Monday’s Headlines Score a Touchdown
Tesla critic Dan O'Dowd 7, Elon Musk 0. Plus, Super Bowl host Phoenix struts its light-rail stuff, and more headlines.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on February 13, 2023
- Super Bowl watchers in a number of cities may have seen an ad from a California tech entrepreneur who’s seeking to get Tesla’s dangerous “Full Self-Driving” mode banned from public streets. (Washington Post)
- An Ohio train derailment that spewed toxic chemicals into the air, mimicking Don DeLillo’s famous novel “White Noise” (CNN), shows that the U.S. DOT under Secretary Pete Buttigieg is lax on rail safety standards (Jacobin).
- High-speed rail would work in the U.S., if the government were willing to invest enough money. (Scripps News)
- Cities and states are catching on that jaywalking laws are disproportionately enforced against the poor and people of color (Mother Jones), with Washington the latest state to consider repealing its jaywalking law (KUOW).
- After the Florida Supreme Court struck down a Hillsborough County sales tax for transportation, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the county to either refund the revenue or spend it on roads — but not on transit. (Tampa Bay Times)
- A Massachusetts lawmaker is seeking to break up the Boston-area transit agency (Smart Cities Dive). Meanwhile, the short-staffed MBTA is offering $10,000 signing bonuses to people willing to work as dispatchers (WBUR).
- Frustrated Link riders in Seattle are fed up with escalators and elevators at Sound Transit stations that don’t work. (My Northwest)
- A U.S. DOT audit criticized Seattle for being indecisive on whether to build a streetcar for which the city received a $7 million federal grant. (Seattle Times)
- Denver’s Regional Transportation District is proposing to reduce and simplify light-rail fares. (9 News)
- Inflation is cutting into Charlotte sidewalk and street safety projects. (Observer)
- A Los Angeles driver went on a parking garage rampage, hitting eleven vehicles, but thankfully only injuring one person. (CBS News)
- Michigan Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo, a five-lane one-way road, will be converted to two-lane traffic with a bike lane this summer. (MLive)
- Austin residents are frustrated by sidewalks that suddenly end. (KUT)
- A Minnesota “Idaho stop” and bike safety funding bill is named for the late biking and transit advocate Bill Dooley. (MinnPost)
- Phoenix transit agency Valley Metro was able to show off its brand-new train cars during Super Bowl weekend. (ABC 15)
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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