Monday’s Headlines Are Going to Get Away for a Few Days

The morning headlines are taking a few days off to celebrate the holidays, but will return on Dec. 30. In the meantime, here are some stories to help you avoid talking to your family, or bolster your arguments.

• The Biden administration is taking aim at freeway projects that divided and destroyed Black communities. (Climate Wire)
• The absurdly high cost of transportation projects in the U.S. means the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law won’t fund as much as you think. (City Lab)
• American drivers are addicted to speeding, and they really floored it when streets emptied out during the pandemic. (Slate)
• That’s not the only problem, though: People are drinking more, using more drugs and engaging in more reckless behavior as a result of the pandemic, which means the recent spike in traffic deaths might be here to stay. (Los Angeles Times)
• Affordable, reliable transportation is a huge obstacle keeping many students from finishing college. (Hechinger Report)
• Greater Greater Washington explains congestion pricing.
• Toyota is the last automaker still experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells, which are more expensive and complicated than batteries. The reason has to do with Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, which led the country to start converting coal into “blue hydrogen” through an environmentally damaging process. (BBC)
• Robert Moses is one of the great villains of modern urban planning, but without the stifling rules activists like Jane Jacobs put into place in response to his megalomania, it would be a lot easier to fix Penn Station. (The Week)
• No, bike lanes don’t cause congestion, but news outlets keep telling you they do because it’s good for clicks. (The New Statesman)
• Follow along as Alex Wolfe walks through America’s dystopian car-centric hellscape. (Grist)
• Looking for some videos to pass the time? Urban Review has you covered with a list of the top climate change YouTube channels.
• In New York City, this year will be the year that deliveristas get better working conditions, according to Gothamist.
• Finally, it is with sadness that we mention that Bishop Desmond Tutu has died (NY Times). In addition to his well-known integrity, dignity, courage and moral clarity, he was also a fan of cycling, once quipping, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.” (Seriously.)