Friday’s Headlines
Portland and Sidewalk Labs are using cellphone data to see how people move around the city, which could help planners make better decisions, but also raises privacy concerns. Next up: Testing the Replica software in Chicago and Kansas City. (GeekWire) Los Angeles is also collected tons of data on e-scooter use. It has the largest … Continued
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on May 31, 2019
- Portland and Sidewalk Labs are using cellphone data to see how people move around the city, which could help planners make better decisions, but also raises privacy concerns. Next up: Testing the Replica software in Chicago and Kansas City. (GeekWire)
- Los Angeles is also collected tons of data on e-scooter use. It has the largest fleet of any city in the country, with more than 30,000 provided by seven companies. (LAist)
- Protected bike lanes make streets safer for not just cyclists, but drivers too, according to a University of Colorado Denver study. (Denverite, Streetsblog)
- Elon Musk’s scaled-back cars-in-a-tunnel version of the hyperloop might work in Las Vegas, but don’t expect it to be the future of public transit. (City Lab)
- An Alexandria, Va., panel of experts outlined the pros and cons of e-scooters. (Gazette)
- In the wake of a federal ruling that Uber and Lyft drivers are contractors, not employees, a California bill would give them basic labor protections for the first time — at least in one state. (Vox)
- Texas, which leads the nation in traffic fatalities, will adopt a Vision Zero strategy to cut road deaths in half by 2035 and eliminate them by 2050. (Houston Chronicle)
- MARTA is fast-tracking two Atlanta bus rapid transit lines, but light rail to Emory University and along the Beltline won’t be completed until at least 2035. (AJC)
- San Francisco wants to quadruple its number of dockless bikes to 11,000, but is getting pushback from Lyft. (Curbed)
- The new CEO of the company building Maryland’s Purple Line isn’t happy about permitting holdups. (WaPo)
- Montreal is building 26 kilometers — that’s 18 miles — of bike lanes over the next two years. (Gazette)
- Forget Tide pods and pill parties. The latest phantom teen menace is gangs of roving youth on bikes assaulting the elderly. (Outside)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday’s Headlines Keep Our Eyes on the Road, Our Hands Upon the Wheel
Going to the roadhouse in a self-driving car does not mean you're gonna have a real good time.
April 3, 2026
Friday Video: A Master List of All The Reasons Why Car Domination Sucks
Jason Slaughter catalogues the many harms of America's preferred transportation monoculture.
April 2, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: Civil Rights, Civic Transport
Let's talk about "disparate impact" — and why the Trump administration wants to gut it.
April 2, 2026
Study: How Capping Vehicle Sizes Could Help Save the World
...and why a multi-pronged transportation reform strategy is critical to curb climate change, slash road deaths, and more.
April 2, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Take the Long View
Instead of panic moves like gas tax holidays, maybe governments should respond to high gas prices by providing alternatives to driving.
April 2, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.