Tuesday’s Headlines Are Just Trying to Get to Work
Put the pieces together, and today's headlines will tell you a lot about how the public and private transportation sectors are failing most of our society.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on June 29, 2021
- It’s been criticized from the left, but an environmental policy professor and former Bill Clinton advisor argues that the infrastructure compromise a major climate win (The Hill). Regardless of its merits, the deal is still a tough sell for both parties (NPR).
- Yonah Freemark’s Urban Institute piece we posted about yesterday dovetails with a UNC-Charlotte study on how low-income workers are forced into neighborhoods far from jobs without access to transit, as well as another study highlighted by Gizmodo reinforcing the notion that the only way for cities to solve gridlock is to get more cars off the road.
- Cities are starting to recognize that connectivity is an important component of equity. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
- Big Tech is investing in driverless cars because they would free up hours behind the wheel and let drivers spend more time looking at their phones. (Bloomberg)
- The New Yorker has … some kind of point to make about the 19th century railroad boom and our current infrastructure predicament.
- Bay Area transit projects keep falling behind schedule and going over budget. (San Jose Mercury News)
- The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is investing $100 million in affordable housing near rail lines (11 Alive) and taking the first step toward electrifying its bus fleet (Electrek).
- Post-pandemic, Boston drivers are worse than ever. (Globe)
- Detroit’s popular Belle Isle Park is closed whenever the parking lots are full. It needs better bus access. (Metro Times)
- The Buffalo News says the dream of a revived streetcar system isn’t just Boomer nostalgia.
- Bike-share trips grew 60 percent in Chattanooga during the pandemic. (WDEF
- Bicycling magazine profiles a Florida/New Hampshire cyclist who keeps pedaling despite having been hit by a driver twice.
- Climate change, schmimate change: The heat wave in Portland is literally melting streetcar cables. (Twitter)
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.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
Would Ending Seasonal Clock Changes Make Streets Safer for People Outside Cars?
Saturday night Halloween celebrations and a seasonal time change converged this year to create what some fear were uniquely dangerous conditions on US roads. But would ditching the clock change really have saved pedestrian and cyclist lives?
November 2, 2026
Opinion: Robotaxis Need Clear Rules — Even in ‘Exceptional’ Situations
Maybe a robotaxi is safer than a human driver on an "average" road under "normal" conditions — but what will it do when things get unruly?
November 2, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Live Happily Ever After
What's transit got to do with marriage and birth rates?
November 2, 2026
Friday Video: The Three Ingredients to a Great Trick-or-Treating Neighborhood
...and how your neighborhood can use good planning and community engagement to get more walkable long past spooky season.
October 30, 2026
Friday’s Headlines (Except Spooky)
Your annual reminder that letting kids safely roam around their neighborhood is not the top priority.
October 30, 2026