#transportation-funding

#transportation-funding

This bill establishes a required annual registration fee for all bicycles and electric bicycles operating on state or municipally funded paths, trails, and roadways which bicycles and electric bicycles are permitted to be ridden on. The bill also establishes a penalty for failure to register and directs funds from said fees and penalties to the commissioner of the department of transportation for the creation and maintenance of bicycle routes, lanes, paths, or trails in the state.

Staff at Transportation Alternatives told amNewYork that they crunched the numbers and found that Citi Bike rides are becoming more abundant, even surging in areas traditionally considered transit deserts. The researchers' data show that Citi Bike is especially critical in subway transit deserts. Ridership at existing bike stations grew 58% faster in these dry hubs; it also grew by an average of 4.1% within a quarter mile of a subway station and 6.5% outside of that area, according to the research.

The People Over Parking Act positions Illinois to become the fourth state to enact such a reform, following in the footsteps of states like California and Colorado. The reform was a key element of a larger bill that has a $1.5 billion funding package for public transportation. It created the Northern Illinois Transit Authority to streamline planning and establish a new funding stream to avert a looming fiscal crisis for the region's transit agencies.

Fans of the Buddy Holly crosswalk in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, with a painted depiction of the rock and roll legend's iconic glasses, will soon have to say goodbye to it. That'll be a day that will possibly make them cry. Lubbock City Council members said this week they have no choice but to remove it, to comply with a directive from the Trump administration and Republicans to rid the public roadways of any political messages or artwork.

The authors of that law made a fatal error of putting a three-year expiration date on key programs that benefit people outside cars. That sell-by date typically would have been morethan enough time to finalize grant agreements between the feds and communities, but with Trump weaponizing government bureaucracy, the Campaign says his administration is simply running out the clock on programs it doesn't like, until the final deadline arrives when federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and wipes the money out.

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being "the last to know," then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.)