Monday’s Headlines are On Fire

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on April 26, 2021

As transit agencies ponder how to lure riders back after the pandemic, the answer is simple: provide fast, frequent and reliable service. (Vice)
Raising transit's share of the traditional 80/20 split with highways is starting to gain traction in the Senate (Transportation for America). In Oregon, a group of 40 political leaders and advocacy groups is pushing for a 50/50 split (Bike Portland).
Two senators are reviving a bill that would ease already-lax regulations on autonomous vehicles, even after a recent crash where no one was behind the wheel of a Tesla. (The Verge)
Cities and states are too reliant on revenue from traffic fines and fees that hit low-income drivers the hardest. (Route Fifty)
Bike registration laws, while rarely enforced, are enforced disproportionately against people of color. (City Lab)
The pandemic brought some blessed peace and quiet, but as traffic returns to streets, so is noise. Slowing traffic down and new technology like "noise cameras" can help. (Slate)
From conservationists to taxpayer watchdogs to rural residents who live in their path, almost everyone is opposed to three new highways in Florida. (Grist)
If I-45 is widened, Houston at least wants to make sure there's room for transit. (Chronicle)
Biking was up 22 percent in Los Angeles in 2019 compared to 2017. (Cities Today)
The Baltimore Sun wants President Biden's infrastructure bill to revive the Red Line canceled by Gov. Larry Hogan.
Washington, D.C. needs emergency road diets, lower speed limits and more space for walking, biking and transit to achieve its Vision Zero goal. (Greater Greater Washington)
Walk Bike Tampa is pushing to close loopholes in a law requiring developers to build sidewalks. (WFTS)
Uber drivers in Africa are hoping to follow the lead of their British counterparts, who successfully sued for a minimum wage and benefits like paid leave. (Quartz)
In contrast to the U.S., where traffic deaths were up last year, European drivers killed 4,000 fewer people in 2020 than in 2019. (European Sting)
Finally, we don't care much for what happens in Tinseltown, but last night's Oscars provided yet another reminder of the grim toll that cars take on our society. In accepting his Best Foreign Film award, "Another Round" director Thomas Vinterberg dedicated the movie to his daughter, who was killed in a car crash just four days into shooting. The LA Times story called the crash an "accident," and moved on quickly, but other outlets reported that Ida Vinterberg was killed because another driver was looking at his cellphone instead of the road. But no one wants to talk about that.

Blake Aued

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