Wednesday’s Headlines Are Ready for Turkey

We’re taking tomorrow off but will be back Friday with a new batch of headlines to distract you while you avoid your family. Happy Thanksgiving!

• A reminder that Thanksgiving is one of the most dangerous times to be on the road because so many people are driving, and drinking and driving. The National Safety Council estimates that 515 Americans will die in car crashes over the long weekend.
• The success of the infrastructure bill largely depends on whether cities choose to fund better projects or the same old smorgasbord of roads with a little bit of transit on the side. (Transit Center)
• The bill has billions of dollars in funding for Vision Zero programs and other safety initiatives. (USA Today)
• The Parking Reform Network has an interactive map allowing you to explore, well, parking reforms in 200 communities nationwide.
• Witnesses said during Darrell Brooks’ first court appearance that he intentionally drove his SUV through a suburban Milwaukee parade on Sunday, killing six people and injuring dozens more. It’s unclear why, although Brooks was reportedly fleeing some sort of domestic dispute, and there are no indications it was an act of terrorism. (New York Times)
• A grassroots movement in Houston is showing other communities how to fight freeway expansions. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Minneapolis residents say getting rid of an urban highway cutting through the northside would revitalize that part of the city. (KSTP)
• A new trolley line debuted in San Diego, and at $2 billion it’s one of the largest infrastructure projects in the region’s history. (Union-Tribune)
• Miami commissioners voted abruptly to end an e-scooter pilot program, but are now reconsidering. (Herald)
• Oregon regulators issued a new rule requiring truck manufacturers to sell more electric and clean diesel vehicles in the state, which they said would cut tailpipe emissions in half. (Salem Reporter)
• Boston cyclists are celebrating the new bike lines on the Massachusetts Avenue bridge. (Globe)
• Running for re-election, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed suspending Florida’s gas tax for six months, even though the tax doesn’t have much to do with high gas prices — and more expensive gas is beneficial for the environment and safety, if politically unpopular. (Local 10)
• Although most experts say the technology is nowhere near ready, Lyft insists it will launch fully driverless taxis in Las Vegas by 2023. (Intelligent Transport)
• As a report called for Toronto to expand transit and provide more first/last mile options (Urban Toronto), the city’s transit agency announced that it’s cutting back service because 1,200 employees who haven gotten their COVID shots are on unpaid leave (Sun).