Streetsblog

Thursday’s Headlines Are Inducing Demand for News

Why do DOTs never learn that if you build it, they will drive? Plus, mayors ask Congress to pretty please, pass an infrastructure bill.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on September 30, 2021

Engineers, economists and others have been warning about induced demand — the phenomenon of new highway lanes filling up with cars almost as soon as they’re built — for almost 90 years. But state DOTs seem to think congestion proves them right, and more lanes must be built in an endless cycle. (City Lab)
Mayors are pleading with Congress to pass an infrastructure bill to help them repair roads and bridges and build new light rail lines. (Axios)
Another study, this one by Ohio State, found that a drop in traffic during the pandemic led to more speeding, reckless driving and deaths. (Science Daily)
The Biden administration wants to strengthen emissions regulations, and GM is OK with that. (Reuters)
The cause of an Amtrak derailment in Montana has yet to be determined, but the train was going just under the speed limit. (The Hill)
A historic drought linked to climate change could be causing San Francisco’s sidewalks to buckle and crack. (Examiner)
Boulder leaders want Colorado’s Regional Transportation District to use part of its $700 million in federal stimulus money to provide more transit service to the area. (Colorado Public Radio)
Austin’s Capitol Metro approved a $650 million budget that includes funding to hire more drivers and create a police force. (Monitor)
Galveston’s historic trolley system is finally up and running again after Hurricane Ike knocked it out in 2008. (Houston Chronicle)
A Texas teenager who was harassing a group of cyclists by rolling coal wound up hitting and injuring six of them. The driver was not charged initially, but the district attorney has since said he’s investigating. (ABC 13)
A Chicago man was fined $500 for tearing up a speed bump because it damaged his car. (WGN)
Detroit’s QLine streetcar wasn’t able to meet its goal of service every 15 minutes when it reopened last weekend. (Metro Times)
Someone is brightening pedestrians’ days by making sidewalk art all over Kalamazoo. (WKFR)

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.

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