Thursday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
New evidence suggests riding transit won't put you at risk for COVID-19. Click here for that story and more.
By
Blake Aued
11:01 AM EDT on June 11, 2020
- As France and Japan reopen, no coronavirus clusters have been traced back to transit. It appears that the combination of wearing masks, ventilation and lack of conversation make short bus and train trips relatively safe. (City Lab)
- If it becomes permanent, working from home will mean fewer people commuting, but it will also encourage sprawl because employees will be free to move out to the suburbs or to cheaper cities. (Forbes)
- Most automakers are still refusing to sell small cars in the U.S., giving Americans for whom driving is a necessity little choice but to buy deadly, gas-guzzling giant SUVs and pickups. (Jalopnik)
- A new House bill would provide $250 million in grants for cities to reduce congestion through technology, carpooling or bike/pedestrian projects. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Protected bike lanes reduce collisions between cars and bikes, but painted bike lanes have little effect, and lanes with sharrows actually have more collisions. (Fast Company)
- If you want to get into cycling — and now is a great time — Slate has a guide to the gear you’ll need.
- Safe Routes to School’s national organization will no longer call for police to enforce traffic laws because they’re disproportionately enforced against people of color. (Bike Portland)
- Metro Austin transportation planners are pushing back transit, walking and biking projects to free up $633 million for widening I-35. (Monitor)
- The Seattle DOT is considering building a tunnel to replace the cracked West Seattle Bridge. (Seattle Times)
- Atlanta let downtown residents decide how to spend $1 million in transportation funds, and most of the projects they chose were for bikes and pedestrians. (Intown)
- Washington, D.C.’s street grid is perfect for marches — and that’s intentional. (WAMU)
- The San Francisco police union told Muni officers won’t enforce fare-dodging on transit anymore since the agency decided to stop diverting buses to take police to demonstrations (Streetsblog SF). Ooh, that’ll teach ’em.
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
Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It
Why are some cities forced to charge high fares to World Cup visitors who want to take the train, while others are giving away rides nearly for free?
May 1, 2026
Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health
Transit agencies need to do more to remind policy makers of the connection between good public transportation and good public health, a report argues.
May 1, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Walk Warily
Don't be fooled by declining statistics. Walking in the U.S. is still too dangerous.
May 1, 2026
Boston’s New Climate Plan Is At Odds With Boston’s New Transportation Policies
Mayor Wu's climate plan calls on the city to cut traffic and "transform" its transportation system, but City Hall leadership is cancelling and delaying projects that would actually accomplish those goals.
April 30, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Logistics of Package Delivery
Benjamin Fong on out how e-commerce companies like Amazon have built their logistics systems and the difficulty of last-mile delivery.
April 30, 2026
