- 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
A ‘Demographic Time Bomb’ Is About To Go Off — And the Transportation Sector Isn’t Ready
A top firm is warning that the "silver tsunami" will have big implications for the climate, unless U.S. communities act fast.
January 15, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Shoot for the Moon
What if the U.S. spent anything near what it spends on highways on transit instead?
January 15, 2026
Passenger Rail Is Headed for a Reckoning — and the First 90 Days of 2026 Will Decide It
Railfans: it's time to go full steam ahead.
January 15, 2026
Is it Time to Try Congestion Pricing in San Francisco?
Congestion pricing has been an unqualified success in New York (and lots of other places). Why wouldn't it work elsewhere?
Analysis: What It Would Take To Put America First in Transit Again
No, it won't be easy. Yes, it can be done.
January 14, 2026
Opinion: Transportation Researchers Still Care About Equity. This Week They’re Proving It
This Thursday, progressives in transportation will fight back against the Trump administration.
January 14, 2026
