October 8: A make-or-break month for the S.S. United States | 5th Street protected bike lane | Feds support road diets

The S.S. United States, parked across from Ikea in South Philly, has until the end of the month to to raise the money for a development plan created just last year, reports The New York Times. The S.S. United States Conservancy has “formally authorized a ship broker to explore the potential sale to a recycler.”

Federal highway officials have updated policy to allow more local input and lower-speed road designs, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Kathleen Carey says bicycle infrastructure and trails are shaping up to be a live election issue in Delaware County. 

Harrisburg is still far away from a resolution to the budget impasse, reports Steve Esack, as the General Assembly rejected Tom Wolf’s revenue plan.

New Reading Terminal Market General Manager Anuj Gupta is going to start closing down the portion of Filbert Street under the Reading Terminal on a regular basis, as part of a push to turn it into more useable public space. 

The 5th Street tunnel is getting a protected bike lane at some point, says Randy LoBasso.

New ShotSpotter streetlights from GE can quickly pinpoint gunshot locations. GE wants to “transform street lighting into the analytical brain of urban life.”

There’s not much evidence that expanding transit options reduces nearby road congestion, and Eric Jaffe argues that’s OK.

Streetsblog looks at a new kind of bus contract in Detroit where drivers share in the benefits when ridership increases.