- Self-driving cars are nothing new — they’ve been a dream of automakers for 100 years. Today, they’re still a novelty, but a sea change is coming in the next few decades (One Zero). Former Obama advisor Peter Orszag disagrees that the technology isn't ready, though. He thinks it's lack of federal policy that's holding them back (Bloomberg).
- A study in the upcoming Journal of Urban Health directly ties lack of investment in transportation to health disparities in low-income communities of color. (Doc Wire News)
- Jalopnik holds out some slim hope that former Toyota executive and new Ford CEO Jim Hackett will go back to making smaller, safer and more fuel-efficient cars.
- Joe Biden put out an auto erotic campaign ad that looked more like an Onion parody (Twitter), but at least Biden isn't proposing making it harder for people to divest from fossil fuel stocks as President Trump's Labor Department is doing, The New Yorker reported yesterday.
- Under pressure from NIMBYs, sprawling Plano repealed its forward-looking 2015 comp plan, and the racially tinged campaign against it could provide a blueprint for other efforts to preserve 1980s suburbia in Texas. (D Magazine)
- The Las Vegas Sun is in favor of the Convention and Visitors Association's plan to buy and extend the monorail along the Strip, and dubious of Elon Musk's tunnel plan.
- Los Angeles County approved a Vision Zero plan to eliminate pedestrian deaths outside city limits by 2035. (L.A. Daily News)
- A Minnesota audit found that the state is not doing enough to regulate for-hire vehicles like limos, airport shuttles and party buses. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
- The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority is looking to cut a deal to maintain pre-COVID levels of bus service in Cincinnati in exchange for city transit revenue and assets like bus depots. (Cincinnati Public Radio)
- Streetsblog Chicago and Windy City advocacy groups succeeded in convincing the Illinois DOT to walk back a decision to eliminate bus-only lanes from Lakeshore Drive.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer wants to make wide Washington Avenue safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
- With new rental e-bikes set to hit Portland streets, what should the city do with it's 1,000 pedal-only Biketown bikes from 2016? (Bike Portland)
- Fast, furious and fined: Bystanders at Atlanta street races, which have become more common during the pandemic, will have to pay $1,000 or spend up to six months in jail. (AJC)
- China is investing $68 billion in intercity passenger rail in the Hong Kong region. (International Railway Journal)
Streetsblog
Thursday’s Headlines from All Over the Place
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday’s Headlines Turn Back the Clock
The Trump administration is undoing decades of progress on transportation emissions and safety — progress that many would argue was too modest to begin with.
March 14, 2025
Friday Video: Welcome to the War on ‘Woke’ Transportation
Overwhelmed by weeks of federal attacks on green and equitable transportation? Catch up with this explainer and plug in to the fight.
March 14, 2025
Talking Headways Podcast: The Annual Yonah Freemark Show, Part II
Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute is back again for Part II of his annual "Talking Headways" discussion.
March 13, 2025
Commentary: Nitpicks Aside, Ezra Klein is Spot-On About the Importance of High-Speed Rail
A few additional reflections and critiques specific to California's beleaguered high-speed rail project.
What if the ‘Tesla Takedown’ Is Only the Beginning?
Tesla's cars have become symbols of Elon Musk's controversial role in U.S. politics — but they're also instruments of a violent system that long predates his time in the White House.
March 13, 2025
