Friday’s Headlines Still Struggling for Equity
Black people are more likely to be killed by drivers while biking or walking, or by police while driving. Plus, more reasons why a gas tax holiday is a bad idea.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EDT on June 24, 2022
- Black cyclists are four times likely to be killed by drivers and Black pedestrians are twice as likely to be killed as whites, according to a new American Journal of Preventive Medicine study, which found that the racial disparity is even worse than previously thought. Not only is unsafe infrastructure to blame, but also disparities in health care after crashes. (The Grio, Streetsblog USA)
- When white Vision Zero advocates push for more traffic enforcement, remember that people of color are most often victimized by police. (Next City)
- Pete Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten, called out Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) for praising dads on Father’s Day when she had criticized the transportation secretary for taking paternity leave to be with their hospitalized son. (The Hill)
- Non-drivers have been subsidizing highway construction and repairs for drivers since the Highway Trust Fund went insolvent in 2008. Suspending the gas tax now would put even burden on the general public to replace that lost revenue (Forbes). Not that President Biden’s proposal is expected to go far — most Democrats oppose it, and the second-ranking Republican senator, John Thune, declared it DOA as well (Reuters).
- Particle pollution from burning fossil fuels takes two years off the average person’s life, and up to 10 years in the most polluted cities in South Asia. (Al Jazeera)
- St. Paul currently doesn’t have a bike-share vendor but is hoping Minneapolis will share theirs. (Star Tribune)
- Before it became known for its extreme auto dependence, Kansas City was known for its extensive streetcar system. (Flatland)
- Portland has agreed to pay a $75,000 settlement to a woman arrested for twerking in a bike lane. (Oregonian)
- Vancouver residents are proposing car-free weekends on Granville Island to make visiting the recreation attraction a more pleasant experience. (Daily Hive)
- The parklet movement that turns parking spaces into gardens is gaining steam in Europe. (The Guardian)
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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