Friday’s Headlines Are Obeying the Speed Limit

Lowering speed limits has reduced fatality and injury rates in New York City. Photo: NYC DOT
Lowering speed limits has reduced fatality and injury rates in New York City. Photo: NYC DOT
  • Cities and counties are hiring lobbyists to procure more of those Biden bucks, even as the administration tries to simplify the process. (Washington Post)
  • Traffic tickets don’t always deter people who can afford to pay them, and for those who can’t, it can have life-changing consequences. (The Atlantic)
  • If you want drivers to slow down, lowering the speed limit alone isn’t good enough. (Streetsblog USA)
  • $16 billion in federal highway safety funds are now available. (Traffic Technology Today)
  • Regulations on self-driving vehicles are going nowhere fast. (Bloomberg)
  • If drivers start slowing down on your street, you can thank Joe Biden. (ABC News)
  • Sure, let’s make people walk and pedal up and over bridges instead of making it safe to cross at grade or making cars do the work. (Fast Company)
  • Eh, let’s just give everyone an electric golf cart. (Vice)
  • There have been a ton of stories about city-dwellers who are working from home are fleeing for the suburbs (CNBC), but here comes a report that rising gas prices are putting the kibbosh on sprawl. (Anthropecene Magazine)
  • In more contrarian news, the opening of a Minneapolis bus rapid transit line did not affect property values. (University of Minnesota)
  • As lots of cities are eliminating parking requirements, Miami is going in the opposite direction. (Commercial Observer)
  • Chicago’s Metra transit system has been awarded $514 million in federal funds. (Mass Transit)
  • Los Angeles Lyft drivers are protesting the dangers of ride-sharing due to the pandemic. (CBS Local)
  • Portland’s traffic deaths hit a 30-year high, and a third of the victims were unhoused at the time of their death. (KATU)
  • Transportation has now overtaken energy as the biggest polluter in North Carolina. (Charlotte Observer)
  • Finish the Lincoln-to-Omaha bike trail, you cowards. (1011 Now)
  • Riding a bike without a helmet? It’s a no for Simon Cowell. (Page Six)

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In the latest in a series of high-profile conservative moves, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s (R) administration has announced it will stop using cameras to enforce speed limits on the state’s highways — ending a program once billed as a boon to road safety that would also help raise revenue. A speed-camera image of the car […]

Imagine If People Really Drove the Speed Limit

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It’s amazing how easy it is to be a radical when you talk about changing any aspect of car culture in the United States. Take today’s featured post from the Streetsblog Network, from Newton Streets and Sidewalks. It is aptly titled "A Modest Proposal": Photo by The Truth About via Flickr. For the last year […]

The Problem With Speed Cameras That Don’t Catch Most Speeders

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Residents of urban neighborhoods across the country are increasingly advocating for lower speed limits and automated traffic enforcement. As the above graphic illustrates, the stakes are high for pedestrians. But in some jurisdictions where speed cameras are in use, motorists can drive much faster than the speed limit without penalty. In New York, for instance, […]