Tuesday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued

12:53 AM EDT on March 19, 2019

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted regulations that had kept Uber out of the Grand Canyon State. Uber programmed the self-driving cars it tested on Arizona roads not to brake when they detected an obstacle in front of them. The backup driver was watching a video when an autonomous SUV struck and killed a woman crossing a Tempe road. Who was to blame? Oddly, the Arizona Republic doesn’t consider the traffic engineers who designed the road to be dangerous for people on foot in its one-year anniversary piece.
As voters in Atlanta’s biggest suburb, Gwinnett County, go to the polls today to decide whether to join the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, the Journal-Constitution has an explainer on what’s at stake. (Streetsblog was also on the case.)
When Duke University pulled its support for the Durham-Orange, N.C. light rail line, it bolstered its image as a privileged cloister in a majority-minority and high-poverty community. (NY Times)
One hundred rental bikes at 13 stations are now available in Raleigh, N.C., with 200 more bikes and 17 additional docks coming later this spring. (WRAL) Capitol Bikeshare is introducing 500 e-bikes to Washington, D.C., but they’ll cost a bit more than pedal-only bikes. (Curbed) A fleet of 200 bikes at 39 stations is back in Norfolk, Va. (WTKR)
Starting in June, D.C. will convert car lanes on I and H streets into bus-only lanes during rush hour, with better markings so drivers don’t ignore them. (WTOP) In addition, Mayor Muriel Bowser teased a “big announcement” this week at a Vision Zero conference, along with other takeaways. (WAMU)
Twelve-lane Roosevelt Boulevard — Philadelphia’s most dangerous street, where 139 people were killed or injured between 2013 and 2017 — is closer to getting cameras to catch speeders. (Tribune) The city council also approved a new class of public safety officer to enforce traffic laws. (WHYY)
As cities struggle with increasing demand for curb space, Boston has designed a pickup and drop-off zone in the Fenway neighborhood. (WGBH)
A $25-million project will turn several downtown Las Vegas streets into Complete Streets. (Review-Journal)
The AJC also reports that the founder of Transit X — which has gotten a few cities to bite on its too-good-to-be-true premise of monorails with personal pods — is a convicted sex offender.
A French company’s robot is parking cars at the Lyon airport, and the company says “Stan” can reduce CO2 emissions by eliminating traffic in parking lots. Cool, but how about encouraging people not to drive to the airport, or maybe take trains instead of flying? (Popular Mechanics)

Blake Aued

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