- 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
Friday Video: The Massachusetts Company That Traded the Trash Truck For a Bike
This small worker-owned cooperative is reimagining how to do recycling, composting, yardwork and more — no diesel required.
August 29, 2025
Friday’s Deadly Headlines
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels would bring immediate health benefits for hundreds of thousands of people.
August 29, 2025
Commentary: The Real Reason Trump Opposes High-Speed Rail Isn’t About Trains; It’s about Power
This is about petroleum versus renewable electric power.
Talking Headways Podcast: The Menace of Prosperity
Daniel Wortel-London on his new book, "The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1875–1981."
August 28, 2025
Thursday’s Headlines Are a Sneak Preview
Want to see what happens when a city makes major transit cuts? Just look at Philadelphia. It's not pretty.
August 28, 2025
What I’ve Learned From Getting Transit Wrong
"Advocacy isn’t about pretending you’ve always been right. It’s about learning, adapting, and bringing those lessons into the fight for better transit and better cities."
August 28, 2025
