Wednesday’s Headlines Are Too Thrifty to Drive
The inflation you've been hearing about is mainly tied to car ownership. Plus, the deadly blind spots on ginormous pickups and SUVs.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on January 19, 2022
- That old muffler ad is obsolete — you are gonna pay a lot for it.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.
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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