ASC's Intersections Newsletter — February 6, 2026
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Nora’s Note
Local Voices on EVs in New Jersey. Last week, more than thirty Somerset County residents joined an interactive virtual whiteboard session as part of Powering Ahead for Somerset County, an electric vehicle study funded through the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority’s Subregional Studies Program. The meeting capped a broader engagement effort that included pop-ups and hands-on activities to help shape future EV charging infrastructure and gather feedback on a shortlist of potential charging locations. County Commissioner Sara Sooy said it is “powerful when local voices and expert insight come together,” emphasizing that community input will help guide transportation decisions that affect daily life. ASC is proud to support clear, accessible public engagement that helps communities shape the future.
Transportation
New Jersey Transit is continuing its multi-phase effort to modernize its bus fleet while maintaining service reliability statewide. The agency has completed its full base order of 550 new clean-diesel buses, replacing older vehicles with models designed to improve efficiency, safety, and accessibility. This bus fleet modernization is a part of NJ Transit’s Capital Plan, launched in 2020, which aims to invest in sustainable infrastructure while prioritizing user safety and experience. This effort also has federal support, with the Biden-Harris Administration allocating $1.5 billion in funding for clean transit toward the end of its term. Learn more about how fleet replacement supports near-term emissions reductions. (Source: Mass Transit Magazine)
Gothamist: NYC congestion pricing tolls rake in $562M during first year
Transportation Topics: Pennsylvania, Arizona accelerate truck parking expansion
Streetsblog: Open streets are business incubators, another report finds
Climate
Despite nationwide cuts to federal grants and loans for environmental efforts, the Denver Regional Council of Governments is moving forward with the Power Ahead Colorado initiative. The program will target building energy efficiency in the Denver metropolitan area, offering free energy efficiency and heat-pump retrofits, on-call energy advisors, support for home energy upgrades, and training for thousands of heat-pump installers. With the sheer number of emission-reducing programs canceled or terminated under the Trump administration, Power Ahead Colorado is one of few programs able to move forward in progressing decarbonization for the region. Read more about the program and its benefits here. (Source: Canary Media)
Grist: Solar farms can be havens for rare plants. Just ask the threecorner milkvetch
Happy Eco News: Healing of the ozone layer shows power of science and global unity
Anthropocene Magazine: New battery recycling method comes with a side of CO2 capture
Economic Development
In response to record-breaking housing affordability and homelessness crises in the U.S., cities look to reduce rental costs by targeting hidden ‘junk fees.’ Junk fees are additional charges beyond rent that are not explicitly disclosed, costing renters hundreds of millions in excess each year. Colorado has already banned junk fees, San Diego’s City Council is currently advocating to ban them, and Mayor Mamdani has created a city-wide junk fee taskforce in New York. Learn more about how U.S. cities and states are responding to hidden junk fees. (Source: Smart Cities Dive)
Bronx Times: Former country club convent to be redeveloped into three-story apartment building
New York YIMBY: 290 East 149th Street wraps up construction in Mott Haven, The Bronx
Multi Housing News: Rockefeller JV to develop Manhattan community
Digital
AI learns to see plants, changing how farms manage weeds. A new AI model developed by Carbon Robotics can detect and identify plants it has never seen before, without retraining. Trained on millions of plant images, the model allows tools like the LaserWeeder to distinguish crops from weeds in real time, making precision agriculture faster to deploy and easier to scale. The advance could reduce reliance on herbicides while helping farmers respond to actual field conditions as they change. Learn more about how AI is reshaping agriculture, here. (Source: TechCrunch)
The Verge: It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers
Route Fifty: AI-enabled knowledge management: A new imperative for government
Forbes: AI doesn’t replace the development workforce, it changes it
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