Monday’s Headlines Are Going in Circles

12:00 AM EST on November 22, 2021

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)