Mike Christensen, MCMP, CNU-A, AICP

Rent is falling in Salt Lake City. It's putting the squeeze on low-income housing developers - Building Salt Lake Developers say the high number of new market-rate units have caused rent prices to fall and compete with affordable housing projects.

Rent is falling in Salt Lake City. It’s putting the squeeze on low-income housing developers buildingsaltlake.com/rent-is-fall... via @buildingsaltlake.bsky.social and @jacobscholl.bsky.social

Trump's Transportation 'Funding Freeze' Was Just the Tip of the Iceberg, GAO Says — Streetsblog USA The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was slow to get money out the door even before the current president threw the process into chaos. This must change.

Trump’s Transportation ‘Funding Freeze’ Was Just the Tip of the Iceberg, GAO Says - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/04/t... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @keawilson.bsky.social

Monday's Headlines Hit the Beach — Streetsblog USA North America needs more coastal bikeways like those in European beach towns, David Zipper writes in CityLab.

Monday’s Headlines Hit the Beach - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/04/m... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @blakeaued.bsky.social

Union Pacific wants to merge with Norfolk Southern—potentially reshaping U.S. rail. What’s at stake for passengers? On-time service, access, and accountability.

Read more from our President & CEO Jim Mathews: www.railpassengers.o...

It is a PACKED #HotlineFriday this week. We cover Amtrak's "board meeting", news of the potential UP/N-S merger, Amtrak settling their OTP case at the STB (involving UP), the "All Aboard Act" in Congress, comms breakdowns, and a lot more.

www.railpassengers.o...

Join us next Saturday, August 9, at noon!

All Aboard Washington will be having our annual picnic in Lacey!

We need to get an accurate count, so please register online for the event at www.aawa.us/events/aawa-... no later than Monday, August 4, at 9 pm PT.

BOOK CLUB | All Aboard Ohio Join the All Aboard Ohio Book Club! Connect with fellow advocates and transportation enthusiasts to discuss powerful ideas for the future of passenger rail and building a more connected world.

Did you know we have a bleeping book club? It’s for transit nerds and train lovers who really do believe. ❤️

Come join us for our next book starting August 15th at AllAboardOhio.org/bookclub

Here is a map of current capital projects on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, Keystone Corridor, and Hartford Line. These projects will be key to improving reliability, increasing capacity, and creating an environment for increased ridership on Amtrak and various commuter railroads.

Amtrak Reports & Documents Download significant reports and documents regarding Amtrak, from financial performance, environmental, operating reports to business plans.

Amtrak held a Board of Directors meeting yesterday on a variety of subjects. If you want to see what was discussed, both the presentation and video of the meeting are posted at the top of Amtrak's reports page (linked below).

The Housing Market Can’t Tolerate Lower Prices. Now What? No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system cannot tolerate lower prices. Chuck explains why and how we can build a better system. (Transcript included.)

The Housing Market Can’t Tolerate Lower Prices. Now What? www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025... via @strongtowns.org and @clmarohn.bsky.social

What Happens When Residents Act and Cities Shut It Down When tension builds between grassroots action and bureaucratic boundaries, cities must choose: partnership or pushback.

What Happens When Residents Act and Cities Shut It Down www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025... via @strongtowns.org and @clmarohn.bsky.social

Here's A Bus Rapid Transit Plan For New York ... If the City Cares - Streetsblog New York City It sure beats the current method of guessing or simply basing the route on how strongly a given neighborhood opposes or supports it.

Here’s A Bus Rapid Transit Plan For New York … If the City Cares - nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/08/01/h... via @nyc.streetsblog.org and @davecolon.bsky.social

Will a dip in interest rates help reignite housing construction? - Building Salt Lake For housing advocates, it’s an open question whether the predicted drop will help jumpstart the moribund housing industry.

Will a dip in interest rates help reignite housing construction? buildingsaltlake.com/will-a-dip-i... via @buildingsaltlake.bsky.social

Friday Video: We're All Paying For 'Free' Parking, Whether Or Not We Drive — Streetsblog USA Parking mandates aren't the only reason why your city has so much asphalt. Check out the hidden reason why so many businesses build way more parking than they need.

Friday Video: We’re All Paying For ‘Free’ Parking, Whether Or Not We Drive - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/01/f... via @usa.streetsblog.org

Opinion: Ohio is the Poster Child for Why We Need a Stronger Federal Approach to Passenger Rail — Streetsblog USA Ohio's reluctance to build new passenger rail has made them a bottleneck in the national network, and an emblem of bigger national problem.

