Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines Are Going in Circles

Part of Florida’s safe streets strategy is implementing more roundabouts, like this one from Asheville, North Carolina. Photo: FDOT

    • Good transportation policy is also good health-care policy. Effective transit makes it easier for people to get to their doctor's appointments. (Vox)
    • With e-commerce up 30 percent during the pandemic, Americans' online shopping habit has severe consequences for the environment. (Politico)
    • The cobalt needed to manufacture electric car batteries is becoming the new blood diamonds. (New York Times)
    • Tesla's "full self-driving" mode is a disaster. (CNN)
    • $19 billion from the infrastructure bill is headed to the DMV and could pay to renovate Union Station and build a new train bridge across the Potomac. (DCist)
    • The New York Times also touted the climate benefits of roundabouts, focusing on Carmel, Indiana, which has more of them than anywhere in the country. Yes, they're safer for drivers, but the goal should be to get people to drive less.
    • Streetsblog MASS has some suggestions for newly elected pro-transit mayor Michelle Wu.
    • New Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval won by making climate change a centerpiece of his campaign. (Governing)
    • Lame-duck Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto also prioritized climate change in the last budget he'll submit. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
    • San Francisco's privately operated bike-share monopoly has been plagued with financial woes and high rates of vandalism and theft, leaving its future in doubt. (Examiner)
    • A Maryland lawmaker finds Baltimore almost unnavigable without a car, but she's giving hers up anyway. (Washington Post)
    • Even bolstered by CARES Act funding, the Columbus, Ohio transit agency is projected to exhaust its reserve funds by 2028. (Dispatch)
    • Dallas has a $2 billion backlog of sidewalk repairs. (NBC DFW)
    • The Houston Metro is buying 20 new electric buses. (Chronicle)
    • A little-noticed Texas referendum will make it easier for rural jurisdictions to build roads. (Rice Kinder Institute)
    • Norway's incentives to buy electric vehicles have been so successful that it's blowing a hole in the country's budget. (Wired)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Poster Sessions at Mpact in Portland

Young professionals discuss the work they’ve been doing including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking and improving buses.

January 8, 2026

Exploding Costs Could Doom One of America’s Greatest Highway Boondoggles

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project and highway expansion between Oregon and Washington was already a boondoggle. Then the costs ballooned to $17.7 billion.

January 8, 2026

Mayor Bowser Blasts U.S. DOT Talk of Eliminating Enforcement Cameras in DC

The federal Department of Transportation is exploring how to dismantle the 26-year-old enforcement camera system in Washington, D.C.

January 8, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines Are Making Progress

By Yonah Freemark's count, 19 North American transit projects opened last year, with another 19 coming in 2026.

January 8, 2026

The ‘Affordability Crisis’ Conversation Can’t Leave Out the Cost of Cars

We can't talk about Americans' empty wallets without talking about our empty buses and sidewalks.

January 7, 2026

Opinion: E-Bikes Are An Economic Boost That Cities Must Seize

E-bikes and scooters are reshaping local retail markets by expanding who can reach neighborhood businesses with frequency, ease, and convenience.

January 7, 2026
See all posts