Inadequate: The CARES Act has come up short for transit and existing formulas for funding are inadequate.
Scott Walker’s ghost: Wisconsin’s Democratic governor is still moving forward with a misguided highway expansion project.
The real looters: Neoliberalism has been a period of extreme looting of American prosperity ($).
Skip the commute: One third of Americans want to skip their commutes and stick with working from home.
Ranked choice voting: Civil rights groups in Yakima are fighting disenfranchisement through Washington’s Voting Right Act.
Metro matters: King County Metro is moving to cut back on part-time operators. Meanwhile, Metro’s General Manager is leaving the agency for a job in Missoula.
Parking minimum haircut: How do parking minimums work against desired development?
Maximizing transit: What would it take to maximize transit ridership?
Belt loosening: Maryland’s Republican governor is pushing hard to greatly expand the freeways that make up the Beltway in a draft environmental impact statement.
Housing market conundrum: In June, the housing market was still red hot in America despite the pandemic. Meanwhile, national mortgage delinquencies have spiked ($).
Too many chefs: Caltrain is facing a fiscal cliff and needs regional funding support, but help does not appear to be on the way ($).
Polluter-in-Chief: Donald Trump has moved to rollback more federal regulations to protect the environment ($) from construction activities. He also has blocked a decongestion pricing initiative in New York City.
Park bikes, not cars: London wants to replace 2,000 car parking spaces with bike parking.
ADMG YIMBYs: Churches are looking to affordable housing developments on surplus property to sustain their religious communities.
Bike PDX: Portland is expanding public bikeshare boundaries and adding 1,500 e-bikes.
Hitting the ground: Census takers have started going door to door to get responses from people who did not or could not respond online.
Elegant design: A designer has developed a very sleek modern design on Milan’s historic trams.
Climate action: Joe Biden’s climate plan would spend $2 trillion over four years on green initiatives.
Missing Link sagas: Ballard’s Missing Link has been dealt yet another setback in court ($) but Seattle Bike Blog portrayed it as a temporary setback that targeted technicalities rather than the substance of the plan, which would complete the Burke-Gilman Trail by upgrading a crash-prone sections lacking facilities for people biking, rolling, and walking.
Raise revenue: Most Americans think it’s time to raise taxes and fees for driving to pay for infrastructure needs.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.