Opinion: Ohio is the Poster Child for Why We Need a Stronger Federal Approach to Passenger Rail - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/01/o... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @lakeshorerail.bsky.social

Feds Slash Millions in Promised Funds for Local Transportation Congress voted this month to claw back funding from some awards made during the Biden administration, particularly those focused on equity. The rescissions will leave dozens of transportation projects...

Cities were awarded $3.2 billion for transportation projects under the Neighborhood Access and Equity program. Congress is rescinding 75 percent of the funds, leaving dozens of awarded projects partly funded or not funded at all. www.governing.com/transportati...

Feds Slash Millions in Promised Funds for Local Transportation Congress voted this month to claw back funding from some awards made during the Biden administration, particularly those focused on equity. The rescissions will leave dozens of transportation projects...

Feds Slash Millions in Promised Funds for Local Transportation www.governing.com/transportati... via @jaredbrey.bsky.social

Friday's Headlines Take It Back — Streetsblog USA Apparently transportation can be too "woke." Plus, only cities can save us from climate change now, and more headlines.

Friday’s Headlines Take It Back - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/01/f... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @blakeaued.bsky.social

Chicago Slashes Parking Mandates In a Big Win for Small Developers A new ordinance removes costly parking requirements across most of Chicago, clearing the way for more affordable housing and business development.

Chicago Slashes Parking Mandates In a Big Win for Small Developers www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025... via @strongtowns.org

Just days after UP announced its intent to merge with Norfolk Southern, Amtrak asked the Surface Transportation Board to dismiss the case, citing new commitments from UP to improve on-time performance for the Sunset Limited.

Fore more: www.railpassengers.o...

Opinion: Ohio is the Poster Child for Why We Need a Stronger Federal Approach to Passenger Rail — Streetsblog USA Ohio's reluctance to build new passenger rail has made them a bottleneck in the national network, and an emblem of bigger national problem.

Ohio needs to do a better job with passenger rail development. a robust, well-funded, federal passenger rail program would help:

The Gender Gap in City Perceptions

https://cityobservatory.org/the-gender-gap-in-city-perceptions/

Parking policy: the 17th Century political philosophy angle.

Interesting from @normvep.bsky.social in @strongtowns.org

Sandy reveals preview of proposed housing, office development near City Hall - Building Salt Lake The Sandy City Council got an early look at a proposed development that could add hundreds of housing units and office space to the area.

Sandy reveals preview of proposed housing, office development near City Hall buildingsaltlake.com/sandy-reveal... via @buildingsaltlake.bsky.social and @jacobscholl.bsky.social

Talking Headways Podcast: Measuring Emissions Reduction for Bike Commutes — Streetsblog USA Mark Kabbash on his new system for measuring and verifying bike commuting to obtain carbon avoidance credits.

Talking Headways Podcast: Measuring Emissions Reduction for Bike Commutes - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/07/31/t... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @theoverheadwire.com

Cities Matter More Than Ever After Trump Officially Denies Climate Change — Streetsblog USA We're entering a new era of federal climate denial, and it's time to use a different set of tools to fight back.

Cities Matter More Than Ever After Trump Officially Denies Climate Change - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/07/31/c... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @keawilson.bsky.social

SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better - Streetsblog New York City One Brooklyn business has seen the future of safe streets and heavy lugging — and it's going to be O-KEI!

SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better - nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/07/31/s... via @nyc.streetsblog.org

Thursday's Headlines Are Hotter Than July — Streetsblog USA Communities are going to court to access the bike/walk dollars they say the Trump administration froze.

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hotter Than July - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/07/31/t... via @usa.streetsblog.org and @blakeaued.bsky.social

Commentary: More Trump and Co. High Speed Rail Sophistry - Streetsblog San Francisco Sorry not sorry you're getting sued for the HSR money you're trying to steal from California, Sean Duffy

Commentary: More Trump and Co. High Speed Rail Sophistry - sf.streetsblog.org/2025/07/30/c... via @streetsblogsf.bsky.social

What We Lost When We Built the Claiborne Expressway On Ash Wednesday, 1966, a highway carved up New Orleans, taking families, flowers, and futures with it. Today, the attempts to rectify those wrongs stop short of actually treating the wound.

What We Lost When We Built the Claiborne Expressway www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025... via @strongtowns.org