Wednesday’s Headlines Are Too Thrifty to Drive
You’d probably pay as much for a used Civic now as these sports cars cost two years ago. Photo: MD111/Flickr
- That old muffler ad is obsolete — you are gonna pay a lot for it. While everyone complains about inflation, a closer look reveals that much of the overall increase in prices is attributable to cars. The cost of owning an automobile rose 23 percent last year. (Eno Center for Transportation)
- Once again, consumers' insatiable demand for the higher hoods and heavier weight of ever-bigger trucks and SUVs is deadly for anyone who happens to be standing in their way. These vehicles rarely come with live-saving technology that could mitigate their enormous blind spots. (Consumer Reports)
- Even the traditionally Republican-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce is now in favor of transportation equity.
- The U.S. DOT announced a $27 billion bridge repair and replacement program, funded by the infrastructure act (Traffic Technology). Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg launched the program in Pennsylvania (Fox 43).
- Seattle police will no longer stop drivers and cyclists for minor infractions like cracked windshields and not wearing a helmet, recognizing that the fines fall disproportionately on people without the ability to pay them. (Public Cola)
- A new Massachusetts law will force reluctant suburbs to change their zoning policies to subsidize affordable housing near transit stops. (Streetsblog MASS)
- A transgender man in Denver says he was beaten up at a light-rail stop and kicked out of an Uber on the same night. (Metro Weekly)
- Nashville residents are calling for justice on Dickerson Pike after a driver killed a third person in the past year. (News Channel 5)
- Berkeley is shifting road-paving funding from major arterials to neighborhood streets in "equity zones" encompassing less wealthy neighborhoods. (Berkeleyside)
- Some Portlanders spent the MLK Day of Service sweeping up debris from bike lanes. (Bike Portland)
- Buttigieg told CBS News that fatherhood — he and his husband, Chasten, recent adopted infant twins — has given him a new sense of urgency. Any parent can relate.
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