Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines to Really Start the New Year

It's the first workday of a new year. And the best way to start it is with today's news digest.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on January 4, 2021

Cities worldwide installed temporary bike and pedestrian facilities during the pandemic, and now they have a chance to permanently reconsider how much of the street they devote to cars. (Fast Company)
Car and Driver looks ahead to 2021’s safety trends, like Pete Buttigieg’s promise of a national Vision Zero strategy, a pilot program to lower speed limits nationwide, seizing reckless drivers’ vehicles and using ignition interlock to stop drunk driving.
Environment America‘s 2021 agenda includes expanding transit and electric vehicle charging stations in California, banning fossil-fuel-burning cars in Washington, EV rebates in Texas and a gas-tax hike in Missouri.
The $1 billion in the federal coronavirus stimulus bill for Bay Area transit agencies will stave off cuts for now, but the long-term funding picture remains unclear. (San Jose Mercury News)
Michigan transit agencies are also worried about what happens in October, when emergency COVID funds run out. (Detroit News)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to crack down on speeding drivers and raising the gas tax to help close a $1.2-billion budget deficit. (Tribune)
Austin built new bike lanes, lowered speed limits and reduced crashes at intersections in 2020. (KVUE)
Richmond’s new route system, including a bus rapid transit line, is dismantling the legacy of racism in transportation. (Greater Greater Washington)
The NAACP won a lawsuit against Charleston alleging that the city discriminates against African-American tourists who come to town for a “Black Bike Week” event. (WBTW)
The Texas DOT is making progress on complete streets, but not enough. (KFOX)
Uber is raising fares in Seattle as the city’s new minimum wage law for drivers takes effect. (KOMO)

Blake Aued

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.

Streetsblog

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

autonomous vehicles

Are U.S. Cities Ready for the Robo-Taxi Revolution?

And how can they get ready to regulate the shared AV revolution?

Streetsblog

April 28, 2026

Today's Headlines

Tuesday’s Headlines Pay for Roads Whether We Use Them or Not

Over half of road funding does not come directly from road users, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Blake Aued

April 28, 2026

Car Dependence

Urban Truth Collective: The One-Hour City Conspiracy

Here's the real conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, more crashes, more noise, more air pollution, more social isolation — and less space for everything good our streets should be giving us.