Thursday’s Headlines Are Totally Over It
Making streets safer and air cleaner will require lifting the veil on "car blindness." One study found most people support banning smoking around others but are fine with fumes from cars.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on January 19, 2023
- Policymakers and the general public are affected by what researchers call “car blindness” — an unconscious acceptance of the risks associated with driving that causes them to overlook those without cars. (Forbes)
- Kids these days don’t think cars are cool anymore. (Inc.)
- The Biden administration is advising states to “fix it first,” or spend infrastructure money on maintenance instead of new road projects (Transport Topics), which is making congressional Republicans and red-state DOTs angry (Governing).
- The administration’s “Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization” is a groundbreaking moment for New Urbanist principles. (Public Square)
- The transportation sector was entirely responsible for last year’s 1.3 percent rise in greenhouse gas emissions, much of that due to drivers’ increasing demand for gasoline. (Streetsblog USA)
- Land use planners and transportation agencies need to coordinate more closely to adjust to post-pandemic travel patterns. (Smart Cities Dive)
- A D.C. Council bill would offer rebates of $400 or $1,200, depending on income, to e-bike buyers, as well as another $500 for cargo e-bikes. (Axios)
- Some Pittsburgh commuters will have to switch buses due to route changes stemming from bus rapid transit construction and a driver shortage. (NEXT Pittsburgh)
- A state-created Tampa regional transit authority is closing up shop after accomplishing virtually nothing during its 16-year run. (Tampa Bay Times)
- Houston’s BCycle bikeshare has closed half of its 153 stations indefinitely to cut costs. (The Rice Thresher)
- A Salt Lake City group is demanding action after drivers hit six pedestrians over the holidays. (KSL-TV)
- Speeding was a factor in a crash that killed a University of Georgia football player and staffer just hours after a parade celebrating their national championship. (Online Athens)
- A Washington bill would repeal the state’s jaywalking law. (NBC Right Now)
- Public art along a new Valley Metro light rail line will celebrate South Phoenix culture. (Arizona Republic)
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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