Tag Archives: US Department of Transportation

The rainbow crosswalk replacements

Posted on July 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Forced to remove rainbow crosswalks under a state edict to erase “political” messages from their streets, some Texas cities are finding new and colorful ways to celebrate Pride and their LGBTQ+ communities. In El Paso, street lamps have … Continue reading →

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The legal fights over flying taxis

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot going on. Two California companies at the front of the global race to bring battery-powered air taxis to the public are trying to trip each other up in court. While Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are based within an … Continue reading →

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More air taxi testing

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Going on now in San Antonio. Nearly a century ago, Maj. William Ocker and Capt. Charles Crane developed a new piloting technique at San Antonio’s Kelly Field called “blind flying,” where the pilot relied on new kinds of instruments to … Continue reading →

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Air taxi testing

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Look, up in the sky! The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved eight pilot programs that will allow a handful of companies, including Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, Joby Aviation, and Wisk to start widespread electric aircraft testing as early as this … Continue reading →

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Dallas still needs to remove its rainbow crosswalks

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried to delay it but are probably running out of road. The Texas Department of Transportation gave Dallas until Jan. 31 to remove its decorative crosswalks, which include LGBTQ+ rainbow and Black Lives Matter designs, according to a memo … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to install rainbow sidewalks

Posted on January 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t have rainbow crosswalks, so this will have to do. The City of San Antonio has started preparing the sidewalks on N. Main Avenue to be painted in rainbow colors. The decision comes after the city was forced to remove … Continue reading →

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San Antonio rainbow crosswalk appeal denied

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. The Texas Department of Transportation has denied the City of San Antonio’s request to keep the pride district’s rainbow crosswalks after Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to remove “any and all political ideologies” from Texas streets. In an Oct. 8 news release from … Continue reading →

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The rainbow crosswalk ban comes for student artwork

Posted on November 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Every day and in every way, this gets dumber and dumber. Two crosswalks painted by students in Bedford will be removed this month, in line with a new Texas state policy banning “non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly support … Continue reading →

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The rainbow crosswalk ban comes for Buddy Holly

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. An order from Gov. Greg Abbott has made rainbow crosswalks celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride disappear across Texas. But Abbott’s directive also has one of Lubbock, Texas’ most famous residents catching strays. As part of Abbott and … Continue reading →

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San Antonio and Dallas to fight the rainbow crosswalk ban

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them! San Antonio has formally asked the Texas Department of Transportation to approve an exemption allowing the city to keep its rainbow-colored crosswalks at North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street, arguing that the intersection has become safer … Continue reading →

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Where the rainbow crosswalk ends

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is deeply stupid and deadly serious at the same time. At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks. … Continue reading →

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Metro makes its excuses

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weak. Metro board chair Elizabeth Brock on Thursday stood by the agency’s decision to remove the Montrose rainbow crosswalk this week after a Houston resident asked why it was erased so quickly. “My primary concern is how quickly y’all allowed … Continue reading →

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Austin seeks waiver for its rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All the cool kids are doing it. The city of Austin is exploring a waiver that would allow its current street art to stay in place. In a message board post on Monday, Mayor Kirk Watson said the city plans … Continue reading →

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We could have asked!

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I am smacking my forehead so hard, you guys. The City of San Antonio will seek an exemption from the State of Texas in order to keep the city’s rainbow crosswalk. The decision comes after the state issued a mandate … Continue reading →

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Metro paints over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Montrose rainbow crosswalk was gone Monday morning after protesters faced off with police as a construction crew started restriping the intersection overnight and some were were arrested, according to the Houston Police Department. As of 8:15 a.m., fresh … Continue reading →

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There may be a lawsuit over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A legion of Houston’s elected officials gathered at the Taft and Westheimer rainbow crosswalk Tuesday as a show of force against Gov. Greg Abbott’s call to remove it or risk the loss of state transportation funding, and some even … Continue reading →

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A brief recap of the whole rainbow crosswalk situation

