Streetsblog

Wednesday’s Headlines from All Over the Place

A House transportation bill, pop-up bike lanes, and opposition to more cops — plus all the other headlines from the day.

By Blake Aued

12:12 AM EDT on June 10, 2020

The House transportation bill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve passenger rail and fund transit — though not enough (Transportation for America). As Streetsblog points out, most of the funding will still go to roads.
But how to pay for it? Congress can’t decide, so it’s getting ready to go into debt. (Roll Call)
Autonomous cars won’t avoid about two-thirds of the crashes human drivers get into, according to a new study by an insurance industry group. About a third — those caused by distraction and drinking — are preventable by AI. (Car and Driver, Streetsblog)
The pop-up bike lanes and slow streets planners quickly created for social distancing didn’t include input from vulnerable people who are not safe in public spaces. Transportation policy should center minority communities instead of white comfort. (City Lab)
COVID-19 is a wakeup call for a new method of city planning that creates dense neighborhoods without creating luxury enclaves and addresses the lack of services that plague dense lower-income neighborhoods. (Fast Company)
Tamika Butler, the former executive director of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, tells us how bikes can be a tool for inclusion and equality. (Bicycling)
Washington, D.C. painted “Black Lives Matter” on 16th Street NW near the White House, and now other cities like Raleigh, Sacramento and Oakland are following suit with similar street art. (Washington Post)
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, New York City transit advocates are pushing back against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to hire 500 new transit cops. (Daily News)
Citing privacy concerns, the ACLU is suing Los Angeles to stop the city from collecting data on scooter users.
Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA is now requiring all riders to wear masks. (Voice)
Jalopnik hates dockless scooters and is happy to see protesters set them on fire.

Blake Aued

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.

Streetsblog

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

Where the Battles Against Harmful Highways and Hyper-Scale Data Centers Collide

Hyperscale AI data centers and highways are both harmful forms of fossil fuel infrastructure that get built without much community input — and it's time to fight back against both, one of our favorite podcasters argues.