By Blake Aued

12:30 AM EDT on April 30, 2021

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People of color are exposed to more pollution than Whites from almost every source imaginable, including from traffic, but also from factories, farms and power plants. (New York Times)
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is emphasizing equity, but his staff is three-quarters male and overwhelmingly white (Bloomberg). Meanwhile, in Oregon, the legislature passed a bill requiring diversity on transportation advisory committees (Bike Portland).
Bike-shares are becoming more equitable by offering discounted passes to low-income users and adding pedal-assist bikes that are accessible to a wider group of people. (Grist)
Washington, D.C. isn’t properly funding its Vision Zero program even as pedestrian and cyclist deaths are on the rise. (Smart Cities Dive)
Atlanta is adding 10,000 streetlights as part of its Vision Zero initiative, especially in the historically underserved southwestern part of the city. (CBS 46)
Sacramento is building a system of “freeways” for walking and biking connecting cities and neighborhoods in the region. (Bee)
Some Denver officials are skeptical that new bike and scooter providers Lime and Lyft will keep streets and sidewalks free of clutter. (Denverite)
More people are biking in Omaha, but there still aren’t enough safe spaces to cycle. (3 News Now)
Hartford is adding a protected bike lane to a street where a hit-and-run driver killed a cyclist last year. (Courant)
Orlando’s days as an auto-centric hellscape are numbered, if the city’s new DOT director has anything to say about it. (Weekly)
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s proposed 2022 budget fully funds new bus lanes and priority signals. (Mass Transit Mag)
Lyft sold its autonomous vehicle division to Toyota because, turns out, making a self-driving car is really hard. Who woulda thunk it? (Forbes)
Meanwhile, the Japanese automaker is building a WHOLE CITY for cybernetic Camrys. (Bloomberg)

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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