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let me see if I’ve got this right: Greg Abbott gets his knickers in a twist over the recently-repainted rainbow crosswalk on Westheimer at Taft, after having been spun up about it by some online wingnuts. These crosswalks are no … Continue reading →

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Federal grant to Amtrak for Texas high speed rail planning rescinded

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

My reaction to this was “bad”, but I might be wrong. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday terminated a federal grant to help fund a long-sought high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston — saying that if the embattled project … Continue reading →

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Amtrak seeks additional partner for high speed rail line

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Amtrak is seeking an additional business partner as it moves ahead with a proposed high-speed rail route between Dallas and Houston. The passenger railroad company — which took over as the project’s lead agency in 2023 and secured a … Continue reading →

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Look for driverless cars to get fast-tracked

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Something to keep an eye on. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to create a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported citing sources. Should new regulations permit vehicles without human controls, it could provide a significant benefit to … Continue reading →

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Amtrak gets federal grant for more high speed rail planning

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Amtrak has received a nearly $64 million grant to continue planning the Texas High-Speed Rail project after several years of stagnation due to the COVID pandemic. The project — which proposes a less than 90-minute high-speed rail route between … Continue reading →

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Amtrak gets some federal high speed rail funds

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Amtrak has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to further study and develop a proposed high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas, a long-envisioned plan that until earlier this year had appeared to have fizzled out. Amtrak, the national … Continue reading →

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Vote No and take the credit anyway

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a tale as old as time. Republicans in Texas are proud to stand and announce local grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The problem is they all voted against it. All of them. For the second time in two … Continue reading →

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Our electric car charging stations future

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more are coming. Texas is planning to add enough electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state to support 1 million electric vehicles with dozens of new stations to allow for easier long-distance travel. In a draft plan released this … Continue reading →

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On speed limits

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Food for thought. Speeding is a national health problem and a big reason why this country is increasingly an outlier on traffic safety in the developed world. More than 1 in 4 fatal crashes in the United States involve at … Continue reading →

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Why do driverless trucks love I-45?

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For a combination of reasons. Texas, particularly the stretch of highway between Houston and Dallas, has emerged as one of the nation’s main proving grounds for autonomous trucking, with freight trucks driving themselves from pickup destinations to shipping warehouses hundreds … Continue reading →

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Metro approves electric bus purchase

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We should have them in a few months. Metro is charging ahead with its plan to add electric buses to the local transit fleet. Board members Thursday approved a $22 million contract for 20 new buses and chargers that will … Continue reading →

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Here come those electric buses

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes the commitment to buy them, anyway. Local transit officials no longer are blowing hot air about the emissions coming out of Metro buses. Board members Thursday approved a plan for all new Metropolitan Transit Authority buses to produce … Continue reading →

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Metro seeks electric buses

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Proof of concept for now and contingent on a competitive federal grant, but hopefully the start of something bigger. Transit officials in the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world are recharging their attempts to wean Metro off fossil fuels. Metropolitan … Continue reading →

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The I-45 survey

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who thought this was a good idea? The fate of the massive $9 billion project may depend on how many people who agree with Smith or agree with Davies fill out an online poll — after 15 years of planning, … Continue reading →

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Back to the public input phase for I-45

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They hear, but will they listen? Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public … Continue reading →

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Let’s try and get those federal transit funds now

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Works for me. Transit officials, sensing the timing may be right to tap federal funds for major projects, are moving quickly on portions of a planned bus rapid transit line viewed by some as the backbone of Houston’s future movement. … Continue reading →

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Is there an infrastructure boost in the works for Texas Central?

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe! The federal government is serious about spending money on high-speed rail, and Texas could be among the first beneficiaries. The recent interest in investing in bullet trains capable of going 200 mph or faster comes at a time when … Continue reading →

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Texas Central opponents see an opportunity

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Never waste an opportunity. Examination of a planned high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas should be halted as the country addresses the new coronavirus pandemic and the company rethinks its financial shape, 30 elected officials in Texas told federal … Continue reading →

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