Government / Politics
The plan to update the state’s water system has hit a major snag.
San Francisco Chronicle
A long awaited report on the future of transportation in the Bay State was released last Friday. Among the recommendations: a phaseout on the sales of gas and diesel powered light duty vehicles and allowing cities to enact cordon congestion pricing.
The Boston Globe
Representatives from nearly 200 nations have been attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice since Dec. 2 to work on implementing the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Scheduled to end Friday, it will be extended two days due to discord.
The Independent
Conventional thinking is that the auto industry, wanting to sell more fuel-gulping SUVs, are pushing for weaker fuel economy standards, but Hiroko Tabuchi, climate reporter for The New York Times, exposes Big Oil's stealth campaign.
The New York Times
MassDOT and cycling advocates don’t agree on what should happen to the Longfellow Bridge’s bike lane in the coming months.
The Boston Globe
With a tweet from the president on Saturday morning, the public learns that yet another embattled cabinet member will lose his job. Zinke, a former congressman from Montana, is the subject of numerous investigations and controversies.
The New York Times
Fulfilling a promise he made as a candidate, the Trump administration proposed a redefinition of what is classified as a wetland, with the result being the loss of federal protection of millions of acres of waterways and wetlands.
NPR
The New York City roadway is desperately in need of repair, but just tearing it down and replacing it would be a shortsighted fix.
Intelligencer - New York Magazine
The range of cities that have recently removed parking mandates could help motivate others that are eyeing new parking policies.
Sightline Institute
The new mobility landscape requires a few key roles from government.
Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative
With the re-election of Gov. Kate Brown and Democrats increasing their majorities in both legislative chambers, Oregon appears poised next year to pass the Clean Energy Jobs bill which caps carbon emissions, but opponents could put it on the ballot.
The Bulletin (Oregon)
Economics 101: It's difficult to reduce an activity if there's no price attached to it, so why are many environmentalists increasingly turning away from wanting to price carbon emissions?
Politico
The city should look back to its past for lessons about creating more livable, affordable, and equitable neighborhoods, says a new report.
The Urbanist
Assemblymembers Phil Ting and Ash Kalra have reintroduced the Clean Cars 2040 Act with the goal of banning the sale of passenger vehicles powered by internal combustion engines by 2040, with the California Air Resources Board playing a lead role.
SF Gate
The state that implemented the first gas tax and the first bike tax took a huge step on Thursday toward becoming the first, since 1956, to toll all lanes on an interstate highway by approving an application to the Federal Highway Administration.
The Columbian
The pitting of cities and rural communities against one another is the wrong approach. Instead, policies that help cities thrive will benefit rural areas in the long run.
Brookings
The available funding could shift transportation priorities in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley. But transportation leaders appear to be leaning toward more of the same.
Streetsblog LA
For a small fee, motorists can now bypass a congested arterial road with two dozen traffic lights outside of Charlotte. Built and operated by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, the 18-mile, electronically tolled Monroe Expressway opened Nov. 27.
WFAE
Despite statements to the contrary just a week ago, Macron reversed position and caved to the demonstrators' demands that upcoming fuel tax hikes be suspended.
CityLab
In a strange confluence of factors, expired speed limits and a state statute have hampered speed enforcement. Unfortunately, the proposed solution also looks a like a problem.
Los Angeles Times
