Congestion Pricing Runs Into Trump Administration Roadblock

Sean Duffy. Photo from the US Government.

Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. Each week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

Congestion pricing gets more challenges: USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy has written a letter to New York State, first sent to the NY Post in case you’re wondering whether this is political rather than practical, asking the MTA to cease their congestion pricing program under shaky pretenses and hypocrisy. The MTA almost instantly filed a lawsuit to stop USDOT from getting its wish and observers believe they have a good shot at pushing back against this clear overreach. In announcing the letter, President Trump referred to himself as King. (Gersh Kuntzman | Streetsblog NYC)

Canada announces HSR plans: Canada has launched a $3.9B planning phase for a high speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City. Prime Minister Trudeau stated that the line will span 1,000km and trains will run as fast as 300km/hr (186mph) taking riders between Montreal and Toronto in just three hours, a journey that takes 6 hours in a car today. Much of this progress however will depend on coming elections in the country. (Peter Zimonjic, Mathieu Prost, Stéphane Bordeleau | CBC News)

Americans are stuck: In his new book Stuck, Yoni Appelbaum argues that geographic mobility in the United States has ground to a halt, and that reduction in movement has had wide ranging impacts on American life and politics. In this interview with Rachel Cohen, he also discusses how housing policy has contributed to the lack of mobility and why people are moving to places with cheap housing but less opportunities. (Rachel Cohen, Yoni Appelbaum | Vox)

The first eco-burb: The Woodlands Texas was lauded for it’s initial design done by Ian McHarg, the famed landscape architecture whose book Design with Nature changed the way we think about land development and planning. The suburb of Houston now turns 50 years old and after a slow start has changed the center of gravity in the region, attracting businesses and entertainment. But for all its success it hasn’t reached initial goals set for affordability and walkability. (Greg Flisram | Planetizen)

Social housing tax: An excess compensation tax on employees paid more than $1m per year would fund social housing in Seattle if a ballot measure that is currently passing is certified today. The program would give the Seattle Social Housing Developer approved in a previous election $50m per year for land acquisition, construction, and administration. The measure was opposed by the local chamber of commerce and big companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which supported a competing measure with less money. (Josh Cohen | Cascade PBS)

Quote of the Week

But I have input into every neighborhood and traffic plan, and into every housing construction project. I make sure that no more lopsidedly male-centered designs will be set in concrete in the future.

–Linda Gustafsson, Umeå Sweden’s urban development expert in NZZ on how she’s embedded into the city planning department to make the city safer and planned with equity in mind.

On the Talking Headways podcast, we’re joined by Ben Ross and Joe Cortright to discuss their article in Dissent Magazine discussing how modeling is being used to expand highways around the country.

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