- In 2009, the U.S. spent $28 billion on roads and bridges and just $8 billion on high-speed rail — a drop in the bucket — as part of the Obama stimulus package. Sure, infrastructure projects create jobs, but will politicians learn their lesson this time and stop building so many highways? (New York Times)
- U.S. highways were often intentionally built through communities of color (NPR). Related: U.S. PIRG remembers highway boondoggles of the past, like the Massachusetts Turnpike, which plowed through Boston neighborhoods in the 1960s.
- Building a self-driving car has turned out to be harder than tech startups expected, so they’re teaming up with deep-pocketed automakers like Ford and Hyundai (Wired). Meanwhile, Lyft is resuming test-driving its autonomous cars in California after a three-month pandemic pause (Fortune).
- A new platform is collecting ideas from cities and transportation groups on how to improve mobility during the pandemic. (Eltis)
- Parking guru Donald Shoup writes in City Lab that congestion pricing could help Los Angeles avoid the coming carpocalypse once people start working again and get back on the road. A pilot program is set for 2021.
- Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is asking voters to approve a sales-tax fund of up to $30 million to help the city’s transit system recover from the pandemic (KOMO). Meanwhile, King County might paper over some of transit’s losses by canceling workers’ raises (Seattle Times).
- E-bikes are back in Washington, D.C. after Capital Bikeshare pulled them last year over concerns about braking. (WTOP)
- A new study by Uber and several metro Cincinnati governments lays out a path to improve public transit. (Medium)
- San Diego (Pacific) and Tulsa (KTUL) are the latest cities to let restaurants set up tables and chairs on sidewalks and in parking lots.
- Road diets are planned for six Milwaukee streets. (Urban Milwaukee)
Streetsblog
Thursday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
One of America’s Most Walkable School Districts Is About To Lose That Title
Lakewood, Ohio, prided itself on its Safe Routes to School program, which is in danger of being lost in a district-wide consolidation.
November 3, 2025
PART I: The E-Bike ‘Problem’ is an E-Moto Problem
PeopleForBikes separates fact from fiction to protect the future of e-bikes in America in this new series. This is Part I.
November 3, 2025
Monday’s Headlines Fight Back
After losing the war on cars for decades, is the tide starting to turn? Recently published books suggest it might be.
November 3, 2025
Friday Video: The Horrors of the Modern High-Tech Car
As more technology wheedles its way into our cars, they get scarier and scarier.
October 31, 2025
Friday’s Headlines Are Not Ready for Prime Time
Tech companies and automakers keep pushing autonomous vehicles and don't seem to care whether they're safe or not.
October 31, 2025
Pedaling Toward Progress: San Antonio’s Bold Bike Plan in a Car-Centric State
If we can do this in Texas, we can do it anywhere.
October 31, 2025
