Wednesday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
Slow down! The fewer people drivers injure, the more beds for COVID-19 victims. Click here for that story and more.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on April 1, 2020
- Medical experts want to lower speed limits to keep crash victims out of hospitals, freeing up beds for people with COVID-19 (Forbes). And Streetsblog’s Kea Wilson knows just how to do it.
- With people driving less and a surplus of winter gas, the EPA is delaying the switchover to cleaner summer gas by several weeks. So the one thing that was good about the COVID-19 crisis — fewer people driving — means we get stuck with dirtier gas into the summer. (Wall Street Journal)
- Transit workers are at risk of catching the coronavirus, and they need protective gear, too (Transit Center). At Boston’s transit agency alone, 18 employees are infected (WCVB).
- Transit agencies continue to cut back service in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, forcing essential workers to choose between their jobs and their health (Wired). Hillsborough County (Tampa Bay Times), Dallas (CBS DFW) recently scaled back. and Cincinnati’s streetcar has been shut down (City Beat).
- Coronavirus is also having a severe effect on mobility services, with e-scooter and bike-share companies pulling out of cities, and ridership on Uber, Lyft and taxis down 70 percent (Intelligent Transport). Orange County, Florida recently banned e-bikes and e-scooters (Orlando Sentinel), while Cincinnati’s Red Bike is shutting down indefinitely. (Enquirer). But Detroit’s MoGo went the opposite direction, offering free monthly passes (Metro Times).
- Portland’s transportation commissioner says now is not the time to make temporary street changes to give people more room to spread out (Bike Portland). Nor will the Bay Area shift streets away from cars (Streetsblog SF). Other cities worldwide, though — including New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Bangkok and Jakarta — think now is precisely the time to make such changes (Reuters).
- Coronavirus has killed off conversations about closing a $10 million funding gap for Memphis transit. (Daily Memphian)
- One thing coronavirus can’t stop: Las Vegas road projects. (Review-Journal)
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:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
Seattle Aims to Turn Vision Zero Dreams Into ‘Durable Law’
The stars are aligning for Seattle to make big progress on Vision Zero — but can they pass the laws that will hold city leaders to that goal?
October 28, 2026
Study: The Missing Ingredient in the Fight To End Car Crash Deaths is… Fewer Cars
The common denominator in every car crash is a car. So why don't we talk about it?
October 27, 2026
Op-Ed: Toronto’s Bike Lane Fight Should Be a Wake Up Call for the US, Too
The people of Toronto have shown up big to protect their bike lanes from removal. Will Americans stand with them?
October 27, 2026
Six Days on the Road and Tuesday’s Headlines May Not Make It Home Tonight
Jalopnik points out that there are certain vehicles that average people have no business driving.
October 27, 2026
Why Deadly, Illegal E-Motos Are On The Rise – And Why E-Bikes Are Being Blamed When They Crash
...and what we can do to protect our kids *and* the e-bike revolution.
October 26, 2026
