Monday’s Headlines Have Infrastructure Advice
Don't spend it on roads. Go big or go home. And first, do no harm. Plus, pedestrians deaths are rising, and stories about them continue to get the facts wrong.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EDT on May 23, 2022
- While all traffic deaths were up in 2021, in particular pedestrian deaths rose to their highest number in 40 years due to heavier vehicles, high-speed roads and lack of infrastructure for walking. (Popular Science)
- Just because cities and states can spend federal infrastructure money on roads doesn’t mean they have to. (Transit Center)
- Cities should be going big with their once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure funds rather than doing smaller projects that are already on the books. (Route Fifty)
- A Biden administration program that aims to steer infrastructure funding to historically disadvantaged communities could actually make emissions and air quality worse. (Transportation for America)
- News outlets continue to misreport fatal car crashes, especially when the victims are on foot, because they rely too much on police reports. (Slate)
- The internet got mad — and rightfully so — when Mothers Against Drunk Driving posted, then deleted, a tweet promoting a giveaway of dangerous sports cars and SUVs. (Forbes)
- Boston’s transit agency is taking new Orange Line trains out of service due to a braking problem. (Commonwealth)
- Facing a shortage of bus drivers, TriMet in Portland is offering a $7,500 hiring bonus. (Portland Monthly)
- Tampa is closing in on a new 30-year transportation plan that will emphasize Vision Zero. (WFTS)
- Los Angeles has a 500-year backlog of sidewalk repairs — yes, 500 — that it could deal with by requiring property owners to fix their sidewalks when they sell the property. (NBC Los Angeles)
- San Diego businesses are starting to embrace bike lanes. (CBS San Diego)
- Chicago is rolling out e-bike charging stations. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Eugene, Oregon is giving water and power customers a $300 rebate to buy an e-bike. (Eugene Weekly)
- The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is publishing a book about Pittsburgh’s extensive streetcar network, sadly now long gone. (Post-Gazette)
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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