Streetsblog

Wednesday’s Headlines Were Told There Would Be No Math Involved

Wider highways lead to more driving, and more driving leads to more pollution. But just how much damage Do new lanes do to the climate?

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on November 3, 2021

Everyone knows that reducing driving — and by extension, not inducing demand by widening highways — is essential to curbing climate change. Now environmental and transportation advocates have invented a way to calculate exactly how much highway projects pollute the air. (Quartz)
Residents of coastal, mountain West and Southern border states are more likely to be concerned about climate change. They’re also the ones most likely to be affected by it. (538)
Noise pollution is also a thing, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed a bill cracking down on loud cars and motorcycles. (The Week)
The U.S. DOT is developing a new approach to safer streets in response to a record spike in traffic deaths. (Streetsblog)
Fare-free transit is a major issue in the Boston mayoral race. (Governing)
Washington, D.C. has a new dashboard where residents can track traffic safety projects. (Greater Greater Washington)
Leaning heavily on federal aid, the D.C. Metro’s proposed budget would cut late-night fares and prices weekly and monthly passes to lure riders back. (Washington Post)
A suburban Minneapolis county is considering pulling funding for the Northstar commuter rail line because ridership has plummeted during the pandemic. (Star Tribune)
Indianapolis activists are lobbying for more sidewalks and bike lanes. (WFYI)
A bike lane is coming to a Denver street where a driver killed a cyclist, and it only took two years. (9 News)
The kids are alright: A Brown Daily Herald writer takes on the sorry cycling situation in Providence.
Here’s a late Halloween scare: San Jose drivers can’t seem to tell light-rail tracks from the street. (East Bay Times)