Streetsblog

Tuesday’s Headlines Want to Go Back in Time

Nobody blamed pedestrians for their own deaths in the 1920s — except the auto industry, which mounted a successful campaign to change that.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on June 14, 2022

Tuesday’s Headlines Want to Go Back in Time

A street in 1920s Los Angeles. Credit: Metro Library and Archive

A hundred years ago, as traffic deaths soared to record numbers just like today, cities held drivers accountable and built monuments to dead pedestrians. Then the auto industry started a wildly successful campaign to reframe the issue and usher in an era of streets for cars only. (City Lab)
Ezra Klein follows up a recent column about Democrats’ unwillingness to tackle big issues with big actions by citing a case study: New York dragging its feet on congestion pricing. (NY Times)
Summers in the U.S. are hotter than ever, almost two degrees warmer than in 1970. (The Guardian)
Opposition to the Blue Line is building in the Minneapolis suburbs. (Star Tribune)
Cambridge was the first U.S. city to mandate building separated bike lanes during road construction, and now a group of residents and business owners is challenging the law in court. (Boston Globe)
More than 15 years after settling a class-action lawsuit, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority still has a long ways to go to make transit handicapped-accessible. (Boston Herald)
San Jose has an oversupply of parking and is considering eliminating parking minimums for new developments. (Mercury News)
San Diego approved a high-rise with 443 units and just 52 parking spaces. (Fox 5)
The D.C. region’s popular Capitol Crescent biking trail badly needs a tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. (Washington Post)
Richmond is asking for public comment on where to put new bike lanes. (WRIC)
Boulder is focusing its transportation efforts on the corridors where crashes are most common. (Colorado Daily)
A Columbia, Missouri, grassroots organization is building support for safer streets. (KMIZ)
False teeth, an antique cane with a sword inside, a painting of Kung Fu Panda and a bucket of slime are among the items passengers left in Uber cars last year. (Newsweek)