Wednesday’s Headlines Are Climbing Uphill
More news about the infrastructure bills, more wrongdoing by Tesla and Amazon, and more dire predictions for the future.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on September 29, 2021
- There will be plenty of horse-race coverage on infrastructure this week (Politico), but if you’re looking for substance, Yonah Freemark posted a handy chart on Twitter showing what’s in the bipartisan and reconciliation bills.
- Certain design features can help convince suburbanites to accept higher-density buildings. (Sidewalk Talk)
- A UK study predicts a pretty frightening future where autonomous vehicles choke the roads and air taxes usurp buses. (Forbes)
- The Labour Party is warning against squandering the cycling gains made during the pandemic. (The Guardian)
- Amazon is creating hundreds of small delivery companies as a way to dodge legal liability and pay lower wages. (American Prospect)
- The “safety score” system Tesla uses to decide who gets access to “full self-driving” is a joke. (Vice)
- Something is wrong when a 12-lane highway in Utah can win a “quality of life” award. (Washington Post)
- Unless the D.C. region does more to discourage driving, an unrealistic number of drivers would have to switch to electric vehicles to meet climate-change goals. (Greater Greater Washington)
- A new Texas law will actually punish drivers who injure pedestrians. (News Channel 6)
- The Providence Bicycle Collective is addressing social injustice by helping people repair their bikes and lobby for better infrastructure. (ecoRI)
- Windsor, Canada, is pitching a new riverfront route for its 103-year-old restored streetcar. (Star)
- Florence, Italy, is adding two new lines to its “bike subway,” which may or may not be underground, but is organized like a subway, with color-coded routes. (The Mayor)
- This is the last thing you’ll see before a Toyota Tundra’s giant grill pancakes you. (Jalopnik)
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:
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
Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It
Why are some cities forced to charge high fares to World Cup visitors who want to take the train, while others are giving away rides nearly for free?
May 1, 2026
Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health
Transit agencies need to do more to remind policy makers of the connection between good public transportation and good public health, a report argues.
May 1, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Walk Warily
Don't be fooled by declining statistics. Walking in the U.S. is still too dangerous.
May 1, 2026
Boston’s New Climate Plan Is At Odds With Boston’s New Transportation Policies
Mayor Wu's climate plan calls on the city to cut traffic and "transform" its transportation system, but City Hall leadership is cancelling and delaying projects that would actually accomplish those goals.
April 30, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Logistics of Package Delivery
Benjamin Fong on out how e-commerce companies like Amazon have built their logistics systems and the difficulty of last-mile delivery.
April 30, 2026
