Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor
Nov 12, 2009

Secret Service motorcade — without the vice president on board — strikes and kills a pedestrian (The Hill)

Truckers: "As soon as you say ‘green’, [they] shut down" (Reuters)

Pennsylvania Republican leaders urges LaHood to reject state leaders’ plan to toll I-80 (Post-Gazette)

For seeking a nuclear- and drilling-heavy climate change bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gets censured in his home state (Post & Courier)

The recent forced closure of a bridge over Lake Champlain in upstate New York? It could be just the beginning of the problem (AP)

The Obama administration is taking action to help … the airline industry (AP)

A pitch to retool highways with adjacent rail lines and embedded electricity transmission (NYT)

Explaining the correlation between the relative pollution of cities and their ability to attract new residents (TNR’s Avenue)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

It’s Time for the AP to Nix the Term “Accident” to Describe Car Collisions

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 11, 2013

Earlier this year, the NYPD adopted a policy to stop using the term “accident” to describe traffic collisions. The San Francisco police department made similar changes a few months later. The problem with the term “accident,” of course, is that it implies no one was at fault — that traffic injuries and deaths are just random, […]

Confounded by Spike in U.S. Traffic Deaths and Injuries? Look Around

By Brad Aaron | Aug 18, 2015

Traffic fatalities in the U.S. increased by 14 percent through June of this year compared to the first six months of 2014, and serious injuries jumped by 30 percent, according to the National Safety Council [PDF]. At the current rate, the group says, nationwide road deaths would top 40,000 for the first time since 2007. […]

What Will It Take to Make Las Vegas Walkable?

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 15, 2015

Saying the future of the city’s economy depends on it, Las Vegas tourism interests are pushing a $12 billion plan to improve transit and walkability, reports the Associated Press. A group of tourism industry leaders, hotel owners, transit officials, and taxi companies are backing a plan from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada that includes major transit expansions and street overhauls, as […]

Justin Burr of North Carolina, Pat Fallon of Texas, and Bill Ketron of Tennessee have introduced bills promoting the idea that it's okay to run over protesters with a car.

These State Lawmakers Indulged the Violent Fantasy of Ramming Protesters With a Car

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 14, 2017

All these men bear a portion of the blame for what happened to Heather Heyer in Charlottesville -- their bills fed an undercurrent of rage against people exercising their right to assemble.

Kaliko, K?'onohi, and Navahine are among the 14 youth climate leaders suing the Hawai'i DOT. Image courtesy of Earthjustice and Our Children’s Trust

have a right to a "healthful environment" under the Hawai‘i state constitution, but under current state policy transportation pollution will increase to an alarming 9.15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Why Kids are Suing DOTs for Driving the Climate Crisis

By Kea Wilson | Jun 15, 2022

Hawai'i children and teenagers are suing their state's transportation leaders for the outsized role they've played in the ongoing climate crisis — and if they succeed, their efforts could empower new generations across America to do the same.

Salt Lake City: How a Remote Red-State City Became a Transit Leader

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 5, 2013

It’s number one in the nation in per-capita transit spending. The only city in the country building light rail, bus rapid transit, streetcars and commuter rail at the same time. And that city — Salt Lake City — is a town of just over 180,000 in a remote setting in a red state. It’s a […]