Good day,
Some communities are opposed to the idea of a single truck stop springing up in their jurisdictions. Others are happy to welcome three – or even four. The town of Tulare, California, which sees thousands of truckers traveling down busy Highway 99, falls into the latter category. The city celebrated the grand opening of a new Pilot Flying J this week. The travel center, which features a Cinnabon Bakery, Wendy’s, salads and coffee, as well as a lounge, laundry and shower facility, is adjacent to three other truck stops: a Love’s Travel Stop, Roche Oil Mobil station, which has a diesel wing, and the Paige Avenue Truck Stop. Meanwhile, further south, Jurupa Valley, California is still simmering over another new Pilot Flying J venue. Last fall, a city councilman and an environmental coalition filed appeals of the local Planning Commission’s approval of the project. After the appeals were denied, opponents brought their case to the Jurupa City Council, which voted to require the truck stop have a security guard on-duty and to check the parking lot at least twice an hour to ensure idling time is limited.
Did you know?
U.S. imports of strawberries have trended sharply higher in the past five years. Imports of fresh/frozen strawberries have climbed from $449 million in 2013 to $762 million in 2018.That’s an increase of about 70 percent over those five years.
-U.S. Department of Agriculture
Quotable
“What we are doing here is about reparations. After 40 years of treating entire communities like criminals, here comes this multibillion-dollar industry, and guess what? Black and brown people have been put at the very center of this policy in a way that no other state has ever done.”
-Illinois Democratic Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, on how the state’s new pot legalization bill gives cannabis vendor preference to minority owners and promises 25 percent of tax revenue from marijuana sales to redevelop impoverished communities. (AP)
In other news
Europe races to establish trade with Iran
The goal is to persuade Tehran not to breach limits on uranium enrichment set out in the trade agreement. (NYTimes)
What’s keeping cities from adopting electric buses?
Two reports from the World Resource Institute look at the biggest barriers. (Citylab)
Scooter accidents on the rise
A third of accidents are caused by first-time users, according to a recent CDC study. (Curbed)
SoftBank, Toyota’s self-driving car venture to add five more automakers
Mazda Motor Corp, Suzuki Motor Corp, Subaru Corp, Isuzu Motors and Toyota unit Daihatsu will each take a stake in the venture. (Reuters)
Final thoughts,
Never underestimate the power of a mobility service to diversify. Uber Boat (yes there is such a division) announced yesterday that it would launch a water taxi service in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, where road traffic has residents gnashing their teeth. The ferry service follows on the heels of a similar launch in Mumbai, where traffic is also mind numbing. Will Uber water taxis become a thing in the U.S.? The ride-hailing giant did not immediately respond to FreightWaves request for comment. In the meantime, as road congestion worsens, public water taxis are on the upswing in many U.S. cities including Seattle, Washington DC and San Francisco.
Hammer down, everyone!
