Every day, The Overhead Wire collects national and international news about cities and sends the links to their email list. At the end of the week they post some of the most popular stories to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to Streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the D.C. region.
Light rail begins bridge tests: Sound Transit began full testing of the light rail on the I-90 floating bridge in Seattle, signaling the start of a new era in the region. The 2 Line extension, which is slated to start operations in early 2026, will connect Seattle with job centers and regional suburbs in Bellevue and Redmond. This would be the first light rail line to operate on a floating bridge and testing has taken longer than usual considering the movement of the bridge and weight of the trains. (Mike Lindblom | Seattle Times)
Monitoring mosquito borne illnesses: In Brownsville, Texas, mosquito monitoring keeps tabs on numerous illnesses that have increased in the United States in recent years. Illnesses such as malaria have been around at least as long as human settlements, but the threat of getting one of the many viruses mosquitos can spread is increasing as we have changed our habitats and become more mobile. Brownsville officials hope increased monitoring will help them address potential trouble before it spreads. (Umair Irfan | Vox)
Subway service paid by gambling: Philadelphia area transit agency SEPTA has had to cut service due to delays in state funding. The problem was recently given a short term fix when gambling sportsbook FanDuel sponsored transit service to the stadium for the opening night of the NFL Season. But funding transit service should be the responsibility of people in a region, not on the backs of gamblers that have lost bets. (Ryan Erik King | Jalopnik)
Fixing the heat island: Dallas Planning and Development is proposing a code amendment that would limit impervious cover on city lots. The new code would likely create more green space and trap less heat from the sun which creates an urban heat island. Research has shown that some areas of Dallas can get up to 14 degrees hotter than others and more green could reduce temperatures up to 7 degrees. (Dylan Duke | KERA News)
Free childcare: New Mexico will offer free universal childcare for state residents starting November 1, 2025. The program was created and approved by voters approving a constitutional amendment in 2022. Additionally, local governments and schools will be able to apply for funding to create childcare programs and facilities. Officials are hoping that this is a nationally replicable model for more care infrastructure. (Austin Fisher | Source New Mexico)
This week on the Talking Headways podcast, we’re joined by Ryan Russo, Executive Director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO).
Quote of the Week
“We know what it takes to move millions of individuals in an urban environment. It’s been done for well over 100 years by the MTA and all of its successors. What we need is political will, and open data is one tool to help drive that political will.”
— Noel Hidalgo, executive director of the civic tech organization BetaNYC, in Wired Magazine discussing how the NYMTA’s open data is helping to tell a transportation story.